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- Our World in Data
- US media death coverage
US media death coverage
Our World in Data's stacked bar chart drew 112.7K views on X: 3.9x its typical post and #19 of 139 Our World in Data charts we track by views. Read Oct 10, 2026.
Does the news reflect what we die from?
Why it spread
It spread because the post paired a high self labelling stacked bar about media coverage versus actual causes of death with a question in the text, and it reached 112,662 views, 599 likes, 186 reposts, 25 quotes, and 217 saves, with a quote rate in the top quarter and source reach in the top quarter.
What worked
- The chart type is a stacked bar, which made the mismatch between media coverage and actual causes of death easy to compare at a glance.
- The post text opens with a direct question, 'Does the news reflect what we die from?', and supports it with a survey fact that more than 80% of people follow the news to know what is going on, which gives the chart a clear public interest hook.
- The design has high self labelling talents and a visible source line, and the account is branded, which helped the chart travel as a trustworthy data journalism piece.
What to borrow
We could use the same form by turning one of our own datasets into a stacked bar that contrasts what people see or hear with what the data actually shows, then open the post with a plain question and keep the source line visible.
Careful
Do not over-read the quote rate or source reach as proof that the chart design alone caused the spread, since the post also had an independent author and many quotes, and do not copy the exact framing without checking whether our own data supports a similar comparison.
Written by our analysis model from the measured numbers above, not by Our World in Data.
Make it yours
Your numbers, in this stacked bar chart.
Starts from the real numbers of "What Americans die from and the causes of death the US media reports on" by Our World in Data. Replace every number with yours before you post. Make one like this, step by step
Free pictures carry a small "Made with ViralChart" line. That line is how other people find us.
API · Max
Use this chart via API
On the Max plan you can pull this chart's numbers with the provenance of each one, as JSON or CSV, with its redraw spec, or call it from an agent over MCP. Chart id f3654b6b3c04.
| Path | Returns | Plan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GET | /api/v1/charts/f3654b6b3c04 | Title, publisher, date, form, point count; with a Max key, the data link | Open |
| GET | /api/v1/charts/f3654b6b3c04/data | Every point with its provenance and confidence, plus the redraw spec. Add ?format=csv for CSV | Max |
| GET | /api/v1/charts/f3654b6b3c04/render?view=1 | The draw-only view this page uses | Open |
| POST | /mcp | Tool get_chart_data with this id, for Claude, Cursor and other agents | Max |
curl -s https://viral-chart.com/api/v1/charts/f3654b6b3c04/data \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $VIRALCHART_KEY"claude mcp add --transport http viralchart https://viral-chart.com/mcp \
--header "Authorization: Bearer $VIRALCHART_KEY"60 requests a minute per key; over that you get 429 with Retry-After. Up to 5 keys per account, made on your account page and shown once. Without Max, the data route answers 402 with a link to the plans. The numbers describe a chart its publisher owns, and every file carries a license note.
More from Our World in Data
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Other giants using a stacked bar chart
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Questions people ask
How far did Our World in Data's "US media death coverage" chart travel?
112,662 views, 599 likes, 186 reposts and 217 saves on X, read Oct 10, 2026. A normal post from @OurWorldInData gets about 28.6K views.
What kind of chart is it?
A stacked bar chart. Media coverage of causes of death differs from actual causes.
Can I use Our World in Data's chart?
Use the format, not the picture. The chart, logo and design belong to Our World in Data. ViralChart redraws the chart type with your numbers and words, and credits the original publisher.