We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
87 of its 147 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Isfahan accounted for 30 of Iran's 87 stories about harm, carried by 31 outlets. 26 of Isfahan's 30 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (58 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
29 of its 45 stories (64%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Cachiporro accounted for 14 of Colombia's 29 stories about harm, carried by 212 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (20 stories). Accidents were named in 17 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual.
298 of its 945 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Hanoi accounted for 149 of Vietnam's 298 stories about harm, carried by 5 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (58 stories). Food poisoning was named in 52 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with poisoning, outbreaks and bird flu.
69 of its 243 stories (28%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (11 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
105 of its 437 stories (24%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Reports of people injured ran at about 9 times the usual rate (10 stories). Landslides were named in 35 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.
20 of its 38 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Cholera was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
11 of its 28 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. 8 of Tbilisi's 8 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (7 stories).
Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (73 stories). Outbreaks were named in 11 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
49 of Islamabad's 92 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people displaced ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
Khartoum accounted for 96 of Sudan's 124 stories about harm, carried by 191 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about three times the usual rate (58 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Also named far more than usual: landslides in Italy (35 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); tsunami in Vanuatu (15 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); typhoon in Guam (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); volcanic eruption in Mexico (20 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); wildfires in Spain (15 of its stories, about 6 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 20 May. 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 11,926 stories about harm among 69,098 counted on 20 May.
It was the lowest share of stories about people being harmed since 22 March 2023. of the day's 69,098 news stories, 17 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. the news turned to Iran for the second day running. Mentions of landslides ran about 4 times their usual in Italy's news. A year earlier, on 20 May 2022, 22 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 17 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 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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