What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
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The day's news pointed at a disaster in the Congo River, protests in Kathmandu (Nepal) and people killed in the Comoros. Qatar's coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's. Everywhere we counted, the words were about as usual.
Disasters & accidents
22 of its 24 stories (92%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. the Congo River accounted for 15 of Congo's 22 stories about harm, carried by 25 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (18 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
Protests & strikes
Kathmandu accounted for 110 of Nepal's 136 stories about harm, carried by 201 outlets. 101 of Kathmandu's 110 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Health
6 of its 7 stories (86%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (6 stories).
Conflict & violence
Doha accounted for 57 of Qatar's 58 stories about harm, carried by 75 outlets. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
6 more places the news pointed at
Disasters & accidents
52 of its 220 stories (24%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (8 stories).
Disasters & accidents
Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (7 stories). Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Rights & justice
Reports of people displaced ran at about 6 times the usual rate (36 stories). Outbreaks were named in 15 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.
Protests & strikes
12 of Melbourne's 22 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
Protests & strikes
119 of London's 209 stories were about protests or strikes. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Rights & justice
Kabul accounted for 43 of Afghanistan's 64 stories about harm, carried by 76 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (14 stories).
Also named far more than usual:
earthquake in Japan (19 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); outbreaks in Canada (16 of its stories, about three times its usual); outbreaks in India (15 of its stories, about three times its usual); tsunami in US (31 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).
Read the day's briefing
In Japan's news, mentions of the earthquake ran about 4 times their usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 19 in every 100 of the day's 49,402 stories, as usual. Congo's news was 92% about people being harmed, against a usual 54%. A year earlier, on 13 September 2024, 18 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 19 today.
19 in every 100 of the day's 49,402 news stories were about people being harmed (usually 19). Congo: 22 of its 24 stories (92%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. Nepal: Kathmandu accounted for 110 of Nepal's 136 stories about harm, carried by 201 outlets. Comoros: 6 of its 7 stories (86%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Qatar: Doha accounted for 57 of Qatar's 58 stories about harm, carried by 75 outlets. Mentions of the earthquake ran about 4 times their usual in Japan's news. Mentions of outbreaks ran about three times their usual in Canada's news. Across the world, the words of the day's news were about as usual. A year earlier, on 13 September 2024, 18 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 19 today. Written by code from the day's numbers.
Zimbabwe: about as warm as its own usual or less Zambia: about as warm as its own usual or less Yemen: about as warm as its own usual or less Vietnam: about as warm as its own usual or less Venezuela: about as warm as its own usual or less Vanuatu: too little coverage to read Uzbekistan: too little coverage to read Uruguay: too little coverage to read Micronesia: too little coverage to read U.S. Virgin Islands: about as warm as its own usual or less Guam: about as warm as its own usual or less Puerto Rico: about as warm as its own usual or less United States: about as warm as its own usual or less South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands: too little coverage to read Falkland Islands: too little coverage to read Cayman Islands: about as warm as its own usual or less Isle of Man: too little coverage to read United Kingdom: about as warm as its own usual or less United Arab Emirates: about as warm as its own usual or less Ukraine: about as warm as its own usual or less Uganda: about as warm as its own usual or less Turkmenistan: too little coverage to read Turkey: about as warm as its own usual or less Tunisia: too little coverage to read Trinidad & Tobago: about as warm as its own usual or less Tonga: too little coverage to read Togo: about as warm as its own usual or less Timor-Leste: too little coverage to read Thailand: about as warm as its own usual or less Tanzania: about as warm as its own usual or less Tajikistan: too little coverage to read Taiwan: about as warm as its own usual or less Syria: about as warm as its own usual or less Switzerland: about as warm as its own usual or less Sweden: about as warm as its own usual or less Eswatini: too little coverage to read Suriname: too little coverage to read South Sudan: about as warm as its own usual or less Spain: too little coverage to read South Korea: about as warm as its own usual or less South Africa: about as warm as its own usual or less Somalia: about as warm as its own usual or less Somaliland: too little coverage to read Solomon Islands: too little coverage to read Slovakia: too little coverage to read Slovenia: about as warm as its own usual or less Singapore: about as warm as its own usual or less Sierra Leone: too little coverage to read Seychelles: too little coverage to read Serbia: too little coverage to read Senegal: about as warm as its own usual or less Saudi Arabia: about as warm as its own usual or less São Tomé: too little coverage to read Samoa: too little coverage to read St Vincent: too little coverage to read St. Lucia: too little coverage to read Rwanda: about as warm as its own usual or less Russia: about as warm as its own usual or less Romania: about as warm as its own usual or less Qatar: about as warm as its own usual or less Poland: about as warm as its own usual or less Philippines: about as warm as its own usual or less Peru: about as warm as its own usual or less Paraguay: too little coverage to read Papua New Guinea: too little coverage to read Panama: about as warm as its own usual or less Palau: too little coverage to read Oman: about as warm as its own usual or less Norway: about as warm as its own usual or less North Korea: about as warm as its own usual or less Nigeria: about as warm as its own usual or less Niger: too little coverage to read Nicaragua: about as warm as its own usual or less New Zealand: too little coverage to read Niue: too little coverage to read Netherlands: about as warm as its own usual or less Curaçao: too little coverage to read Nepal: about as warm as its own usual or less Namibia: about as warm as its own usual or less Mozambique: too little coverage to read Morocco: about as warm as its own usual or less Western Sahara: too little coverage to read Montenegro: too little coverage to read Mongolia: too little coverage to read Moldova: about as warm as its own usual or less Mexico: about as warm as its own usual or less Mauritius: too little coverage to read Mauritania: too little coverage to read Malta: about as warm as its own usual or less Mali: too little coverage to read Malaysia: about as warm as its own usual or less Malawi: about as warm as its own usual or less Madagascar: too little coverage to read North Macedonia: too little coverage to read Luxembourg: about as warm as its own usual or less Lithuania: about as warm as its own usual or less Libya: about as warm as its own usual or less Liberia: about as warm as its own usual or less Lesotho: too little coverage to read Lebanon: about as warm as its own usual or less Latvia: too little coverage to read Laos: too little coverage to read Kyrgyzstan: about as warm as its own usual or less Kuwait: about as warm as its own usual or less Kosovo: too little coverage to read Kiribati: too little coverage to read Kenya: about as warm as its own usual or less Kazakhstan: too little coverage to read Jordan: about as warm as its own usual or less Japan: too little coverage to read Jamaica: about as warm as its own usual or less Italy: about as warm as its own usual or less Israel: about as warm as its own usual or less Palestine: about as warm as its own usual or less Ireland: about as warm as its own usual or less Iraq: about as warm as its own usual or less Iran: about as warm as its own usual or less Indonesia: about as warm as its own usual or less Iceland: about as warm as its own usual or less Hungary: about as warm as its own usual or less Honduras: too little coverage to read Haiti: about as warm as its own usual or less Guyana: about as warm as its own usual or less Guinea-Bissau: too little coverage to read Guinea: about as warm as its own usual or less Guatemala: about as warm as its own usual or less Grenada: about as warm as its own usual or less Greece: about as warm as its own usual or less Ghana: about as warm as its own usual or less Germany: about as warm as its own usual or less Georgia: about as warm as its own usual or less Gambia: about as warm as its own usual or less Gabon: too little coverage to read France: about as warm as its own usual or less St Pierre & Miquelon: too little coverage to read French Polynesia: too little coverage to read New Caledonia: too little coverage to read French Southern Territories: too little coverage to read Åland Islands: too little coverage to read Finland: about as warm as its own usual or less Fiji: about as warm as its own usual or less Ethiopia: about as warm as its own usual or less Estonia: too little coverage to read Eritrea: too little coverage to read Equatorial Guinea: too little coverage to read El Salvador: about as warm as its own usual or less Egypt: about as warm as its own usual or less Ecuador: about as warm as its own usual or less Dominican Republic: too little coverage to read Dominica: too little coverage to read Djibouti: too little coverage to read Greenland: about as warm as its own usual or less Faroe Islands: too little coverage to read Denmark: too little coverage to read Czech Republic: too little coverage to read N. Cyprus: too little coverage to read Cyprus: about as warm as its own usual or less Cuba: about as warm as its own usual or less Croatia: about as warm as its own usual or less Côte d'Ivoire: too little coverage to read DR Congo: about as warm as its own usual or less Congo: about as warm as its own usual or less Comoros: about as warm as its own usual or less Colombia: too little coverage to read China: about as warm as its own usual or less Hong Kong: about as warm as its own usual or less Chile: about as warm as its own usual or less Chad: about as warm as its own usual or less Central African Republic: too little coverage to read Cape Verde: too little coverage to read Canada: about as warm as its own usual or less Cameroon: too little coverage to read Cambodia: about as warm as its own usual or less Myanmar: about as warm as its own usual or less Burundi: too little coverage to read Burkina Faso: about as warm as its own usual or less Bulgaria: about as warm as its own usual or less Brunei: about as warm as its own usual or less Brazil: about as warm as its own usual or less Botswana: too little coverage to read Bosnia and Herzegovina: too little coverage to read Bolivia: too little coverage to read Bhutan: too little coverage to read Benin: too little coverage to read Belize: about as warm as its own usual or less Belgium: about as warm as its own usual or less Belarus: about as warm as its own usual or less Barbados: too little coverage to read Bangladesh: about as warm as its own usual or less Bahrain: about as warm as its own usual or less Bahamas: too little coverage to read Azerbaijan: about as warm as its own usual or less Austria: about as warm as its own usual or less Australia: about as warm as its own usual or less Heard & McDonald Islands: too little coverage to read Armenia: about as warm as its own usual or less Argentina: about as warm as its own usual or less Antigua & Barbuda: about as warm as its own usual or less Angola: about as warm as its own usual or less Andorra: too little coverage to read Algeria: about as warm as its own usual or less Albania: about as warm as its own usual or less Afghanistan: about as warm as its own usual or less Aksai Chin: about as warm as its own usual or less Gaza: about as warm as its own usual or less West Bank: about as warm as its own usual or less Western Sahara (Moroccan-controlled): too little coverage to read Western Sahara (Free Zone): too little coverage to read Crimea: about as warm as its own usual or less East Jerusalem: about as warm as its own usual or less Vatican City: too little coverage to read Marshall Islands: about as warm as its own usual or less Northern Mariana Islands: too little coverage to read American Samoa: too little coverage to read Chagos Islands: too little coverage to read St. Helena: too little coverage to read Pitcairn: too little coverage to read Anguilla: too little coverage to read Bermuda: about as warm as its own usual or less British Virgin Islands: too little coverage to read Turks & Caicos Islands: too little coverage to read Montserrat: too little coverage to read Jersey: about as warm as its own usual or less Guernsey: too little coverage to read San Marino: too little coverage to read St Kitts & Nevis: too little coverage to read Cook Islands: too little coverage to read Aruba: too little coverage to read Nauru: too little coverage to read Monaco: about as warm as its own usual or less Maldives: too little coverage to read Liechtenstein: too little coverage to read Wallis & Futuna: too little coverage to read St. Martin: too little coverage to read St. Barthélemy: too little coverage to read Macao: too little coverage to read Norfolk Island: too little coverage to read Sint Maarten: too little coverage to read Christmas Island: about as warm as its own usual or less Gibraltar: too little coverage to read Mayotte: too little coverage to read Sudan: warmth about its own usual Sri Lanka: warmth about its own usual Portugal: warmth about its own usual Pakistan: warmth about its own usual India: warmth about its own usual Costa Rica: warmth about its own usual Kashmir: warmth about its own usual Kashmir: warmth about its own usual Kashmir: warmth about its own usual Kashmir: warmth about its own usual Multan, Pakistan -- disasters & accidents: 11 stories, carried by 10 outlets Brighton, UK -- health: 12 stories, carried by 134 outlets Vancouver, Canada -- health: 18 stories, carried by 47 outlets South Waziristan, Pakistan -- conflict & violence: 18 stories, carried by 32 outlets Maine, US -- health: 12 stories, carried by 17 outlets Arizona, US -- conflict & violence: 16 stories, carried by 16 outlets Imphal, India -- displacement: 22 stories, carried by 17 outlets Glasgow, UK -- health: 14 stories, carried by 10 outlets
Each country shaded by the warmth in its news — care, help, gratitude — against its own last 30 days. Stronger colour: further above. Dots: the events whose coverage carried the most warmth, even where the event itself began as harm. Warm words, not good outcomes. Click a country or a dot.
The day in three measures
harsh warm
The words in the day's stories were about as usual .
Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.
● Angera little more than usual
● Warmthabout as usual
● Griefa little more than usual
● Fearabout as usual
From the words reporters used across the whole day, never one story. Fear is the weakest of the four measures. How?
The weekly briefing · 19 Oct – 25 Oct
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How to read these numbers →
These are counts of stories, not counts of suffering. Most of what happens to people is never reported at all.