We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
178 of its 353 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Colombo accounted for 130 of Sri Lanka's 178 stories about harm, carried by 138 outlets. 117 of Colombo's 130 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (104 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
220 of its 275 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Pyongyang accounted for 182 of North Korea's 220 stories about harm, carried by 323 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (14 stories). Outbreaks were named in 171 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with flu.
21 of its 36 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Ljubljana accounted for 20 of Slovenia's 21 stories about harm, carried by 25 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (13 stories).
17 of its 32 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (14 stories). Train derailment was named in 14 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
66 of its 129 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. 8 of Hong Kong Island's 16 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (28 stories).
9 of its 15 stories (60%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (7 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Tehran accounted for 57 of Iran's 81 stories about harm, carried by 101 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at about 6 times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
Jerusalem accounted for 130 of Israel's 267 stories about harm, carried by 177 outlets. Flooding was named in 12 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
36 of its 88 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (11 stories).
104 of its 355 stories (29%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Outbreaks were named in 37 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual.
Also named far more than usual: outbreaks in South Korea (37 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); hepatitis in Ireland (13 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); storms in Australia (21 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); cyclone in India (43 of its stories, about three times its usual); flooding in Israel (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 12 May. 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 18,982 stories about harm among 89,434 counted on 12 May.
People falling ill were reported at about twice the usual rate, most often about the US and Chile. 21 in every 100 of the day's 89,434 news stories were about people being harmed, below the usual 22. In North Korea's news, mentions of outbreaks ran more than ten times their usual. the news turned to Sri Lanka for the second day running. On 12 May 2021, a year earlier, the share was 25 in every 100, against 21 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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