We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
3,086 of its 4,070 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 66%. Kabul accounted for 2,733 of Afghanistan's 3,086 stories about harm, carried by 1,868 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (697 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
24 of its 51 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Dar es Salaam accounted for 16 of Tanzania's 24 stories about harm, carried by 25 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 8 times the usual rate (10 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
92 of its 199 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. Hanoi accounted for 43 of Vietnam's 92 stories about harm, carried by 91 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about 4 times the usual rate (5 stories). Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
27 of its 48 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (18 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
20 of its 24 stories (83%) were about people being harmed, usually 58%. 6 of Diffa's 11 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
5 of Bamako's 6 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (17 stories). Malaria was named in 10 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
The Gulf of Mexico accounted for 30 of Cuba's 63 stories about harm, carried by 35 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (9 stories). Hurricane was named in 33 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with tropical storm, storms and storm surge.
52 of its 88 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
144 of its 345 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (55 stories).
64 of its 156 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Hurricane was named in 18 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with tropical storm and flooding.
Also named far more than usual: hurricane in Cuba (33 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hurricane in Jamaica (18 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); malaria in Mali (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); food poisoning in UK (10 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); rubella in US (18 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 26 Aug. 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 21,327 stories about harm among 83,296 counted on 26 Aug.
Reports of evacuations ran at about three times the usual rate, most often about Afghanistan and the US. Stories about people being harmed made up 26 in every 100 of the day's 83,296 stories, above the usual 24. Help and hope: reports of people freed or reunited ran at about twice the usual rate. In Cuba's news, mentions of the hurricane ran more than ten times their usual. A year earlier, on 26 August 2020, 29 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 26 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 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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