A single named victim gets far more help than a crowd of nameless ones

Economist Thomas Schelling observed that a story about one specific, named person in danger provokes far more concern, donations and action than statistics about thousands facing the same fate — even though the larger number represents more actual suffering. He called it the identifiable victim effect. Charities and news outlets have leaned on the same instinct ever since, leading campaigns with one face and one name rather than aggregate numbers.

— Thomas Schelling, Identifiable Victim Effect — Economics and Environmental Studies, 1968