We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
34 of its 65 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of people falling ill ran at more than ten times the usual rate (9 stories). Poisoning was named in 26 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
144 of its 469 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. Reports of people injured ran at about 7 times the usual rate (17 stories). Flooding was named in 18 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual, with plague, cholera and dengue. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
111 of its 148 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 60%. Gaza accounted for 85 of Palestine's 111 stories about harm, carried by 116 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
55 of its 132 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (23 stories).
41 of its 129 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Gavdos accounted for 28 of Greece's 41 stories about harm, carried by 35 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about 7 times the usual rate (28 stories). Drownings were named in 15 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
40 of its 43 stories (93%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Mamoudzou accounted for 21 of Mayotte's 40 stories about harm, carried by 84 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 6 times the usual rate (13 stories).
140 of its 371 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (19 stories). Oil spill was named in 25 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with storms.
46 of its 132 stories (35%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of people injured ran at about 7 times the usual rate (8 stories). Flooding was named in 16 of its stories about harm, about 10 times usual.
250 of its 1,093 stories (23%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of abductions ran at about three times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
21 of its 31 stories (68%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: flooding in Zimbabwe (16 of its stories, about 10 times its usual); drownings in Greece (15 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); heavy rain in Mozambique (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); oil spill in Russia (25 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); polio in Pakistan (26 of its stories, about 5 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 15 Dec. 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 8,442 stories about harm among 46,763 counted on 15 Dec.
Fiji's news mentioned poisoning more than ten times as often as usual. 18 in every 100 of the day's 46,763 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. In Fiji, 52% of the news was about people being harmed, where 20% is usual. A year earlier, on 16 December 2023, 19 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, 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 much 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?
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