We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
58 of its 97 stories (60%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Beirut accounted for 41 of Lebanon's 58 stories about harm, carried by 88 outlets. 25 of Beirut's 41 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (14 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
120 of its 148 stories (81%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Villach accounted for 106 of Austria's 120 stories about harm, carried by 294 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (48 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
32 of its 38 stories (84%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (30 stories). Landslides were named in 24 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
894 of its 3,222 stories (28%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (30 stories). Drownings were named in 22 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
60 of its 227 stories (26%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. Illness was named in 39 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
41 of its 96 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. 12 of Tehran's 23 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
21 of its 42 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
The Congo River accounted for 21 of Congo's 31 stories about harm, carried by 174 outlets. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Drought was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
Reports of people falling ill ran at about twice the usual rate (11 stories). Flooding was named in 355 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with power cuts, tornadoes and heavy rain.
Also named far more than usual: illness in Italy (39 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); flooding in US (355 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); snowstorms in Canada (34 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); poisoning in Russia (17 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); drought in Pakistan (10 of its stories, about 5 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 16 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 9,232 stories about harm among 46,119 counted on 16 Feb.
The share of stories about people being harmed was the highest since 13 January 2025. 20 in every 100 of the day's 46,119 news stories were about people being harmed, above the usual 18. In Mali's news, mentions of landslides ran more than ten times their usual. the news turned to Lebanon for the third day running. A year earlier, on 17 February 2024, 18 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 20 today. This week the news turned most often to Bangladesh, on 3 of 7 days.
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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