We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
174 of its 281 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Kuala Lumpur accounted for 138 of Malaysia's 174 stories about harm, carried by 354 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at more than ten times the usual rate (129 stories). Landslides were named in 150 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual, with heavy rain. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
82 of its 105 stories (78%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Lima accounted for 26 of Peru's 82 stories about harm, carried by 56 outlets. 21 of Lima's 26 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people affected ran at about 7 times the usual rate (31 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
214 of its 441 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. Kyiv accounted for 129 of Ukraine's 214 stories about harm, carried by 190 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (84 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
19 of its 22 stories (86%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. Reports of people injured ran at about 7 times the usual rate (17 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
89 of its 151 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Tehran accounted for 33 of Iran's 89 stories about harm, carried by 297 outlets. 29 of Tehran's 33 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (51 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
27 of its 75 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. 7 of Amman's 8 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 8 times the usual rate (12 stories). Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
62 of its 203 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. 23 of Tijuana's 24 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (27 stories). Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
94 of its 318 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Berlin accounted for 59 of Germany's 94 stories about harm, carried by 246 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (10 stories). Extreme cold was named in 13 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual, with flooding, earthquake and tsunami.
21 of its 45 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (10 stories).
19 of its 55 stories (35%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: extreme cold in Germany (13 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); flooding in Ireland (10 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); storms in UK (28 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 17 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 8,788 stories about harm among 42,703 counted on 17 Dec.
The share of stories about people being harmed was the highest since 30 October 2022. 21 in every 100 of the day's 42,703 news stories were about people being harmed, above the usual 19. In Malaysia, 62% of the news was about people being harmed, where 21% is usual. the news turned to Malaysia for the second day running. A year earlier, on 17 December 2021, 26 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, 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 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?
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