We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
54 of its 65 stories (83%) were about people being harmed, usually 62%. Yangon accounted for 43 of Myanmar's 54 stories about harm, carried by 139 outlets. 41 of Yangon's 43 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people displaced ran at about 5 times the usual rate (17 stories). Illness was named in 18 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
196 of its 231 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Lumajang accounted for 105 of Indonesia's 196 stories about harm, carried by 298 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (126 stories). Volcanic eruption was named in 153 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with earthquake and tsunami. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
330 of its 576 stories (57%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (136 stories). Respiratory illness 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.
99 of its 174 stories (57%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Lesbos accounted for 57 of Greece's 99 stories about harm, carried by 327 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (66 stories).
54 of its 89 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Brussels accounted for 42 of Belgium's 54 stories about harm, carried by 109 outlets. 34 of Brussels' 42 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 6 times the usual rate (8 stories). Outbreaks were named in 15 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual.
974 of its 2,822 stories (35%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Reports of evacuations ran at about three times the usual rate (8 stories). Storms were named in 71 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with power cuts and snowstorms. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
966 of its 2,534 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Reports of evacuations ran at about three times the usual rate (13 stories). Cyclone was named in 34 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with hunger. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
14 of its 17 stories (82%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
192 of its 479 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (61 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
43 of its 100 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (7 stories). Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Also named far more than usual: storms in Ireland (30 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); outbreaks in Belgium (15 of its stories, about 9 times its usual); outbreaks in Norway (10 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); storms in UK (71 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); earthquake in Philippines (14 of its stories, about 8 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 5 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 11,059 stories about harm among 40,332 counted on 5 Dec.
Evacuations were reported at about three times the usual rate, most often about Indonesia and India. of the day's 40,332 news stories, 27 in every 100 were about people being harmed, above the usual 25. Myanmar stood out: 83% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 62%. A year earlier, on 5 December 2020, 27 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, the same as today. This week the news turned most often to Sudan, on 3 of 7 days; help rose on 3 of them.
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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