We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
55 of its 83 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Vienna accounted for 28 of Austria's 55 stories about harm, carried by 50 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (19 stories). Avalanche was named in 17 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
82 of its 123 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 48%. Jammu accounted for 34 of Kashmir's 82 stories about harm, carried by 19 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (13 stories). Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's.
36 of its 37 stories (97%) were about people being harmed, usually 53%. Antananarivo accounted for 16 of Madagascar's 36 stories about harm, carried by 51 outlets. Storms were named in 11 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.
19 of its 34 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. 7 of Bamako's 13 stories were about protests or strikes.
Kabul accounted for 72 of Afghanistan's 110 stories about harm, carried by 166 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about twice the usual rate (14 stories). Illness was named in 31 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
22 of its 32 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Reports of people injured ran at about 8 times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
83 of its 216 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (18 stories). Flu was named in 15 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual.
44 of its 96 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Colombo accounted for 29 of Sri Lanka's 44 stories about harm, carried by 14 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (9 stories).
18 of its 20 stories (90%) were about people being harmed, usually 55%. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (8 stories).
55 of its 65 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 70%. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: landslides in Morocco (17 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); illness in Afghanistan (31 of its stories, about 9 times its usual); outbreaks in Spain (13 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); flooding in South Africa (22 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); flu in Mexico (15 of its stories, about 7 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 5 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 12,153 stories about harm among 48,672 counted on 5 Feb.
Morocco's news mentioned landslides more than ten times as often as usual. 25 in every 100 of the day's 48,672 news stories were about people being harmed, below the usual 26. For the second day running, the news turned to Austria. Austria stood out: 66% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 34%. On 5 February 2021, a year earlier, the share was 25 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 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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