We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
13 of its 27 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Vang Vieng accounted for 12 of Laos' 13 stories about harm, carried by 65 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about 6 times the usual rate (13 stories). Poisoning was named in 12 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
107 of Sydney's 158 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (75 stories). Poisoning was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
29 of its 42 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 7 times the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (8 stories). Covid was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with malaria. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
4 of Lilongwe's 7 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (8 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
Tehran accounted for 101 of Iran's 149 stories about harm, carried by 180 outlets. 66 of Tehran's 101 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
37 of its 65 stories (57%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Reports of people displaced ran at about three times the usual rate (6 stories).
48 of its 157 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (18 stories).
11 of its 31 stories (35%) were about people being harmed, usually 8%. Reports of arrests ran at about 8 times the usual rate (8 stories).
55 of its 122 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Caracas accounted for 25 of Venezuela's 55 stories about harm, carried by 35 outlets.
Also named far more than usual: drought in Kenya (14 of its stories, about three times its usual); outbreaks in Israel (14 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); hypothermia in UK (12 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); heatwave in US (25 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 10 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 13,978 stories about harm among 86,391 counted on 10 Feb.
No day had a lower share of stories about people being harmed since 5 December 2025. Laos stood out: 48% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 14%. Mentions of poisoning ran more than ten times their usual in Laos' news. of the day's 86,391 news stories, 16 in every 100 were about people being harmed, below the usual 18.
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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