We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
185 of its 218 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 69%. Idlib accounted for 90 of Syria's 185 stories about harm, carried by 152 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (22 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
64 of its 114 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Reports of people affected ran at more than ten times the usual rate (18 stories). Avalanche was named in 17 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
28 of its 32 stories (88%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. Cyclone was named in 28 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
412 of its 1,122 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 9 times the usual rate (15 stories). Oil spill was named in 12 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
Kabul accounted for 82 of Afghanistan's 125 stories about harm, carried by 243 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (21 stories). Illness was named in 26 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
12 of its 15 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. Ituri accounted for 10 of the DR Congo's 12 stories about harm, carried by 9 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (7 stories).
48 of its 78 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
44 of its 87 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Illness was named in 18 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.
64 of its 149 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Colombo accounted for 44 of Sri Lanka's 64 stories about harm, carried by 30 outlets.
25 of its 46 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Kathmandu accounted for 16 of Nepal's 25 stories about harm, carried by 9 outlets.
Also named far more than usual: covid in Tonga (24 of its stories, about three times its usual); hiv in Netherlands (33 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); covid in Ethiopia (20 of its stories, about three times its usual); illness in Malawi (18 of its stories, about three times its usual); illness in Afghanistan (26 of its stories, about 7 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 4 Feb. 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 20,436 stories about harm among 84,785 counted on 4 Feb.
For the second day running, the news turned to Syria. Madagascar's news mentioned the cyclone about 4 times as often as usual. 24 in every 100 of the day's 84,785 news stories were about people being harmed, below the usual 27. In Syria, 85% of the news was about people being harmed, where 69% is usual.
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.