We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
92 of its 267 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Harare accounted for 52 of Zimbabwe's 92 stories about harm, carried by 92 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (44 stories). Drought was named in 21 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with flooding and hurricane.
19 of its 58 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Santiago accounted for 15 of Chile's 19 stories about harm, carried by 21 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (8 stories).
76 of its 246 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Heavy rain was named in 14 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with tsunami and earthquake. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (9 stories). Covid was named in 15 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (36 stories). Gas explosion was named in 15 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Tehran accounted for 41 of Iran's 66 stories about harm, carried by 41 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at about three times the usual rate (11 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
17 of its 49 stories (35%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
9 of its 23 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories).
13 of its 37 stories (35%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (8 stories).
Reports of refugees ran at about 4 times the usual rate (19 stories). HIV was named in 18 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.
Also named far more than usual: tropical storm in Mozambique (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); power cuts in Ghana (10 of its stories, about three times its usual); tornadoes in US (269 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); gas explosion in China (15 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); hiv in Nigeria (18 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 14 Mar. 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 19,953 stories about harm among 114,908 counted on 14 Mar.
Mozambique's news mentioned tropical storm more than ten times as often as usual. 17 in every 100 of the day's 114,908 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. In Zimbabwe, 34% of the news was about people being harmed, where 26% is usual. A year earlier, on 15 March 2023, 18 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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