We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
311 of its 407 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Kathmandu accounted for 277 of Nepal's 311 stories about harm, carried by 444 outlets. 266 of Kathmandu's 277 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (188 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
876 of its 1,123 stories (78%) were about people being harmed, usually 64%. Jerusalem accounted for 509 of Israel's 876 stories about harm, carried by 730 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (315 stories). Hurricane was named in 45 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
162 of its 380 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Seoul accounted for 113 of South Korea's 162 stories about harm, carried by 234 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 7 times the usual rate (116 stories).
10 of its 14 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (7 stories).
152 of its 380 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Kyiv accounted for 105 of Ukraine's 152 stories about harm, carried by 184 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (14 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
104 of its 230 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. 22 of Istanbul's 42 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (23 stories).
14 of its 20 stories (70%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Reports of people killed ran at about 5 times the usual rate (8 stories). Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
15 of its 41 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (5 stories).
28 of its 63 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (7 stories).
79 of its 248 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (42 stories).
Also named far more than usual: poisoning in Australia (53 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); poisoning in France (17 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); illness in Afghanistan (12 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); polio in Italy (10 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); tropical storm in China (10 of its stories, about 6 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 8 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 14,971 stories about harm among 80,722 counted on 8 Sep.
Nepal stood out: 76% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 26%. 19 in every 100 of the day's 80,722 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. In Australia's news, mentions of poisoning ran more than ten times their usual. On 8 September 2024, a year earlier, the share was 19 in every 100, the same as 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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