We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
34 of its 68 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Bequia accounted for 31 of St Vincent's 34 stories about harm, carried by 31 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about 8 times the usual rate (27 stories). Plane crash was named in 16 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
91 of its 119 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 49%. Baghdad accounted for 75 of Iraq's 91 stories about harm, carried by 93 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
65 of its 83 stories (78%) were about people being harmed, usually 64%. 8 of Wad Medani's 15 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
109 of its 256 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 6 times the usual rate (16 stories). Train derailment was named in 14 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
231 of its 328 stories (70%) were about people being harmed, usually 56%. Tehran accounted for 108 of Iran's 231 stories about harm, carried by 349 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (110 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
139 of its 278 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Dhaka accounted for 85 of Bangladesh's 139 stories about harm, carried by 110 outlets. 53 of Dhaka's 85 stories were about protests or strikes.
409 of its 1,282 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (165 stories). Flooding was named in 20 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.
28 of its 93 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 12%. 8 of Baku's 14 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 6 times the usual rate (5 stories).
185 of its 673 stories (27%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (68 stories). Plane crash was named in 22 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
255 of its 766 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Illness was named in 38 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: covid in Spain (22 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); earthquake in Nepal (15 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); cholera in Zambia (11 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); illness in South Africa (38 of its stories, about three times its usual); plane crash in Germany (22 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 5 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 19,271 stories about harm among 97,007 counted on 5 Jan.
St Vincent stood out: 50% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 14%. 20 in every 100 of the day's 97,007 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. In Spain's news, mentions of Covid ran about 4 times their usual. On 5 January 2023, a year earlier, the share was 20 in every 100, the same as 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?
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.