The GDELT Project

Bronx Zoo Lion Taunting Through The Eyes Of The Media

The episode earlier this week of a woman climbing over a safety barrier at the Bronx Zoo to taunt a lion received global media attention. It briefly eclipsed the Hong Kong protests in total media attention and received at its peak almost a third as much coverage as the Paris police knife attack. It is remarkable to reflect on the fact that a woman climbing over a barrier to taunt a lion at a zoo received more attention than mass unrest in Hong Kong and almost a third as much coverage as the Paris attack.

The timeline below shows global online news coverage of " "bronx zoo" lion " at hourly resolution from 10/1 through today. The initial burst of reporting can be seen in the first spike, followed by the delay of several hours before it went viral and was repackaged by other outlets, followed by a brief spike today as the individual's identity became known and additional context became known, including a new video she posted.

Live Version.

The timeline below compares global online coverage of " "bronx zoo" lion " against "paris AND (stabbing OR knife)" against " hong kong" (protest OR protests OR protesters OR riot OR rioters OR violence OR police OR march) " over the same period at hourly resolution.

Live Version.