We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
70 of its 218 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Stockholm accounted for 46 of Sweden's 70 stories about harm, carried by 105 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (16 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
336 of its 923 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Dera Ismail Khan accounted for 132 of Pakistan's 336 stories about harm, carried by 248 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (113 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
7 of its 8 stories (88%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories).
14 of its 49 stories (29%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%.
Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (16 stories). Outbreaks were named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
33 of its 51 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Reports of refugees ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories).
26 of its 38 stories (68%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Managua accounted for 20 of Nicaragua's 26 stories about harm, carried by 29 outlets.
30 of its 128 stories (23%) were about people being harmed, usually 12%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
97 of its 253 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Reports of people displaced ran at about 4 times the usual rate (8 stories).
43 of its 71 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 52%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: poisoning in Russia (33 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); outbreaks in Zambia (10 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); heavy rain in New Zealand (17 of its stories, about three times its usual); cyclone in Australia (50 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); power cuts in Kenya (10 of its stories, about 5 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 12 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 19,031 stories about harm among 107,509 counted on 12 Dec.
The share of stories about people being harmed was the lowest since 2 October 2023. 18 in every 100 of the day's 107,509 news stories were about people being harmed, below the usual 19. In Sweden, 32% of the news was about people being harmed, where 18% is usual. On 12 December 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 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?
Unlock a year of trends, free. Follow up to 5 countries, with a bell when their news changes, and 👍 vote for Pro — ten years of the archive, any period, daily alerts.
Create a free accountSign in · a username, an email and a password.