We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
75 of its 257 stories (29%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Bangkok accounted for 65 of Thailand's 75 stories about harm, carried by 157 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (37 stories). Building collapse was named in 22 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual.
19 of its 41 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Logone accounted for 13 of Chad's 19 stories about harm, carried by 16 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (14 stories).
24 of its 97 stories (25%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (8 stories). Covid was named in 15 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual.
10 of its 16 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. Libreville accounted for 10 of Gabon's 10 stories about harm, carried by 13 outlets.
Reports of refugees ran at about 6 times the usual rate (14 stories). Earthquake was named in 15 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with dengue. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
15 of its 35 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (5 stories).
29 of its 67 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Polio was named in 10 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
29 of its 47 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Tripoli accounted for 25 of Libya's 29 stories about harm, carried by 20 outlets.
526 of its 784 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 60%. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
43 of its 97 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: outbreaks in Brazil (19 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); polio in Papua New Guinea (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); storms in Sudan (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); bird flu in Canada (13 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); earthquake in India (15 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 16 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 16,092 stories about harm among 91,331 counted on 16 May.
In Hong Kong's news, mentions of Covid ran about 6 times their usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 18 in every 100 of the day's 91,331 stories, as usual. Thailand's news was 29% about people being harmed, against a usual 23%. A year earlier, on 16 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.
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 softer 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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