We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
128 of its 168 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 50%. Damascus accounted for 83 of Syria's 128 stories about harm, carried by 185 outlets. 58 of Damascus' 83 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (17 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
20 of its 29 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (9 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
14 of its 37 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (8 stories).
Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (7 stories). Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
26 of its 49 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. el Faro accounted for 21 of el Salvador's 26 stories about harm, carried by 47 outlets. 15 of el Faro's 21 stories were about protests or strikes.
15 of its 36 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. 8 of Vilnius' 12 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (9 stories).
49 of its 106 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Beirut accounted for 33 of Lebanon's 49 stories about harm, carried by 51 outlets. 20 of Beirut's 33 stories were about protests or strikes.
Baghdad accounted for 36 of Iraq's 54 stories about harm, carried by 50 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (14 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Khartoum accounted for 34 of Sudan's 47 stories about harm, carried by 52 outlets. 31 of Khartoum's 34 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Almaty accounted for 54 of Kazakhstan's 83 stories about harm, carried by 148 outlets. 32 of Almaty's 54 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: natural hazards in Ethiopia (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flu in Brazil (12 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); cyclone in New Zealand (17 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); train derailment in India (64 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); train derailment in UK (15 of its stories, about 9 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 13 Jan. 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 23,557 stories about harm among 87,740 counted on 13 Jan.
Mentions of the flu ran about 4 times their usual in Brazil's news. In Syria, 76% of the news was about people being harmed, where 50% is usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 27 in every 100 of the day's 87,740 stories, below the usual 29. On 13 January 2021, a year earlier, the share was 27 in every 100, the same as 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 softer 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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