We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
98 of its 456 stories (21%) were about people being harmed, usually 12%. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (15 stories). Food poisoning was named in 19 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual, with outbreaks and poisoning. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
40 of its 130 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. 12 of Mullaitivu's 13 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (23 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
138 of its 361 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (45 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
48 of its 64 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 57%. Port-au-Prince accounted for 25 of Haiti's 48 stories about harm, carried by 38 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (19 stories).
98 of its 205 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (41 stories). Typhoon was named in 67 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with heavy rain, tropical storm and power cuts.
136 of its 301 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 7 times the usual rate (59 stories). Drought was named in 13 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.
31 of its 62 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Bogota accounted for 18 of Colombia's 31 stories about harm, carried by 25 outlets. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
126 of its 471 stories (27%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 7 times the usual rate (34 stories). Wildfires were named in 58 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with heatwave and storms.
33 of its 50 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Tropical storm was named in 13 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual.
13 of its 20 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: typhoon in Taiwan (67 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); wildfires in Spain (58 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); flooding in Chile (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); tropical storm in Puerto Rico (13 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); drought in Greece (13 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 13 Aug. 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 17,041 stories about harm among 91,536 counted on 13 Aug.
19 in every 100 of the day's 91,536 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. On 13 August 2024, 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 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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