We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
135 of its 333 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (67 stories). Illness was named in 40 of its stories about harm, about 10 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
92 of its 300 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. Seoul accounted for 48 of South Korea's 92 stories about harm, carried by 132 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (42 stories).
25 of its 62 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Reports of people injured ran at about 9 times the usual rate (5 stories). Meningitis was named in 10 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
14 of its 31 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 12%. 5 of Prague's 8 stories were about protests or strikes.
159 of its 324 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (57 stories). Illness was named in 13 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Tehran accounted for 303 of Iran's 713 stories about harm, carried by 591 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about three times the usual rate (92 stories). Accidents were named in 25 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
52 of its 65 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 65%. Beirut accounted for 42 of Lebanon's 52 stories about harm, carried by 76 outlets. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
38 of its 236 stories (16%) were about people being harmed, usually 8%. Reports of people injured ran at about 10 times the usual rate (14 stories). Avalanche was named in 14 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
6 of its 10 stories (60%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. 3 of Minsk's 3 stories were about protests or strikes.
Power cuts were 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.
Also named far more than usual: avalanche in Italy (14 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); cyclone in Australia (28 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); meningitis in UK (75 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); power cuts in Ukraine (10 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); illness in Israel (13 of its stories, about three times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 21 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 8,176 stories about harm among 45,457 counted on 21 Mar.
In Italy's news, mentions of the avalanche ran more than ten times their usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 18 in every 100 of the day's 45,457 stories, as usual. Reports of evacuations ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about the US and Iran. In Russia, 41% of the news was about people being harmed, where 25% is usual. A year earlier, on 21 March 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.
Each country shaded by how much of its news was about people being harmed, against the world's 18 in 100 that day. Stronger colour: further above. A country with few stories is drawn closer to the world's. Click a country.
Stories, not people. Countries with at least 50 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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