We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
150 of its 220 stories (68%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. Kabul accounted for 106 of Afghanistan's 150 stories about harm, carried by 109 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (90 stories). Illness was named in 46 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.
29 of its 66 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Lima accounted for 23 of Peru's 29 stories about harm, carried by 44 outlets. 20 of Lima's 23 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (19 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
22 of its 40 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (15 stories). Outbreaks were named in 13 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with hiv.
31 of its 64 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (16 stories).
39 of its 80 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Damascus accounted for 21 of Syria's 39 stories about harm, carried by 26 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (16 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
235 of its 523 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Islamabad accounted for 106 of Pakistan's 235 stories about harm, carried by 64 outlets. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
Antananarivo accounted for 29 of Madagascar's 51 stories about harm, carried by 128 outlets. 25 of Antananarivo's 29 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (5 stories).
11 of its 14 stories (79%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Reports of people killed ran at about 5 times the usual rate (8 stories).
146 of its 268 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (6 stories).
25 of its 77 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of arrests ran at about 6 times the usual rate (15 stories).
Also named far more than usual: earthquake in Indonesia (28 of its stories, about three times its usual); storms in Brazil (10 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); respiratory illness in US (123 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); wildfires in UK (12 of its stories, about three times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 16 Oct. 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 16,097 stories about harm among 93,779 counted on 16 Oct.
For the third day running, the news turned to Afghanistan. Stories about people being harmed made up 17 in every 100 of the day's 93,779 stories, below the usual 18. Mentions of the earthquake ran about three times their usual in Indonesia's news. In Afghanistan, 68% of the news was about people being harmed, where 47% is usual. A year earlier, on 16 October 2024, 18 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, 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 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?
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