We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
160 of its 182 stories (88%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Reykjavik accounted for 99 of Iceland's 160 stories about harm, carried by 406 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (28 stories). Volcanic eruption was named in 140 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.
114 of its 376 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Paris accounted for 76 of France's 114 stories about harm, carried by 191 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (12 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
114 of its 252 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Istanbul accounted for 66 of Türkiye's 114 stories about harm, carried by 216 outlets. 33 of Istanbul's 66 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
30 of its 36 stories (83%) were about people being harmed, usually 66%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
215 of its 668 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (48 stories). Earthquake was named in 144 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with tsunami and power cuts. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
Yangon accounted for 27 of Myanmar's 47 stories about harm, carried by 27 outlets. 26 of Yangon's 27 stories were about protests or strikes. Train derailment was named in 13 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
298 of its 870 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (38 stories). Flooding was named in 126 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with heavy rain, storms and tornadoes.
27 of its 57 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
65 of its 142 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Illness was named in 17 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
29 of its 65 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of people affected ran at about 6 times the usual rate (9 stories).
Also named far more than usual: earthquake in Japan (144 of its stories, about three times its usual); flooding in Australia (126 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); poisoning in Uganda (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); illness in Saudi Arabia (17 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); train derailment in Myanmar (13 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 20 Mar. The big dot is this day; the shaded band is a normal day (the 30 days before it). Click a day to open it. Based on 13,829 stories about harm among 51,903 counted on 20 Mar.
In Iceland, 88% of the news was about people being harmed, where 41% is usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 27 in every 100 of the day's 51,903 stories, as usual. Mentions of volcanic eruption ran about 4 times their usual in Iceland's news. A year earlier, on 20 March 2020, 40 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 27 today.
Written by code from the day's numbers.
Countries with at least 50 stories that day.
Stories, not people.
The day's biggest events: attacks, accidents and disasters, people displaced, protests, outbreaks. Bigger dot: more stories. Ranked by the share of the day's outlets that reported it and how clearly it was about one thing, the same way for every place and year; the news data does not say who attacked whom, so both sides of a war appear where the news put them. Click a dot for its stories.
Of the stories about people being harmed, what part of life each was about. The mark is usual.
Stories that report it, not people: we count what reporters wrote, not what happened.
The words in the day's stories were much harsher than usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.
From the words reporters used across the whole day, never one story. Fear is the weakest of the four measures. How?
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