We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
43 of its 138 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 10%. Ushuaia accounted for 31 of Argentina's 43 stories about harm, carried by 43 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (31 stories). Accidents were named in 13 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
92 of its 148 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Kabul accounted for 53 of Afghanistan's 92 stories about harm, carried by 64 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
513 of its 1,544 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Beijing accounted for 211 of China's 513 stories about harm, carried by 242 outlets. 118 of Beijing's 211 stories were about protests or strikes.
Reports of evacuations ran at about three times the usual rate (7 stories). Extreme cold was named in 14 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with train derailment. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
11 of its 14 stories (79%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (8 stories). Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Jerusalem accounted for 70 of Israel's 137 stories about harm, carried by 73 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (19 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
Kyiv accounted for 100 of Ukraine's 264 stories about harm, carried by 228 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (25 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
Reports of refugees ran at about 4 times the usual rate (6 stories). Polio was named in 18 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
10 of its 19 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (5 stories).
57 of its 267 stories (21%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (17 stories).
Also named far more than usual: covid in Saudi Arabia (12 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); respiratory illness in Japan (17 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); poisoning in Mexico (13 of its stories, about three times its usual); outbreaks in France (17 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); polio in Pakistan (18 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 2 Dec. 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 13,769 stories about harm among 71,835 counted on 2 Dec.
Argentina stood out: 31% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 10%. 19 in every 100 of the day's 71,835 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. In Saudi Arabia's news, mentions of Covid ran about 4 times their usual. A year earlier, on 2 December 2021, 25 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 19 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 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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