We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
208 of its 342 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Kuala Lumpur accounted for 97 of Malaysia's 208 stories about harm, carried by 46 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (26 stories). Flooding was named in 121 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with heavy rain and landslides. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
65 of its 88 stories (74%) were about people being harmed, usually 52%. Homesh accounted for 34 of Palestine's 65 stories about harm, carried by 20 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (27 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
15 of its 21 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (12 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.
46 of its 112 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
295 of its 441 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Philippine accounted for 109 of the Philippines' 295 stories about harm, carried by 83 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (62 stories). Typhoon was named in 216 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual, with storms, flooding and landslides. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
216 of its 525 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (57 stories). Gas explosion was named in 14 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
88 of its 324 stories (27%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Reports of people killed ran at about 7 times the usual rate (58 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
68 of its 181 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (16 stories). Outbreaks were named in 12 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.
209 of its 661 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. 43 of Beijing's 84 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 10 times the usual rate (18 stories).
11 of its 23 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. 4 of Yerevan's 6 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (7 stories).
Also named far more than usual: typhoon in Philippines (216 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); outbreaks in Netherlands (12 of its stories, about three times its usual); road crashes in Ireland (11 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); plane crash in Australia (21 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); gas explosion in Pakistan (14 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 19 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 10,589 stories about harm among 38,784 counted on 19 Dec.
Evacuations were reported at about twice the usual rate, most often about Malaysia and the Philippines. 27 in every 100 of the day's 38,784 news stories were about people being harmed, above the usual 26. In Malaysia, 61% of the news was about people being harmed, where 29% is usual. A year earlier, on 19 December 2020, 28 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 27 today. This week the news turned most often to Palestine, on 3 of 7 days; help rose on 1 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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