We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
76 of its 90 stories (84%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Baalbek accounted for 43 of Lebanon's 76 stories about harm, carried by 207 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about 9 times the usual rate (19 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
36 of its 64 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of people killed ran at about 6 times the usual rate (27 stories). Avalanche was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
Tehran accounted for 111 of Iran's 159 stories about harm, carried by 223 outlets. 57 of Tehran's 111 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
52 of its 198 stories (26%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (9 stories). Flooding was named in 12 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual.
33 of its 69 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Caracas accounted for 25 of Venezuela's 33 stories about harm, carried by 67 outlets. 14 of Caracas' 25 stories were about protests or strikes.
Kyiv accounted for 51 of Ukraine's 90 stories about harm, carried by 93 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (7 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
19 of Paris' 30 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (38 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
10 of its 15 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. 7 of Tirana's 8 stories were about protests or strikes.
45 of its 100 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
16 of its 73 stories (22%) were about people being harmed, usually 12%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 9 times the usual rate (6 stories).
Also named far more than usual: heavy rain in Philippines (12 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); poisoning in UK (23 of its stories, about three times its usual); avalanche in US (80 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); diphtheria in India (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 21 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 8,821 stories about harm among 49,901 counted on 21 Feb.
Lebanon's news was 84% about people being harmed, against a usual 42%. of the day's 49,901 news stories, 18 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. A year earlier, on 21 February 2025, 18 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, 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 much 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?
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.