We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
32 of its 71 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Lambeau accounted for 21 of Trinidad & Tobago's 32 stories about harm, carried by 36 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (6 stories). Oil spill was named in 25 of its stories about harm, about 10 times usual.
411 of its 535 stories (77%) were about people being harmed, usually 67%. Gaza accounted for 349 of Palestine's 411 stories about harm, carried by 518 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about three times the usual rate (37 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
120 of its 307 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 11%. Doha accounted for 68 of Qatar's 120 stories about harm, carried by 46 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (114 stories).
24 of its 49 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. 14 of Dakar's 16 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (20 stories).
216 of its 643 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (41 stories). Landslides were named in 60 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with heavy rain and earthquake. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
78 of its 234 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (7 stories). Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
72 of its 272 stories (26%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (42 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
12 of its 27 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. 5 of Antananarivo's 5 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
39 of its 57 stories (68%) were about people being harmed, usually 55%. Mogadishu accounted for 29 of Somalia's 39 stories about harm, carried by 31 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
11 of its 17 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. 6 of Managua's 7 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: illness in Ukraine (74 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); landslides in Philippines (60 of its stories, about three times its usual); hunger in Afghanistan (18 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); heavy rain in United Arab Emirates (16 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flu in Cambodia (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 12 Feb. 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 16,601 stories about harm among 96,600 counted on 12 Feb.
On the side of help, reports of people freed or reunited ran at about one and a half times the usual rate. Stories about people being harmed made up 17 in every 100 of the day's 96,600 stories, below the usual 18. It was the second day running that the news turned to Trinidad & Tobago. In Trinidad & Tobago, 45% of the news was about people being harmed, where 18% is usual. A year earlier, on 12 February 2023, 19 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 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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