We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
130 of its 147 stories (88%) were about people being harmed, usually 67%. Port Sudan accounted for 77 of Sudan's 130 stories about harm, carried by 123 outlets. Natural hazards were named in 18 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
281 of its 671 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Kyiv accounted for 174 of Ukraine's 281 stories about harm, carried by 229 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (198 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
22 of its 77 stories (29%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (11 stories). Drought was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual.
29 of Dhaka's 57 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people displaced ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories). Flooding was named in 39 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual.
121 of its 230 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Kabul accounted for 67 of Afghanistan's 121 stories about harm, carried by 70 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (84 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
Gaza accounted for 102 of Palestine's 146 stories about harm, carried by 113 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about twice the usual rate (19 stories). Polio was named in 40 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
26 of its 66 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Reports of people affected ran at about 8 times the usual rate (5 stories). Flooding was named in 19 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual.
359 of its 842 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (202 stories). Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's.
75 of its 233 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (10 stories). Natural hazards were named in 10 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
22 of its 40 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (8 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Also named far more than usual: flooding in Tonga (19 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); polio in Palestine (40 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); helicopter crash in Iran (22 of its stories, about 9 times its usual); typhoon in Japan (21 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); drought in Ghana (17 of its stories, about 7 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 27 Aug. 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 18,304 stories about harm among 99,798 counted on 27 Aug.
Help and hope: reports of vaccination ran at about twice the usual rate. of the day's 99,798 news stories, 18 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. Tonga's news mentioned flooding about 8 times as often as usual. Sudan's news was 88% about people being harmed, against a usual 67%. On 28 August 2023, a year earlier, the share was 20 in every 100, against 18 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?
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