We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
88 of its 96 stories (92%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Pyongyang accounted for 66 of North Korea's 88 stories about harm, carried by 89 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about 5 times the usual rate (77 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
264 of its 627 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (128 stories). Drought was named in 20 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual, with heatstroke and cholera. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
Jammu accounted for 35 of Kashmir's 70 stories about harm, carried by 21 outlets. 18 of Jammu's 35 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's.
Beirut accounted for 42 of Lebanon's 49 stories about harm, carried by 238 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (6 stories). Power cuts were named in 11 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual.
37 of its 162 stories (23%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (18 stories). Illness was named in 13 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
57 of its 83 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (11 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
2,965 of its 9,730 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (610 stories). Oil spill was named in 16 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual.
12 of Okinawa's 18 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (17 stories). Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Colombo accounted for 47 of Sri Lanka's 67 stories about harm, carried by 47 outlets. 37 of Colombo's 47 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories).
Jerusalem accounted for 143 of Israel's 208 stories about harm, carried by 336 outlets. Reports of people falling ill ran at more than ten times the usual rate (7 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: illness in United Arab Emirates (13 of its stories, about three times its usual); road crashes in Ireland (13 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); road crashes in Australia (22 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flooding in India (30 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); flooding in UK (23 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 15 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 9,256 stories about harm among 39,226 counted on 15 May.
The news turned to North Korea for the fourth day running. 24 in every 100 of the day's 39,226 news stories were about people being harmed, above the usual 22. In North Korea, 92% of the news was about people being harmed, where 33% is usual. Lebanon's news mentioned power cuts about 9 times as often as usual. A year earlier, on 15 May 2021, 26 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 24 today. This week the news turned most often to North Korea, on 4 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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