We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
1,060 of its 2,527 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. 338 of Ottawa's 401 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at about 6 times the usual rate (13 stories). Natural hazards were named in 23 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
29 of its 35 stories (83%) were about people being harmed, usually 60%. Reports of people displaced ran at about 6 times the usual rate (8 stories). Hunger was named in 15 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual.
128 of its 453 stories (28%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of people affected ran at about 8 times the usual rate (58 stories). Hypothermia was named in 11 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
Damascus accounted for 26 of Syria's 52 stories about harm, carried by 58 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (16 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
52 of its 131 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Taipei accounted for 29 of Taiwan's 52 stories about harm, carried by 18 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories).
27 of its 47 stories (57%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. Tunis accounted for 19 of Tunisia's 27 stories about harm, carried by 10 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories).
52 of its 84 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 52%. Tigray accounted for 28 of Ethiopia's 52 stories about harm, carried by 77 outlets. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Khartoum accounted for 16 of Sudan's 23 stories about harm, carried by 20 outlets. 14 of Khartoum's 16 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
12 of its 32 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (7 stories).
54 of its 103 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (11 stories).
Also named far more than usual: flooding in Ireland (24 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); storms in UK (69 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); road crashes in India (28 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); bird flu in US (44 of its stories, about 7 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 15 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 19,670 stories about harm among 84,756 counted on 15 Feb.
Mentions of the hunger ran about 5 times their usual in Somalia's news. of the day's 84,756 news stories, 23 in every 100 were about people being harmed, below the usual 25. On 15 February 2021, a year earlier, the share was 27 in every 100, against 23 today. Canada's news was 42% about people being harmed, against a usual 36%.
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?
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