We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
958 of its 1,300 stories (74%) were about people being harmed, usually 65%. Jerusalem accounted for 360 of Israel's 958 stories about harm, carried by 438 outlets. 222 of Jerusalem's 360 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of abductions ran at about twice the usual rate (593 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
278 of its 542 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Kyiv accounted for 160 of Ukraine's 278 stories about harm, carried by 528 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (210 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
241 of its 543 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 7 times the usual rate (21 stories). Tropical storm was named in 72 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with heavy rain, landslides and typhoon. Grief in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
147 of its 213 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (113 stories).
93 of its 149 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 49%. Kabul accounted for 53 of Afghanistan's 93 stories about harm, carried by 100 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (31 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.
32 of its 54 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. the Red Sea accounted for 31 of Djibouti's 32 stories about harm, carried by 62 outlets. Accidents were named in 21 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
103 of its 114 stories (90%) were about people being harmed, usually 82%. 18 of Makala's 22 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (62 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
47 of its 102 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Ulaanbaatar accounted for 37 of Mongolia's 47 stories about harm, carried by 172 outlets. 24 of Ulaanbaatar's 37 stories were about protests or strikes.
23 of its 27 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 68%. 6 of Makala's 11 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (13 stories).
95 of Kolkata's 179 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people falling ill ran at about three times the usual rate (6 stories). Hurricane was named in 11 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
Also named far more than usual: accidents in Djibouti (21 of its stories, about 9 times its usual); covid in New Zealand (32 of its stories, about three times its usual); natural hazards in Japan (12 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); hunger in Palestine (14 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); hurricane in India (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 3 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 17,978 stories about harm among 97,075 counted on 3 Sep.
For the third day running, the news turned to Israel. Stories about people being harmed made up 19 in every 100 of the day's 97,075 stories, as usual. Help and hope: reports of people freed or reunited ran at about one and a half times the usual rate. Abductions were reported at about twice the usual rate, most often about Israel and the US. A year earlier, on 4 September 2023, 18 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 19 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 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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