We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
128 of its 228 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Batang Kali accounted for 95 of Malaysia's 128 stories about harm, carried by 56 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about 9 times the usual rate (11 stories). Landslides were named in 87 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
52 of its 64 stories (81%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Kirkuk accounted for 29 of Iraq's 52 stories about harm, carried by 36 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (39 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
70 of its 97 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. 21 of Machu Picchu's 23 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people affected 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.
25 of its 50 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of people killed ran at about 5 times the usual rate (19 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
73 of its 113 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 50%. Kabul accounted for 39 of Afghanistan's 73 stories about harm, carried by 77 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (51 stories). Avalanche was named in 10 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
197 of its 588 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. 13 of Lagos' 23 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (11 stories). Cholera was named in 14 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual.
Tehran accounted for 46 of Iran's 96 stories about harm, carried by 74 outlets. 35 of Tehran's 46 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (44 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
195 of its 536 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of abductions ran at about twice the usual rate (7 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
131 of its 413 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of people displaced ran at about three times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
26 of its 88 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: drownings in South Africa (14 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); avalanche in Afghanistan (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); snowstorms in Canada (16 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); cholera in Nigeria (14 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); flu in India (11 of its stories, about 6 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 18 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 6,938 stories about harm among 35,324 counted on 18 Dec.
It was the third day running that the news turned to Malaysia. of the day's 35,324 news stories, 20 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. Malaysia stood out: 56% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 23%. A year earlier, on 18 December 2021, 27 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 20 today. This week the news turned most often to Peru, on 6 of 7 days.
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 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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