We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
80 of its 186 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Stockholm accounted for 56 of Sweden's 80 stories about harm, carried by 79 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (10 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
44 of its 76 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Pyongyang accounted for 42 of North Korea's 44 stories about harm, carried by 75 outlets. Respiratory illness was named in 32 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with outbreaks and flu.
111 of its 323 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Reports of people affected ran at about 8 times the usual rate (72 stories). Storms were named in 49 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with snowstorms.
57 of its 213 stories (27%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. Reports of people killed ran at about 5 times the usual rate (20 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
49 of its 87 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Reports of people displaced ran at about twice the usual rate (7 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
Lima accounted for 39 of Peru's 59 stories about harm, carried by 88 outlets. 34 of Lima's 39 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Reports of abductions ran at about three times the usual rate (11 stories). Hypothermia was named in 12 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
46 of its 121 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 11%. Buenos Aires accounted for 36 of Argentina's 46 stories about harm, carried by 143 outlets.
25 of its 56 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of arrests ran at about 6 times the usual rate (7 stories).
16 of its 26 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. 3 of Khartoum's 3 stories were about protests or strikes.
Also named far more than usual: flooding in Malaysia (23 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); landslides in Kashmir (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); snowstorms in Japan (19 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); power cuts in Pakistan (14 of its stories, about three times its usual); building collapse in India (26 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 25 Jan. 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 15,456 stories about harm among 79,828 counted on 25 Jan.
The news turned to Sweden for the fourth day running. 19 in every 100 of the day's 79,828 news stories were about people being harmed, below the usual 20. In North Korea's news, mentions of respiratory illness ran more than ten times their usual. A year earlier, on 25 January 2022, 25 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 19 today. Sweden's news was 43% about people being harmed, against a usual 30%.
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 about as 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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