We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
113 of its 190 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Kabul accounted for 61 of Afghanistan's 113 stories about harm, carried by 70 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (52 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
185 of its 500 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. 26 of Sharpeville's 48 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (32 stories). Drought was named in 16 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual.
69 of its 102 stories (68%) were about people being harmed, usually 58%. Darfur accounted for 27 of Sudan's 69 stories about harm, carried by 60 outlets. Hunger was named in 49 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
94 of its 310 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (34 stories). Drownings were named in 11 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual.
139 of its 205 stories (68%) were about people being harmed, usually 51%. Port-au-Prince accounted for 105 of Haiti's 139 stories about harm, carried by 193 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about 10 times the usual rate (40 stories).
10 of its 22 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. 4 of Cameroun's 4 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 8 times the usual rate (7 stories).
Kyiv accounted for 133 of Ukraine's 254 stories about harm, carried by 247 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about three times the usual rate (19 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Gaza accounted for 193 of Palestine's 241 stories about harm, carried by 207 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (47 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
25 of its 50 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (14 stories).
18 of its 42 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (10 stories).
Also named far more than usual: flooding in Fiji (11 of its stories, about three times its usual); building collapse in India (20 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); train derailment in Australia (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); earthquake in Israel (14 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); plague in UK (12 of its stories, about 5 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 21 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 19,769 stories about harm among 116,998 counted on 21 Mar.
Mentions of the hunger ran about three times their usual in Sudan's news. of the day's 116,998 news stories, 17 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. Afghanistan stood out: 59% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 42%. On 22 March 2023, a year earlier, the share was 17 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 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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