We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
111 of its 188 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 11%. Doha accounted for 110 of Qatar's 111 stories about harm, carried by 186 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (102 stories). Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
105 of its 154 stories (68%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Wabag accounted for 48 of Papua New Guinea's 105 stories about harm, carried by 246 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (10 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
253 of its 418 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Kharkiv accounted for 163 of Ukraine's 253 stories about harm, carried by 181 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at about 6 times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Reports of evacuations ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories). Landslides were named in 26 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
27 of its 43 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (24 stories). Earthquake was named in 22 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual, with tsunami and wildfires.
25 of its 42 stories (60%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (13 stories). Flooding was named in 16 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with heavy rain.
134 of its 253 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (39 stories). Cyclone was named in 110 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with storm surge, landslides and flooding.
218 of its 598 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (22 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
1,009 of its 3,453 stories (29%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 10 times the usual rate (27 stories). Cyclone was named in 145 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with heatstroke and storm surge.
17 of its 19 stories (89%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Earthquake was named in 16 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with tsunami.
Also named far more than usual: cyclone in Bangladesh (110 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); covid in South Korea (35 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); earthquake in Chile (22 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); earthquake in Vanuatu (16 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); flooding in Armenia (16 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 26 May. 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 10,342 stories about harm among 52,036 counted on 26 May.
It was the highest share of stories about people being harmed since 23 March 2024. of the day's 52,036 news stories, 20 in every 100 were about people being harmed, above the usual 18. Qatar stood out: 59% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 11%. Evacuations were reported at about twice the usual rate, most often about the US and Bangladesh. A year earlier, on 27 May 2023, 18 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 20 today. This week the news turned most often to Haiti, on 3 of 7 days.
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 harsher 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?
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