We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
602 of its 1,825 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Moscow accounted for 375 of Russia's 602 stories about harm, carried by 498 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (360 stories). Flooding was named in 23 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with heavy rain. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Warmth in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
599 of its 914 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Reports of people displaced ran at about 7 times the usual rate (91 stories). Outbreaks were named in 30 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with dengue, malaria and drought.
11 of its 14 stories (79%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. 7 of Ikongo's 10 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
71 of its 162 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Colombo accounted for 48 of Sri Lanka's 71 stories about harm, carried by 29 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (15 stories).
49 of its 82 stories (60%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Tigray accounted for 36 of Ethiopia's 49 stories about harm, carried by 52 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Baghdad accounted for 94 of Iraq's 113 stories about harm, carried by 112 outlets. 54 of Baghdad's 94 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Kabul accounted for 124 of Afghanistan's 176 stories about harm, carried by 148 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about twice the usual rate (23 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
9 of its 20 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (5 stories).
120 of its 457 stories (26%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (12 stories).
46 of its 157 stories (29%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (10 stories).
Also named far more than usual: typhoon in Philippines (37 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); flooding in Nigeria (23 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); typhoon in Japan (14 of its stories, about 9 times its usual); poisoning in Canada (10 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); bird flu in UK (17 of its stories, about 6 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 31 Aug. 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 16,723 stories about harm among 79,757 counted on 31 Aug.
The Philippines' news mentioned the typhoon about 4 times as often as usual. 21 in every 100 of the day's 79,757 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. A year earlier, on 31 August 2021, 31 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 21 today. Russia stood out: 33% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 26%.
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 softer 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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