We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
38 of its 79 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Minsk accounted for 27 of Belarus' 38 stories about harm, carried by 23 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (23 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
Kabul accounted for 170 of Afghanistan's 275 stories about harm, carried by 153 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (22 stories). Measles was named in 19 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
108 of its 208 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (10 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
14 of its 23 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Cyclone was named in 12 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with tropical storm, flooding and storms.
48 of its 62 stories (77%) were about people being harmed, usually 50%. Guayaquil accounted for 40 of Ecuador's 48 stories about harm, carried by 67 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
81 of its 137 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Reports of refugees ran at about 6 times the usual rate (18 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
42 of its 84 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (10 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
94 of its 219 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Tehran accounted for 56 of Iran's 94 stories about harm, carried by 67 outlets. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
15 of its 23 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Reports of people killed ran at about 5 times the usual rate (10 stories).
37 of its 63 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Tropical storm was named in 29 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.
Also named far more than usual: tropical storm in Bermuda (29 of its stories, about three times its usual); typhoon in Japan (25 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); cyclone in Pakistan (25 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); power cuts in China (23 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); drought in Australia (23 of its stories, about three times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 1 Oct. 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 23,637 stories about harm among 94,172 counted on 1 Oct.
Of the day's 94,172 news stories, 25 in every 100 were about people being harmed, below the usual 28. On 1 October 2020, a year earlier, the share was 26 in every 100, against 25 today. Over September, 28 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 27 in September 2020.
Written by code from the day's numbers.
Countries with at least 50 stories that day.
Stories, not people.
Each country shaded by how much of its news was about people being harmed, against the world's 25 in 100 that day. Stronger colour: further above. A country with few stories is drawn closer to the world's. Click a country.
Stories, not people. Countries with at least 50 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?
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.