We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
91 of its 228 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. 7 of Hong Kong's 10 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (18 stories). Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
158 of its 258 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. Kabul accounted for 84 of Afghanistan's 158 stories about harm, carried by 190 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (104 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
26 of its 41 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. the Red Sea accounted for 26 of Djibouti's 26 stories about harm, carried by 31 outlets. Oil spill was named in 14 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
294 of its 1,326 stories (22%) were about people being harmed, usually 9%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (35 stories).
379 of its 471 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 66%. Gaza accounted for 204 of Palestine's 379 stories about harm, carried by 174 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (63 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
123 of its 189 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 50%. Vienna accounted for 114 of Austria's 123 stories about harm, carried by 329 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (84 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
22 of its 31 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Tsunami was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual.
15 of its 16 stories (94%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
71 of its 166 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's.
32 of its 137 stories (23%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (10 stories).
Also named far more than usual: heavy rain in Japan (100 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); polio in Israel (104 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); tsunami in El Salvador (10 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); oil spill in Greece (14 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); cyclone in Pakistan (18 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 29 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 18,875 stories about harm among 103,960 counted on 29 Aug.
Hong Kong stood out: 40% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 15%. 18 in every 100 of the day's 103,960 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. In Japan's news, mentions of heavy rain ran more than ten times their usual. A year earlier, on 30 August 2023, 19 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 18 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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