We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
697 of its 1,408 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Ottawa accounted for 381 of Canada's 697 stories about harm, carried by 565 outlets. 356 of Ottawa's 381 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 6 times the usual rate (286 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
402 of its 947 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (116 stories). Flooding was named in 12 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
173 of its 440 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Paris accounted for 132 of France's 173 stories about harm, carried by 443 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (23 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
39 of its 104 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Petropolis accounted for 32 of Brazil's 39 stories about harm, carried by 49 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (28 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
56 of its 93 stories (60%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Jammu accounted for 35 of Kashmir's 56 stories about harm, carried by 23 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (15 stories). Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's.
40 of its 55 stories (73%) were about people being harmed, usually 60%. Beledweyne accounted for 30 of Somalia's 40 stories about harm, carried by 45 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (30 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
90 of its 164 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Igoumenitsa accounted for 57 of Greece's 90 stories about harm, carried by 242 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about 9 times the usual rate (22 stories).
29 of its 36 stories (81%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Reports of people affected ran at about 5 times the usual rate (17 stories). 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.
308 of its 1,150 stories (27%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (70 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
71 of its 102 stories (70%) were about people being harmed, usually 51%. Grief in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
Also named far more than usual: polio in Malawi (12 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); flooding in Ireland (22 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); storms in UK (116 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); food poisoning in US (69 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 19 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 11,588 stories about harm among 46,954 counted on 19 Feb.
Evacuations were reported at about 5 times the usual rate, most often about Ukraine and Russia. Stories about people being harmed made up 25 in every 100 of the day's 46,954 stories, as usual. It was the third day running that the news turned to Canada. In Canada, 50% of the news was about people being harmed, where 37% is usual. On 19 February 2021, a year earlier, the share was 26 in every 100, against 25 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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