We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
47 of its 72 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Kigali accounted for 21 of Rwanda's 47 stories about harm, carried by 36 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (19 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
103 of its 349 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. 34 of Accra's 52 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (9 stories).
221 of its 778 stories (28%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 9 times the usual rate (13 stories). Flooding was named in 46 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with heavy rain and snowstorms.
325 of its 984 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Reports of abductions ran at about 6 times the usual rate (17 stories). Storms were named in 18 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual, with storm surge and flu.
64 of its 148 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Beirut accounted for 55 of Lebanon's 64 stories about harm, carried by 89 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (53 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Kyiv accounted for 261 of Ukraine's 469 stories about harm, carried by 504 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (59 stories). Drownings were named in 16 of its stories about harm, about 10 times usual, with power cuts. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
175 of its 461 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 4 times the usual rate (16 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
56 of its 185 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 6 times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Darfur accounted for 22 of Sudan's 65 stories about harm, carried by 37 outlets. Measles was named in 18 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
Reports of evacuations ran at about 5 times the usual rate (18 stories). Outbreaks were named in 12 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Warmth in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Also named far more than usual: covid in North Macedonia (12 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); measles in Sudan (18 of its stories, about three times its usual); volcanic eruption in Philippines (13 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); outbreaks in Russia (12 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); drownings in Ukraine (16 of its stories, about 10 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 21 Sep. 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 20,921 stories about harm among 119,521 counted on 21 Sep.
In Rwanda, 65% of the news was about people being harmed, where 31% is usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 18 in every 100 of the day's 119,521 stories, below the usual 19. Mentions of flooding ran about 4 times their usual in New Zealand's news. On 21 September 2022, a year earlier, the share was 20 in every 100, against 18 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 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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