On February 21, 2009 Bob Herbert published a column in the New York Times calling the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo “The Invisible War.” After a decade of bloodshed, millions killed and displaced, and an active UN peacekeeping force, why is Africa’s World War so invisible? He actually doesn’t speculate. Perhaps Mr. Herbert should inquire at the editorial desk. Using the NY Times Article Search API I ran a query by year on the term “Democratic Republic of Congo.” The Times averaged 13.5 stories per year on DR Congo from 1998 through 2008. On the face of it, one story per month seems a nice steady focus. But by comparison, the Times published an average 151.6 stories on Darfur per year during the same period — even though the war in Darfur only started in 2003. In January 2008, the International Rescue Committee published a study reporting the war in DR Congo had claimed 5.4 million lives. In March 2008, the UN estimated the number of deaths in Darfur at 500,000. The Invisible War — Social Design Notes Click for high-res photo

On February 21, 2009 Bob Herbert published a column in the New York Times calling the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo “The Invisible War.” After a decade of bloodshed, millions killed and displaced, and an active UN peacekeeping force, why is Africa’s World War so invisible? He actually doesn’t speculate.

Perhaps Mr. Herbert should inquire at the editorial desk. Using the NY Times Article Search API I ran a query by year on the term “Democratic Republic of Congo.” The Times averaged 13.5 stories per year on DR Congo from 1998 through 2008. On the face of it, one story per month seems a nice steady focus. But by comparison, the Times published an average 151.6 stories on Darfur per year during the same period — even though the war in Darfur only started in 2003. In January 2008, the International Rescue Committee published a study reporting the war in DR Congo had claimed 5.4 million lives. In March 2008, the UN estimated the number of deaths in Darfur at 500,000.

The Invisible War — Social Design Notes

Notes

  1. anickdote reblogged this from fixator and added:
    i still pray for darfur every night while i know nothing about what’s going on in dr congo.
  2. karlis reblogged this from nickdouglas
  3. shanereiser reblogged this from nickdouglas
  4. mollybierman reblogged this from nickdouglas
  5. sampurtill reblogged this from nickdouglas and added:
    On February 21, 2009 Bob Herbert published a column in the New York Times calling the war in the Democratic Republic of...
  6. vobios reblogged this from seoulbrother and added:
    “So why does Darfur get so much more coverage than DR Congo? Do...Arab Muslim bad guys in...
  7. fixator reblogged this from nickdouglas
  8. tjpytheas reblogged this from nickdouglas and added:
    Finally, the bar graph. Glad it wasn’t a pie chart.
  9. nickdouglas reblogged this from seoulbrother
  10. maxistentialist reblogged this from seoulbrother and added:
    The Invisible War — Social Design Note
  11. seoulbrother reblogged this from tiffehr and added:
    In certain academic circles the term is “Oh SHNAP!”
  12. tiffehr posted this