We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
274 of its 654 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Karachi accounted for 112 of Pakistan's 274 stories about harm, carried by 164 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (102 stories). Gas explosion was named in 32 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
254 of its 396 stories (64%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Philippine accounted for 86 of the Philippines' 254 stories about harm, carried by 193 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (34 stories). Typhoon was named in 180 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual, with storms, power cuts and flooding.
74 of its 164 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (13 stories). Outbreaks were named in 17 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
Tigray accounted for 18 of Ethiopia's 41 stories about harm, carried by 25 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
137 of its 283 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Kuala Lumpur accounted for 74 of Malaysia's 137 stories about harm, carried by 35 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (16 stories). Flooding was named in 44 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with heavy rain.
19 of its 33 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of arrests ran at about 9 times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
1,159 of its 3,169 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Tsunami was named in 22 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with house fires. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
8 of its 8 stories (100%) were about people being harmed, usually 59%. Reports of people displaced ran at about 4 times the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Homesh accounted for 17 of Palestine's 31 stories about harm, carried by 34 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (15 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
53 of its 135 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (19 stories).
Also named far more than usual: flooding in Malaysia (44 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); wildfires in Türkiye (13 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); tsunami in UK (22 of its stories, about three times its usual); poisoning in India (14 of its stories, about 9 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 18 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 12,672 stories about harm among 47,008 counted on 18 Dec.
Of the day's 47,008 news stories, 27 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. On 18 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.
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 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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