We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
168 of its 207 stories (81%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Havana accounted for 82 of Cuba's 168 stories about harm, carried by 216 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (11 stories). Landslides were named in 12 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual.
92 of its 157 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Sonamarg accounted for 39 of Kashmir's 92 stories about harm, carried by 26 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 6 times the usual rate (45 stories). Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
82 of its 243 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. 33 of Jakarta's 46 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of abductions ran at about 4 times the usual rate (9 stories).
30 of its 119 stories (25%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (15 stories). Malaria was named in 18 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
28 of its 45 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Great Inagua Island accounted for 18 of the Bahamas' 28 stories about harm, carried by 46 outlets. Tropical storm was named in 25 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with storm surge.
12 of its 17 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. 8 of Maputo's 9 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (9 stories).
117 of its 161 stories (73%) were about people being harmed, usually 62%. Gaza accounted for 95 of Palestine's 117 stories about harm, carried by 81 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
59 of its 243 stories (24%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. 18 of Berlin's 36 stories were about protests or strikes. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Philippine accounted for 109 of the Philippines' 155 stories about harm, carried by 16 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
7 of Accra's 13 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (14 stories). Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Also named far more than usual: tropical storm in Bahamas (25 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); polio in Pakistan (26 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); building collapse in Kenya (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); covid in Japan (11 of its stories, about three times its usual); heavy rain in Bangladesh (10 of its stories, about three times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 20 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 9,247 stories about harm among 49,337 counted on 20 Oct.
It was the second day running that the news turned to Cuba. of the day's 49,337 news stories, 19 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. Cuba stood out: 81% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 36%. Mentions of tropical storm ran about 4 times their usual in the Bahamas' news. On 21 October 2023, a year earlier, the share was 20 in every 100, against 19 today. This week the news turned most often to Israel, on 4 of 7 days; help rose on 2 of them.
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 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?
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.