We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
278 of its 327 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 75%. Derna accounted for 251 of Libya's 278 stories about harm, carried by 463 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (24 stories). Outbreaks were named in 40 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with cholera, road crashes and hunger. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
85 of its 144 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Jammu accounted for 39 of Kashmir's 85 stories about harm, carried by 27 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about 6 times the usual rate (15 stories). Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's.
513 of its 689 stories (74%) were about people being harmed, usually 48%. Tehran accounted for 410 of Iran's 513 stories about harm, carried by 940 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (413 stories).
25 of its 66 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of people injured ran at about 6 times the usual rate (11 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
40 of its 74 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Hunger was named in 13 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
48 of its 87 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
253 of its 925 stories (27%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Reports of people injured ran at about 7 times the usual rate (133 stories). Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
296 of its 930 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of abductions ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories). Storm surge was named in 21 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (17 stories). Road crashes were named in 10 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
9 of its 21 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Reports of people killed ran at about 6 times the usual rate (9 stories).
Also named far more than usual: hunger in Ethiopia (13 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); heatwave in Australia (83 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); plane crash in Brazil (10 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); wildfires in Türkiye (15 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); earthquake in Italy (19 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 18 Sep. The big dot is this day; the shaded band is a normal day (the 30 days before it). Click a day to open it. Based on 18,394 stories about harm among 104,121 counted on 18 Sep.
On the side of help, reports of people freed or reunited ran at about one and a half times the usual rate. Stories about people being harmed made up 18 in every 100 of the day's 104,121 stories, below the usual 19. Mentions of the hunger ran about 5 times their usual in Ethiopia's news. A year earlier, on 18 September 2022, 21 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 18 today. Libya stood out: 85% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 75%.
Written by code from the day's numbers.
Countries with at least 50 stories that day.
Stories, not people.
The day's biggest events: attacks, accidents and disasters, people displaced, protests, outbreaks. Bigger dot: more stories. Ranked by the share of the day's outlets that reported it and how clearly it was about one thing, the same way for every place and year; the news data does not say who attacked whom, so both sides of a war appear where the news put them. Click a dot for its stories.
Of the stories about people being harmed, what part of life each was about. The mark is usual.
Stories that report it, not people: we count what reporters wrote, not what happened.
The words in the day's stories were much softer than usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.
From the words reporters used across the whole day, never one story. Fear is the weakest of the four measures. How?
Unlock a year of trends, free. Follow up to 5 countries, with a bell when their news changes, and 👍 vote for Pro — ten years of the archive, any period, daily alerts.
Create a free accountSign in · a username, an email and a password.