We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
50 of its 169 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Colombo accounted for 39 of Sri Lanka's 50 stories about harm, carried by 160 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (6 stories). Flooding was named in 18 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with heavy rain.
Binyamina accounted for 425 of Israel's 1,030 stories about harm, carried by 716 outlets. Polio was named in 37 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
46 of its 109 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (18 stories).
15 of its 46 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. 5 of Rechytsa's 5 stories were about protests or strikes.
Gaza accounted for 105 of Palestine's 133 stories about harm, carried by 104 outlets. Polio was named in 26 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
47 of its 208 stories (23%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
33 of its 129 stories (26%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (11 stories).
14 of its 41 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (5 stories).
Reports of people displaced ran at about three times the usual rate (14 stories). Cyclone was named in 17 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.
Philippine accounted for 128 of the Philippines' 184 stories about harm, carried by 25 outlets. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: poisoning in Russia (43 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); polio in Palestine (26 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); dengue in Mexico (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flu in Australia (28 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); cyclone in India (17 of its stories, about three times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 14 Oct. 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 15,872 stories about harm among 88,572 counted on 14 Oct.
Mentions of poisoning ran more than ten times their usual in Russia's news. of the day's 88,572 news stories, 18 in every 100 were about people being harmed, below the usual 19. the news turned to Sri Lanka for the second day running. A year earlier, on 15 October 2023, 22 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 18 today. In Sri Lanka, 30% of the news was about people being harmed, where 19% is usual.
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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