We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
81 of its 131 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Caracas accounted for 26 of Venezuela's 81 stories about harm, carried by 32 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (70 stories). Poisoning was named in 14 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
116 of its 313 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Doha accounted for 108 of Qatar's 116 stories about harm, carried by 118 outlets. Hunger was named in 14 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Kathmandu accounted for 87 of Nepal's 128 stories about harm, carried by 204 outlets. 73 of Kathmandu's 87 stories were about protests or strikes. Earthquake was named in 13 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
36 of its 110 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Vienna accounted for 31 of Austria's 36 stories about harm, carried by 30 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (7 stories).
88 of its 275 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (10 stories). Landslides were named in 35 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with flooding and heavy rain.
30 of its 121 stories (25%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Reports of arrests ran at about 8 times the usual rate (7 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
8 of its 14 stories (57%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. 3 of Maseru's 4 stories were about protests or strikes.
13 of its 45 stories (29%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (8 stories).
34 of its 107 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (6 stories).
32 of its 125 stories (26%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Reports of arrests ran at about 9 times the usual rate (16 stories).
Also named far more than usual: landslides in Malaysia (35 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); covid in China (43 of its stories, about three times its usual); illness in Mexico (13 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); heatwave in Australia (44 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); train derailment in Russia (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 15 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 14,088 stories about harm among 80,627 counted on 15 Sep.
It was the lowest share of stories about people being harmed since 15 May 2025. of the day's 80,627 news stories, 17 in every 100 were about people being harmed, below the usual 19. the news turned to Venezuela for the second day running. Venezuela's news was 62% about people being harmed, against a usual 43%. On 15 September 2024, a year earlier, the share was 18 in every 100, against 17 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 much softer 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?
Unlock a year of trends, free. Follow up to 5 countries, with a bell when their news changes, and 👍 vote for Pro — ten years of the archive, any period, daily alerts.
Create a free accountSign in · a username, an email and a password.