We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
60 of its 75 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 52%. Pyongyang accounted for 39 of North Korea's 60 stories about harm, carried by 117 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (14 stories). Drought was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.
56 of its 87 stories (64%) were about people being harmed, usually 53%. Jenin accounted for 38 of Palestine's 56 stories about harm, carried by 106 outlets. 23 of Jenin's 38 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
49 of its 68 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 57%. Damascus accounted for 29 of Syria's 49 stories about harm, carried by 60 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
89 of its 283 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (42 stories).
123 of its 314 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Seoul accounted for 102 of South Korea's 123 stories about harm, carried by 341 outlets. Reports of people falling ill ran at about three times the usual rate (6 stories). Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
70 of its 133 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Ankara accounted for 34 of Türkiye's 70 stories about harm, carried by 33 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
Reports of people falling ill ran at about 4 times the usual rate (5 stories). Chickenpox was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
Reports of people falling ill ran at more than ten times the usual rate (5 stories). Illness was named in 20 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
45 of its 137 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (6 stories).
37 of its 81 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (9 stories).
Also named far more than usual: illness in Israel (20 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); wildfires in Australia (29 of its stories, about three times its usual); respiratory illness in China (24 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); building collapse in Nigeria (10 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); storms in Canada (11 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 21 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 10,475 stories about harm among 45,548 counted on 21 May.
Australia's news mentioned wildfires about three times as often as usual. 23 in every 100 of the day's 45,548 news stories were about people being harmed, above the usual 22. In North Korea, 80% of the news was about people being harmed, where 52% is usual. On 21 May 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.