We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
144 of its 316 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Colombo accounted for 106 of Sri Lanka's 144 stories about harm, carried by 244 outlets. 83 of Colombo's 106 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (16 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
49 of its 73 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Baku accounted for 40 of Azerbaijan's 49 stories about harm, carried by 48 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (37 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
789 of its 1,526 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Kyiv accounted for 521 of Ukraine's 789 stories about harm, carried by 733 outlets. Outbreaks were named in 43 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
264 of its 658 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Shanghai accounted for 141 of China's 264 stories about harm, carried by 191 outlets. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
45 of its 105 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (5 stories). Landslides were named in 24 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with flooding and heavy rain. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
34 of its 44 stories (77%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (25 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
176 of its 344 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Jerusalem accounted for 92 of Israel's 176 stories about harm, carried by 47 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
280 of its 821 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (23 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
627 of its 2,021 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of refugees ran at about 7 times the usual rate (13 stories). Road crashes were named in 16 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with hunger and train derailment.
54 of Islamabad's 82 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (7 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: landslides in Brazil (24 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); food poisoning in Ireland (13 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flu in Canada (12 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); road crashes in India (16 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 3 Apr. 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 9,197 stories about harm among 39,510 counted on 3 Apr.
The news turned to Sri Lanka for the third day running. 23 in every 100 of the day's 39,510 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. A year earlier, on 3 April 2021, 27 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 23 today. Sri Lanka stood out: 46% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 35%. This week the news turned most often to Sri Lanka, on 3 of 7 days.
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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