We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
20 of its 44 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Minsk accounted for 15 of Belarus' 20 stories about harm, carried by 16 outlets. 13 of Minsk's 15 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (14 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
311 of its 1,219 stories (26%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. Tokyo accounted for 198 of Japan's 311 stories about harm, carried by 283 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (175 stories). Earthquake was named in 216 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual, with tsunami, train derailment and power cuts. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
107 of its 321 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (53 stories). Flu was named in 15 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
154 of its 352 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Tehran accounted for 84 of Iran's 154 stories about harm, carried by 288 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about 6 times the usual rate (22 stories).
1,138 of its 3,645 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of people displaced ran at about twice the usual rate (26 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
25 of its 40 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 49%. 7 of Khartoum's 7 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
103 of its 179 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 50%. Kabul accounted for 50 of Afghanistan's 103 stories about harm, carried by 107 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about three times the usual rate (9 stories).
451 of its 1,678 stories (27%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Reports of refugees ran at about 5 times the usual rate (15 stories). Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Kyiv accounted for 524 of Ukraine's 1,399 stories about harm, carried by 729 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at about three times the usual rate (25 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
55 of its 97 stories (57%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Phnom Penh accounted for 33 of Cambodia's 55 stories about harm, carried by 148 outlets.
Also named far more than usual: hunger in Ireland (13 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); cyclone in India (18 of its stories, about 9 times its usual); measles in UK (11 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); ebola in US (14 of its stories, about three times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 17 Mar. 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 19,657 stories about harm among 86,612 counted on 17 Mar.
Help and hope: reports of people freed or reunited ran at about one and a half times the usual rate. of the day's 86,612 news stories, 23 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. Belarus stood out: 45% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 19%. Mentions of the earthquake ran about 6 times their usual in Japan's news. On 17 March 2021, a year earlier, the share was 26 in every 100, against 23 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 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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