Table 1 Description of each column in the database.

ID

A unique identifier for each media report. Note that the ID can be repeated when a news item includes multiple species or events.

URL

The link to the online media report. Because this was collected at the time of data mining, some URLs may not be working anymore.

Language

The language in which the media report is written.

Country_search

The country where the newspaper is published / where the search was conducted.

Newspaper

The newspaper in which the media report is published.

Type_of_newspaper

A generic description of the type of Newspaper. Levels: “Traditional newspaper” (Official newspaper in expert’s country, with both a printed and an online version), “Online newspaper” (online-only newspapers), or “Magazine” (for magazine, tabloids, etc.).

Circulation

The circulation of the Newspaper. Levels: “Regional”, “National”, “International”.

d | m | y

day, month, and year of publication of the media report.

Title

Article title (in the original language).

ID_Event

A unique ID for the human-spider encounter described in the media report, constructed by combining the Country_event, Location_event, and Year_event. An ID_Event can be repeated through the database when the same event was taken up by multiple newspapers.

Year_event

The year in which the ID_Event took place.

Location_event

The location (name of city/town/region) in which the ID_Event took place.

Country_event

The country in which the ID_Event described in the media report took place.

Continent

Continent in which the ID_Event described in the media report took place.

lon | lat

Coordinates (longitude, latitude) of the Location_event in decimal degrees (WGS84 reference system) (e.g., 7.47; 44.72). These were derived with Google Maps / Google Earth.

lon2 | lat2

Coordinates (longitude, latitude) of the Country_event in decimal degrees (WGS84 reference system) (e.g., 7.47; 44.72). These were derived with Google Maps / Google Earth.

lon3 | lat3

Coordinates (longitude, latitude) of the Country_search in decimal degrees (WGS84 reference system) (e.g., 7.47; 44.72). These were derived with Google Maps / Google Earth.

Species

The scientific name of the spider species involved in the ID_Event, as reported in the news item. If the species is not mentioned and/or impossible to infer from the text and figures, the notation “Gen sp” is used.

Genus

The genus of the spider involved in the ID_Event.

Family

The family of the spider involved in the ID_Event.

Order

The order “Araneae” (to which all spiders belong) is used unless the media report incorrectly assigned other organisms as spiders (e.g., harvestmen, camel spiders, insects).

Bite

Does the human-spider encounter result in a bite? 1 = yes; 0 = no.

Death

Does the human-spider encounter result in a deadly bite? 1 = yes; 0 = no.

Figure_species

Does the media report contain a photograph (or video content) of a spider species? 1 = yes; 0 = no.

Figure_bite

Does the media report contain a photograph (or video content) of a spider bite? 1 = yes; 0 = no.

Expert_arachnologist

Was an expert consulted/capable of identifying the spider involved in the ID_Event (arachnologist, entomologist, taxonomist, etc.)? 1 = yes; 0 = no.

Expert_doctor

Was a medical doctor or other similar medical professional consulted in the media report? 1 = yes; 0 = no.

Expert_others

Was any other ‘expert’ consulted in the news (e.g., a pest controller)? 1 = yes; 0 = no.

Sensationalism

Is the media report sensationalistic/overstated? 1 = yes; 0 = no.

Taxonomic_error

Does the article contain any taxonomic error? 1 = yes; 0 = no.

Venom_error

Does the article contain any error related to spider venom? 1 = yes; 0 = no.

Anatomy_error

Does the article contain any error related to the anatomy of spiders? 1 = yes; 0 = no.

Photo_error

Does the article contain any error in the photographs (or video content)? 1 = yes; 0 = no. Note that we used ‘NA’ if there was no photo present.

Quality_check

Was the article re-assessed (see section “Data accuracy and curation”)? Levels: “yes”, “yes*” (when a new entry was added as a result of the re-assessment), and “no”.

Contributor

The researcher(s) who collected the data associated with the specific media report.

Notes

Any other information related to the media report.