African rainmakers face violence amid climate change impacts

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover African rainmakers face violence amid climate change impacts?

Of the 18 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 72% are rated left, 11% are rated centre, 17% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.

Is African rainmakers face violence amid climate change impacts left or right?

The story itself is neither. What can be counted is who has covered it, and 72% of the 18 rated outlets on it are rated left — so far this is a story carried mostly by the left. Coverage is still arriving and that can change, which is why the figure is dated rather than fixed.

Is the coverage of African rainmakers face violence amid climate change impacts biased?

African rainmakers face violence amid climate change impacts is one event reported by 18 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.

Which side is not reporting African rainmakers face violence amid climate change impacts?

When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.

Which outlets covered African rainmakers face violence amid climate change impacts?

18 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.

Why are rainmakers in Africa facing violence?

Rainmakers are facing violence because farmers blame them for unpredictable weather patterns, such as droughts and floods, which are exacerbated by climate change. When rituals do not yield the expected results, farmers sometimes resort to assaults or killings.

What specific incidents of violence against rainmakers have been reported?

In Uganda, farmers beat a rainmaker named David Nabutsilili, breaking his femur, after receiving too much rain. In South Sudan, at least two rainmakers have been killed in recent years, one buried alive during a dry spell and another abducted and buried alive during a prolonged dry spell.

How has rainfall changed in parts of South Sudan?

A study found that the average annual number of rainy days in the Kapoeta region of South Sudan decreased significantly. It fell from 90 days in the 1980s to 46 days by the mid-2010s, indicating a substantial reduction in rainfall.