We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
23 of its 29 stories (79%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Reports of people affected ran at about 6 times the usual rate (6 stories). Building collapse was named in 11 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
293 of its 426 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 58%. Kabul accounted for 120 of Afghanistan's 293 stories about harm, carried by 266 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 6 times the usual rate (108 stories). 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.
163 of its 425 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Moscow accounted for 95 of Russia's 163 stories about harm, carried by 368 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (22 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
36 of its 39 stories (92%) were about people being harmed, usually 51%. Reports of people affected 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.
25 of its 40 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Tripoli accounted for 24 of Libya's 25 stories about harm, carried by 127 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (14 stories).
51 of its 120 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (39 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
23 of its 40 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (8 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
43 of its 79 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Baghdad accounted for 34 of Iraq's 43 stories about harm, carried by 174 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about 6 times the usual rate (10 stories).
Damascus accounted for 28 of Syria's 53 stories about harm, carried by 31 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (23 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Tigray accounted for 22 of Ethiopia's 27 stories about harm, carried by 24 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about twice the usual rate (11 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: illness in Cuba (16 of its stories, about three times its usual); power cuts in Lebanon (11 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); tropical storm in Philippines (19 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); oil spill in US (52 of its stories, about three times its usual); cyclone in UK (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 9 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 12,534 stories about harm among 49,204 counted on 9 Oct.
Mentions of building collapse ran more than ten times their usual in Georgia's news. of the day's 49,204 news stories, 25 in every 100 were about people being harmed, below the usual 27. Georgia stood out: 79% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 34%. On 9 October 2020, a year earlier, the share was 28 in every 100, against 25 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 much 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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