We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
129 of its 157 stories (82%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Pyongyang accounted for 82 of North Korea's 129 stories about harm, carried by 208 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (87 stories). Volcanic eruption was named in 19 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
16 of its 23 stories (70%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. 7 of Khorog's 9 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (11 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
14 of its 30 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of people affected 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.
88 of its 316 stories (28%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (12 stories).
Colombo accounted for 75 of Sri Lanka's 123 stories about harm, carried by 76 outlets. 63 of Colombo's 75 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people affected 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. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
20 of its 28 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Polio was named in 12 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
26 of its 90 stories (29%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Illness was named in 16 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.
Taipei accounted for 43 of Taiwan's 69 stories about harm, carried by 33 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (26 stories).
5 of Tera's 5 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (5 stories).
Reports of people injured ran at about 7 times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: illness in Portugal (16 of its stories, about three times its usual); polio in Mozambique (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flooding in Bangladesh (10 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); tsunami in Japan (14 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); flooding in India (72 of its stories, about 6 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 18 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 19,698 stories about harm among 89,708 counted on 18 May.
The news turned to North Korea for the seventh day running. 22 in every 100 of the day's 89,708 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. In Mozambique's news, mentions of the polio ran more than ten times their usual. North Korea stood out: 82% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 45%. On 18 May 2021, a year earlier, the share was 24 in every 100, against 22 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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