We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
99 of its 261 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Philippine accounted for 46 of the Philippines' 99 stories about harm, carried by 27 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about 7 times the usual rate (16 stories). Heavy rain was named in 43 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with cyclone.
43 of its 67 stories (64%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Bangkok accounted for 33 of Thailand's 43 stories about harm, carried by 68 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
21 of its 42 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. la Espriella accounted for 14 of Colombia's 21 stories about harm, carried by 13 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories).
108 of its 399 stories (27%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Dublin accounted for 65 of Ireland's 108 stories about harm, carried by 217 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (12 stories).
146 of its 583 stories (25%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 6 times the usual rate (36 stories). Typhoon was named in 70 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with flooding, landslides and storms. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
23 of its 75 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Taipei accounted for 17 of Taiwan's 23 stories about harm, carried by 15 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 6 times the usual rate (6 stories). Typhoon was named in 16 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual.
32 of its 45 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 51%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (23 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
11 of its 15 stories (73%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
45 of its 111 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Wildfires were named in 21 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
81 of its 302 stories (27%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: typhoon in China (70 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); wildfires in Indonesia (21 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); typhoon in Taiwan (16 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); earthquake in India (11 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); helicopter crash in US (13 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 9 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 6,624 stories about harm among 32,422 counted on 9 Aug.
Of the day's 32,422 news stories, 20 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. A year earlier, on 9 August 2025, 20 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, the same as today. This week the news turned most often to Thailand, on 3 of 7 days; help rose on 1 of them.
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.