We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
850 of its 1,069 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 64%. Jerusalem accounted for 190 of Israel's 850 stories about harm, carried by 569 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at about 4 times the usual rate (580 stories). Earthquake was named in 11 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
233 of its 290 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 69%. Gaza accounted for 138 of Palestine's 233 stories about harm, carried by 277 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at about twice the usual rate (54 stories). Polio was named in 72 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Philippine accounted for 130 of the Philippines' 197 stories about harm, carried by 53 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (7 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (25 stories). Tropical storm was named in 31 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual, with landslides and flooding. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
106 of its 176 stories (60%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. Kabul accounted for 45 of Afghanistan's 106 stories about harm, carried by 54 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
87 of its 212 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Reports of evacuations ran at about twice the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
103 of its 315 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (45 stories). Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Reports of abductions ran at about three times the usual rate (10 stories). Volcanic eruption was named in 40 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with storms. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Reports of abductions ran at about twice the usual rate (6 stories). Gas explosion was named in 12 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.
Dhaka accounted for 50 of Bangladesh's 117 stories about harm, carried by 42 outlets. 33 of Dhaka's 50 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people displaced ran at about 4 times the usual rate (7 stories).
Also named far more than usual: helicopter crash in Iran (24 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); volcanic eruption in Russia (40 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flooding in Australia (36 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); road crashes in France (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); gas explosion in UK (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 1 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 10,262 stories about harm among 51,469 counted on 1 Sep.
Reports of abductions ran at about 4 times the usual rate, most often about Israel and the US. 20 in every 100 of the day's 51,469 news stories were about people being harmed, above the usual 19. On the side of help, reports of people freed or reunited ran at about three times the usual rate. Palestine's news mentioned the polio about three times as often as usual. A year earlier, on 2 September 2023, 19 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 20 today. This week the news turned most often to Palestine, on 4 of 7 days; help rose on 2 of them. Over August, 19 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 19 in August 2023.
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?
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.