We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
449 of its 983 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Moscow accounted for 289 of Russia's 449 stories about harm, carried by 733 outlets. 208 of Moscow's 289 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (87 stories). Landslides were named in 24 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
141 of its 160 stories (88%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Grindavik accounted for 116 of Iceland's 141 stories about harm, carried by 431 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (55 stories). Volcanic eruption was named in 116 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.
79 of its 206 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Cairo accounted for 71 of Egypt's 79 stories about harm, carried by 246 outlets. Covid was named in 16 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual.
183 of its 496 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of refugees ran at about 6 times the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
84 of its 127 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Reports of people injured ran at about 7 times the usual rate (58 stories). Road crashes were named in 19 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
66 of its 285 stories (23%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. 29 of Rome's 35 stories were about protests or strikes. Heatwave was named in 27 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with drought and storms.
311 of its 1,007 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (134 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
54 of its 70 stories (77%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (17 stories).
26 of its 65 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Reports of people injured ran at about 9 times the usual rate (6 stories).
14 of its 36 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (8 stories).
Also named far more than usual: flooding in Fiji (17 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); heatwave in Italy (27 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); heatwave in South Sudan (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); road crashes in Afghanistan (19 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); wildfires in China (21 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 17 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 9,596 stories about harm among 52,909 counted on 17 Mar.
Reports of evacuations ran at about three times the usual rate, most often about Iceland and India. 18 in every 100 of the day's 52,909 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. For the second day running, the news turned to Russia. On 18 March 2023, a year earlier, the share was 20 in every 100, against 18 today. Russia's news was 46% about people being harmed, against a usual 33%. This week the news turned most often to Russia, on 3 of 7 days.
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 harsher 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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