We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
936 of its 1,251 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Hualien accounted for 443 of Taiwan's 936 stories about harm, carried by 751 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (63 stories). Landslides were named in 208 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with power cuts, building collapse and train derailment. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
93 of its 171 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. 30 of Kampala's 40 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of abductions ran at about 9 times the usual rate (5 stories). HIV was named in 24 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
95 of its 183 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Helsinki accounted for 69 of Finland's 95 stories about harm, carried by 114 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (70 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
144 of its 230 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. Tehran accounted for 93 of Iran's 144 stories about harm, carried by 138 outlets. Outbreaks were named in 13 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
24 of its 57 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (6 stories). Drownings were named in 10 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
1,438 of its 1,912 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 65%. Hurricane was named in 18 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with wildfires. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
66 of its 102 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 52%. Port-au-Prince accounted for 48 of Haiti's 66 stories about harm, carried by 162 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (11 stories).
184 of its 513 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 5 times the usual rate (7 stories). Whooping cough was named in 12 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.
Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (17 stories). Hunger was named in 13 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
49 of its 82 stories (60%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of people killed ran at about 7 times the usual rate (29 stories).
Also named far more than usual: drownings in Panama (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hunger in Afghanistan (13 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); wildfires in Australia (50 of its stories, about three times its usual); hunger in Zimbabwe (12 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); whooping cough in Philippines (12 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 3 Apr. 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 21,523 stories about harm among 115,217 counted on 3 Apr.
In Taiwan, 75% of the news was about people being harmed, where 20% is usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 19 in every 100 of the day's 115,217 stories, as usual. Mentions of landslides ran more than ten times their usual in Taiwan's news. A year earlier, on 4 April 2023, 18 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 19 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.