We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
40 of its 43 stories (93%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Guatemala City accounted for 31 of Guatemala's 40 stories about harm, carried by 157 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (30 stories). Volcanic eruption was named in 39 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
33 of its 53 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Hunger was named in 14 of its stories about harm, about 10 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
154 of its 384 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (83 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
52 of its 229 stories (23%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (25 stories).
26 of its 42 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (9 stories). Landslides were named in 11 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
67 of its 174 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (17 stories). Flooding was named in 18 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual, with heavy rain, cyclone and landslides. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
94 of its 373 stories (25%) were about people being harmed, usually 12%. Reports of arrests ran at about 6 times the usual rate (14 stories). Heatwave was named in 21 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with storms.
37 of its 56 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Reports of people affected ran at about 7 times the usual rate (25 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
79 of its 224 stories (35%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Athens accounted for 64 of Greece's 79 stories about harm, carried by 229 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (41 stories).
38 of its 143 stories (27%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (33 stories). Drownings were named in 17 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.
Also named far more than usual: drought in Romania (16 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); drownings in Morocco (17 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); flooding in Sri Lanka (18 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); heatwave in South Korea (21 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); landslides in Ethiopia (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 4 Aug. 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 13,687 stories about harm among 70,391 counted on 4 Aug.
Guatemala stood out: 93% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 26%. 19 in every 100 of the day's 70,391 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. In Guatemala's news, mentions of volcanic eruption ran more than ten times their usual. On 4 August 2025, a year earlier, the share was 19 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 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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