We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
55 of its 85 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 56%. Aleppo accounted for 26 of Syria's 55 stories about harm, carried by 36 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (8 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
606 of its 2,115 stories (29%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (184 stories). Avalanche was named in 37 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
88 of its 225 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (23 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
53 of its 127 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. 14 of Colombo's 25 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
26 of its 71 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (17 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Tehran accounted for 37 of Iran's 74 stories about harm, carried by 43 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at about 5 times the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (974 stories). Road crashes were named in 108 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with earthquake and malaria. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
Baghdad accounted for 25 of Iraq's 34 stories about harm, carried by 36 outlets. Respiratory illness was named in 11 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
33 of its 71 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Storms were named in 18 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with cyclone.
40 of its 133 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (12 stories).
Also named far more than usual: storms in Bermuda (18 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); malaria in Burkina Faso (13 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); earthquake in China (67 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); respiratory illness in Iraq (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hurricane in Mexico (12 of its stories, about three times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 8 Sep. 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 17,207 stories about harm among 83,590 counted on 8 Sep.
Of the day's 83,590 news stories, 21 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. On 8 September 2021, a year earlier, the share was 29 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 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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