We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
169 of its 242 stories (70%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (6 stories). Earthquake was named in 145 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with power cuts. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
50 of its 88 stories (57%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (38 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
114 of its 262 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Moscow accounted for 87 of Russia's 114 stories about harm, carried by 379 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
17 of its 57 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (5 stories).
51 of its 87 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Kariba accounted for 37 of Zimbabwe's 51 stories about harm, carried by 44 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (32 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
57 of its 87 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 10%. Waimes accounted for 31 of Belgium's 57 stories about harm, carried by 208 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (30 stories).
49 of its 100 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 4 times the usual rate (17 stories). Storms were named in 23 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.
33 of its 60 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (26 stories).
66 of its 81 stories (81%) were about people being harmed, usually 58%. la Espriella accounted for 29 of Colombia's 66 stories about harm, carried by 77 outlets.
35 of its 50 stories (70%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Also named far more than usual: storms in Greece (23 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); hurricane in US (211 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); covid in Germany (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flooding in Japan (10 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); road crashes in Ireland (13 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 16 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 7,079 stories about harm among 33,383 counted on 16 Aug.
The news turned to Indonesia for the second day running. 21 in every 100 of the day's 33,383 news stories were about people being harmed, above the usual 20. In Indonesia, 70% of the news was about people being harmed, where 29% is usual. Indonesia's news mentioned the earthquake about 4 times as often as usual. A year earlier, on 16 August 2025, 19 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 21 today. This week the news turned most often to Colombia, on 3 of 7 days; help rose on 2 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.