We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
107 of its 148 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 50%. Kunduz accounted for 39 of Afghanistan's 107 stories about harm, carried by 44 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (78 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
12 of its 19 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (8 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
19 of its 23 stories (83%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. Mbandaka accounted for 15 of the DR Congo's 19 stories about harm, carried by 43 outlets. Ebola was named in 17 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
47 of its 132 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. 13 of Riyadh's 19 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (21 stories).
28 of its 36 stories (78%) were about people being harmed, usually 63%. Mogadishu accounted for 17 of Somalia's 28 stories about harm, carried by 51 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (17 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
28 of its 55 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Taipei accounted for 19 of Taiwan's 28 stories about harm, carried by 11 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (10 stories).
30 of its 66 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Reports of people injured ran at about 9 times the usual rate (15 stories). Earthquake was named in 14 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
114 of its 608 stories (19%) were about people being harmed, usually 10%. Reports of people affected ran at about 8 times the usual rate (48 stories). Flooding was named in 34 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with storms.
174 of its 586 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Polio was named in 19 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
68 of its 129 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Jammu accounted for 40 of Kashmir's 68 stories about harm, carried by 28 outlets. Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: flooding in Japan (34 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); earthquake in Poland (14 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flu in Brazil (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flu in UK (73 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); polio in Pakistan (19 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 23 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 10,419 stories about harm among 45,647 counted on 23 Apr.
In the DR Congo's news, mentions of Ebola ran more than ten times their usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 23 in every 100 of the day's 45,647 stories, as usual. Afghanistan's news was 72% about people being harmed, against a usual 50%. On 23 April 2021, a year earlier, the share was 24 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 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?
Unlock a year of trends, free. Follow up to 5 countries, with a bell when their news changes, and 👍 vote for Pro — ten years of the archive, any period, daily alerts.
Create a free accountSign in · a username, an email and a password.