We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
44 of its 93 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Lima accounted for 34 of Peru's 44 stories about harm, carried by 42 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (14 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
49 of its 75 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 52%. Tigray accounted for 25 of Ethiopia's 49 stories about harm, carried by 27 outlets. Drought was named in 13 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with flooding, storms and heatwave. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
5 of Maputo's 9 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at about 4 times the usual rate (5 stories).
6 of its 9 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%.
69 of its 199 stories (35%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (14 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
70 of its 139 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Colombo accounted for 39 of Sri Lanka's 70 stories about harm, carried by 34 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories).
777 of its 2,254 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of abductions ran at about 4 times the usual rate (6 stories). Overdoses were named in 15 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual, with poisoning.
Dhaka accounted for 63 of Bangladesh's 108 stories about harm, carried by 60 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (27 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
Kabul accounted for 1,279 of Afghanistan's 1,784 stories about harm, carried by 1,078 outlets. Snowstorms were named in 38 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
85 of its 117 stories (73%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: outbreaks in Germany (22 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); heatwave in Egypt (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); snowstorms in Afghanistan (38 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); overdoses in Canada (15 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); tornadoes in UK (15 of its stories, about 8 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 1 Sep. 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 26,692 stories about harm among 89,999 counted on 1 Sep.
Of the day's 89,999 news stories, 30 in every 100 were about people being harmed, above the usual 26. Ethiopia's news mentioned the drought about 4 times as often as usual. Peru's news was 47% about people being harmed, against a usual 26%. On 1 September 2020, a year earlier, the share was 27 in every 100, against 30 today. Over August, 27 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 29 in August 2020.
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 softer 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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