We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
49 of its 99 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. Colombo accounted for 31 of Sri Lanka's 49 stories about harm, carried by 29 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (7 stories). Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
266 of its 395 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (120 stories). Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about three times its own usual.
63 of its 114 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Bangkok accounted for 34 of Thailand's 63 stories about harm, carried by 174 outlets. 19 of Bangkok's 34 stories were about protests or strikes.
38 of its 66 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories).
35 of its 97 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Kabul accounted for 509 of Afghanistan's 761 stories about harm, carried by 687 outlets. HIV was named in 11 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
183 of its 303 stories (60%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Philippine accounted for 75 of the Philippines' 183 stories about harm, carried by 58 outlets.
37 of its 79 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Taipei accounted for 23 of Taiwan's 37 stories about harm, carried by 7 outlets.
12 of its 24 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Hurricane was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual.
20 of its 46 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of refugees ran at about 4 times the usual rate (6 stories).
Also named far more than usual: hurricane in Bermuda (10 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); outbreaks in France (12 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); power cuts in Pakistan (14 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hiv in Afghanistan (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); helicopter crash in US (19 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 4 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 13,097 stories about harm among 43,165 counted on 4 Sep.
Of the day's 43,165 news stories, 30 in every 100 were about people being harmed, above the usual 27. Bermuda's news mentioned the hurricane about 7 times as often as usual. On 4 September 2020, a year earlier, the share was 27 in every 100, against 30 today. In Sri Lanka, 49% of the news was about people being harmed, where 40% 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 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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