We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
110 of its 158 stories (70%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. Minsk accounted for 92 of Belarus' 110 stories about harm, carried by 326 outlets. 53 of Minsk's 92 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of abductions ran at about 8 times the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
52 of its 60 stories (87%) were about people being harmed, usually 55%. Kivu accounted for 28 of Rwanda's 52 stories about harm, carried by 31 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories). Earthquake was named in 24 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.
143 of its 250 stories (57%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (95 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
74 of its 114 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 48%. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (5 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.
61 of its 115 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Colombo accounted for 46 of Sri Lanka's 61 stories about harm, carried by 49 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (13 stories). Oil spill was named in 22 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
60 of its 119 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of people affected ran at about 5 times the usual rate (8 stories). Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
62 of its 82 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 51%. 25 of Bogota's 25 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
34 of its 70 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. 9 of Hong Kong Island's 14 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
50 of its 76 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 52%. Kathmandu accounted for 35 of Nepal's 50 stories about harm, carried by 111 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about three times the usual rate (12 stories).
11 of its 15 stories (73%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. Natural hazards were named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: heavy rain in New Zealand (20 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); oil spill in Sri Lanka (22 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hunger in North Korea (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); natural hazards in DR Congo (10 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); illness in United Arab Emirates (10 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 29 May. 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 11,860 stories about harm among 47,980 counted on 29 May.
Rwanda's news mentioned the earthquake about 4 times as often as usual. 25 in every 100 of the day's 47,980 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. On 29 May 2020, a year earlier, the share was 32 in every 100, against 25 today. Belarus stood out: 70% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 54%.
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 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?
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.