We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
118 of its 168 stories (70%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Lumajang accounted for 50 of Indonesia's 118 stories about harm, carried by 209 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (32 stories). Volcanic eruption was named in 89 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with earthquake, tsunami and landslides.
35 of its 38 stories (92%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Bandiagara accounted for 23 of Mali's 35 stories about harm, carried by 61 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 7 times the usual rate (15 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
235 of its 539 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (83 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
51 of its 142 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Seoul accounted for 41 of South Korea's 51 stories about harm, carried by 47 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (24 stories).
36 of its 91 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Reports of people affected ran at about 6 times the usual rate (19 stories). Flooding was named in 14 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with drownings.
6 of Istanbul's 10 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (11 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
315 of its 533 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
20 of its 25 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. HIV was named in 12 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual.
44 of its 116 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. HIV was named in 13 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
30 of its 50 stories (60%) were about people being harmed, usually 48%. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: natural hazards in Spain (39 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); hiv in Botswana (12 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); flooding in Kenya (14 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hiv in Brazil (13 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); cyclone in India (70 of its stories, about 9 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 4 Dec. 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 12,684 stories about harm among 47,525 counted on 4 Dec.
Indonesia's news mentioned volcanic eruption more than ten times as often as usual. 27 in every 100 of the day's 47,525 news stories were about people being harmed, above the usual 25. In Indonesia, 70% of the news was about people being harmed, where 37% is usual. On 4 December 2020, a year earlier, the share was 25 in every 100, against 27 today.
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 27 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 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?
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.