We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
682 of its 1,068 stories (64%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Magdeburg accounted for 468 of Germany's 682 stories about harm, carried by 761 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (555 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
313 of its 923 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of people injured ran at about 7 times the usual rate (55 stories). Plague was named in 11 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
216 of its 915 stories (24%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 5 times the usual rate (7 stories). Wildfires were named in 38 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
34 of its 79 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. 11 of Havana's 18 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
140 of its 361 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (46 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
12 of its 37 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 11%. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
12 of its 24 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (12 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
85 of its 261 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (48 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
88 of its 379 stories (23%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (10 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
36 of its 77 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Tehran accounted for 25 of Iran's 36 stories about harm, carried by 30 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (9 stories).
Also named far more than usual: earthquake in Indonesia (14 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); bird flu in UK (11 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); building collapse in India (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); train derailment in US (25 of its stories, about 5 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 21 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 10,436 stories about harm among 55,843 counted on 21 Dec.
Germany stood out: 64% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 15%. 19 in every 100 of the day's 55,843 news stories were about people being harmed, above the usual 18. People injured were reported at about three times the usual rate, most often about Germany and the US. Indonesia's news mentioned the earthquake about 4 times as often as usual. On 22 December 2023, a year earlier, the share was 18 in every 100, 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 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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