We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
11 of its 16 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Vang Vieng accounted for 11 of Laos' 11 stories about harm, carried by 11 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (10 stories). Poisoning was named in 11 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
52 of its 65 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 68%. Khartoum accounted for 37 of Sudan's 52 stories about harm, carried by 49 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (34 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
86 of its 208 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Earthquake was named in 58 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with tsunami and volcanic eruption. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
171 of its 454 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Polio was named in 18 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
53 of its 62 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 48%. Puntland accounted for 34 of Somalia's 53 stories about harm, carried by 83 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
82 of its 188 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of people displaced ran at about 10 times the usual rate (15 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
115 of its 291 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (14 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
51 of its 77 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. Damascus accounted for 21 of Syria's 51 stories about harm, carried by 50 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (19 stories).
261 of its 1,040 stories (25%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Reports of evacuations ran at about twice the usual rate (6 stories). Flooding was named in 59 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual, with heavy rain and landslides.
10 of its 15 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. 10 of Tbilisi's 10 stories were about protests or strikes.
Also named far more than usual: flooding in Malaysia (21 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); outbreaks in Uganda (14 of its stories, about three times its usual); flooding in Australia (59 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); covid in South Korea (13 of its stories, about 9 times its usual); covid in New Zealand (15 of its stories, about three times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 2 Feb. 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 8,860 stories about harm among 48,391 counted on 2 Feb.
It was the lowest share of stories about people being harmed since 24 December 2024. of the day's 48,391 news stories, 18 in every 100 were about people being harmed, below the usual 20. Laos stood out: 69% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 23%. Mentions of the earthquake ran more than ten times their usual in Greece's news. A year earlier, on 3 February 2024, 19 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 18 today. This week the news turned most often to Rwanda, on 5 of 7 days; help rose on 3 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 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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