We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
53 of its 59 stories (90%) were about people being harmed, usually 61%. Tillaberi accounted for 25 of Niger's 53 stories about harm, carried by 32 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
50 of its 117 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Brussels accounted for 47 of Belgium's 50 stories about harm, carried by 125 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 8 times the usual rate (11 stories).
675 of its 2,009 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (78 stories). Flooding was named in 269 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual, with heavy rain, storms and drought.
Yangon accounted for 45 of Myanmar's 100 stories about harm, carried by 131 outlets. 43 of Yangon's 45 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
58 of its 154 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Taipei accounted for 44 of Taiwan's 58 stories about harm, carried by 130 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories).
Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (140 stories). Measles was named in 29 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual, with meningitis. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Brazzaville accounted for 25 of Congo's 35 stories about harm, carried by 38 outlets. Malaria was named in 16 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
94 of its 111 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 51%. Covid was named in 40 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.
126 of its 265 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
46 of its 116 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (20 stories).
Also named far more than usual: covid in Iceland (40 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); malaria in Congo (16 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); drought in Somalia (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); outbreaks in Japan (18 of its stories, about three times its usual); hunger in Nigeria (13 of its stories, about 6 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 22 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 21,222 stories about harm among 84,110 counted on 22 Mar.
Help and hope: reports of volunteers ran at about one and a half times the usual rate. of the day's 84,110 news stories, 25 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. Evacuations were reported at about twice the usual rate, most often about Australia and the US. A year earlier, on 22 March 2020, 43 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 25 today. In Niger, 90% of the news was about people being harmed, where 61% is usual.
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 about as 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?
Unlock a year of trends, free. Follow up to 5 countries, with a bell when their news changes, and 👍 vote for Pro — ten years of the archive, any period, daily alerts.
Create a free accountSign in · a username, an email and a password.