Why The Deadliest Headlines Cover The Safest Things

Added: 2026-04-28

The news media disproportionately covers rare, dramatic events like plane crashes (1 in 11,000 trips) while ignoring common dangers like car accidents (1 in 100 trips), because our brains measure danger by how easily stories come to mind—more coverage creates more vivid memories, making rare events feel more likely even when they are statistically less dangerous. This 'Availability Cascade' means the most-covered dangers are almost always the least likely ones, as real threats are too common and boring to trend.