We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
180 of its 542 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Reports of people injured ran at about 6 times the usual rate (17 stories). Road crashes were named in 13 of its stories about harm, about 10 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
32 of its 98 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (14 stories). Tuberculosis was named in 12 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.
73 of its 110 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (10 stories). Earthquake was named in 64 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with tsunami.
19 of its 86 stories (22%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (11 stories).
129 of its 192 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 51%. Damascus accounted for 107 of Syria's 129 stories about harm, carried by 301 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about 6 times the usual rate (14 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
50 of its 118 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Ushuaia accounted for 43 of Argentina's 50 stories about harm, carried by 52 outlets. Earthquake was named in 45 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with tsunami.
35 of its 50 stories (70%) were about people being harmed, usually 53%. Port-au-Prince accounted for 19 of Haiti's 35 stories about harm, carried by 37 outlets. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
29 of its 62 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Reports of refugees ran at about 4 times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Jerusalem accounted for 130 of Israel's 412 stories about harm, carried by 196 outlets. Wildfires were named in 31 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with power cuts and storms. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Reports of people falling ill ran at about 8 times the usual rate (10 stories). Storms were named in 87 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual, with dust storm and cyclone. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: earthquake in Argentina (45 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); illness in Thailand (15 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); covid in Spain (10 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); storms in India (87 of its stories, about 9 times its usual); wildfires in Israel (31 of its stories, about 5 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 2 May. 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 16,164 stories about harm among 89,912 counted on 2 May.
Chile's news mentioned the earthquake about 4 times as often as usual. 18 in every 100 of the day's 89,912 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. In Germany, 33% of the news was about people being harmed, where 17% is usual. A year earlier, on 2 May 2024, 18 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, the same as today.
Written by code from the day's numbers.
Countries with at least 50 stories that day.
Stories, not people.
Each country shaded by how much of its news was about people being harmed, against the world's 18 in 100 that day. Stronger colour: further above. A country with few stories is drawn closer to the world's. Click a country.
Stories, not people. Countries with at least 50 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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