We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
101 of its 146 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 61%. Gaza accounted for 79 of Palestine's 101 stories about harm, carried by 76 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about 5 times the usual rate (17 stories). Hunger was named in 13 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
992 of its 2,901 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (437 stories). Train derailment was named in 27 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with earthquake and polio. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
31 of its 75 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Colombo accounted for 20 of Sri Lanka's 31 stories about harm, carried by 22 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about 7 times the usual rate (10 stories).
Reports of people displaced ran at about 4 times the usual rate (7 stories). Flu was named in 14 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual, with bird flu. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
145 of its 383 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (69 stories). Poisoning was named in 12 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with food poisoning. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
31 of its 112 stories (28%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (15 stories). Accidents were named in 12 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
Tehran accounted for 35 of Iran's 65 stories about harm, carried by 36 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at about three times the usual rate (7 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
110 of its 303 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
5 of its 13 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
9 of Istanbul's 14 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Also named far more than usual: accidents in Egypt (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); poisoning in South Africa (12 of its stories, about three times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 13 Oct. 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 9,269 stories about harm among 49,370 counted on 13 Oct.
The news turned to Palestine for the second day running. 19 in every 100 of the day's 49,370 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. A year earlier, on 14 October 2023, 21 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 19 today. Palestine stood out: 69% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 61%. This week the news turned most often to Palestine, on 3 of 7 days; help rose on 2 of them.
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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