We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
26 of its 29 stories (90%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. 8 of Pointe Desny's 10 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (11 stories). Oil spill was named in 17 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.
75 of its 176 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Bahia accounted for 50 of Brazil's 75 stories about harm, carried by 88 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (15 stories). Flooding was named in 44 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with heavy rain, drownings and landslides.
93 of its 187 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Dhaka accounted for 48 of Bangladesh's 93 stories about harm, carried by 49 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (22 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
Cape Town accounted for 149 of South Africa's 396 stories about harm, carried by 213 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (192 stories). Tuberculosis was named in 21 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
19 of its 23 stories (83%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (9 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
163 of its 317 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 4 times the usual rate (14 stories). Landslides were named in 11 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.
64 of its 178 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
356 of its 631 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 49%. Philippine accounted for 111 of the Philippines' 356 stories about harm, carried by 43 outlets. Reports of people falling ill ran at more than ten times the usual rate (10 stories).
355 of its 913 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Reports of abductions ran at about 9 times the usual rate (5 stories). Extreme cold was named in 35 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with hypothermia.
Reports of people displaced ran at about 6 times the usual rate (5 stories). Heatwave was named in 12 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with wildfires. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: earthquake in Greece (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flu in Israel (34 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); extreme cold in Canada (35 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); wildfires in Australia (25 of its stories, about three times its usual); landslides in Malaysia (11 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 27 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 15,701 stories about harm among 53,270 counted on 27 Dec.
People displaced were reported at about twice the usual rate, most often about the US and the Philippines. Mauritius stood out: 90% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 37%. 29 in every 100 of the day's 53,270 news stories were about people being harmed, above the usual 27. A year earlier, on 27 December 2020, 31 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 29 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 about as 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.