We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
518 of its 695 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 61%. Jerusalem accounted for 128 of Israel's 518 stories about harm, carried by 235 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about twice the usual rate (75 stories). Polio was named in 101 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
83 of its 154 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (19 stories). Wildfires were named in 28 of its stories about harm, about 10 times usual, with storms. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
80 of its 82 stories (98%) were about people being harmed, usually 75%. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (5 stories). Covid was named in 30 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with malaria and cholera. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
1,116 of its 3,824 stories (29%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. 294 of Kolkata's 348 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of abductions ran at about 4 times the usual rate (17 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
226 of its 554 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Kursk accounted for 116 of Russia's 226 stories about harm, carried by 216 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about three times the usual rate (38 stories). Earthquake was named in 21 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with tsunami and hurricane. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
149 of its 206 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 63%. Gaza accounted for 110 of Palestine's 149 stories about harm, carried by 111 outlets. Polio was named in 48 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
44 of its 75 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 48%. Beirut accounted for 22 of Lebanon's 44 stories about harm, carried by 51 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (28 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
34 of its 67 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Caracas accounted for 23 of Venezuela's 34 stories about harm, carried by 78 outlets. 23 of Caracas' 23 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (12 stories).
109 of its 136 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Storm surge was named in 74 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with power cuts. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
39 of its 77 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (18 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: storm surge in Bermuda (74 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); polio in Palestine (48 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); flooding in Nepal (15 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); cholera in Sudan (15 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); typhoon in Japan (15 of its stories, about 6 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 17 Aug. 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 11,617 stories about harm among 58,697 counted on 17 Aug.
Reports of vaccination, a sign of help, ran at about twice the usual rate. 20 in every 100 of the day's 58,697 news stories were about people being harmed, above the usual 19. In Israel, 75% of the news was about people being harmed, where 61% is usual. A year earlier, on 18 August 2023, 19 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 20 today.
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 about as 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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