We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
170 of its 208 stories (82%) were about people being harmed, usually 63%. Kabul accounted for 153 of Afghanistan's 170 stories about harm, carried by 171 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about 4 times the usual rate (16 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
27 of its 92 stories (29%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories).
Reports of evacuations ran at about 4 times the usual rate (10 stories). Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Havana accounted for 64 of Cuba's 104 stories about harm, carried by 79 outlets. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
385 of its 780 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Tel Aviv accounted for 190 of Israel's 385 stories about harm, carried by 200 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about three times the usual rate (46 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
Tehran accounted for 507 of Iran's 1,441 stories about harm, carried by 549 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about three times the usual rate (115 stories). Accidents were named in 57 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
155 of its 202 stories (77%) were about people being harmed, usually 63%. Beirut accounted for 125 of Lebanon's 155 stories about harm, carried by 196 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
20 of its 35 stories (57%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (6 stories). Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
24 of its 88 stories (27%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (10 stories).
37 of its 85 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: meningitis in UK (184 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); outbreaks in France (10 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); cyclone in Australia (29 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); accidents in Iran (57 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); heatwave in US (58 of its stories, about 6 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 18 Mar. 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 15,357 stories about harm among 84,278 counted on 18 Mar.
In the UK's news, mentions of meningitis ran more than ten times their usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 18 in every 100 of the day's 84,278 stories, as usual. It was the second day running that the news turned to Afghanistan. In Afghanistan, 82% of the news was about people being harmed, where 63% is usual. On 18 March 2025, a year earlier, the share was 18 in every 100, 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 about as 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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