We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
141 of its 252 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Manggarai accounted for 52 of Indonesia's 141 stories about harm, carried by 108 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (8 stories). Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
24 of its 51 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (11 stories). Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
20 of its 53 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Reports of arrests ran at about 6 times the usual rate (13 stories).
41 of its 49 stories (84%) were about people being harmed, usually 70%. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
40 of its 103 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 9 times the usual rate (25 stories). Wildfires were named in 30 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with storms and drought.
76 of its 188 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (12 stories). Helicopter crash was named in 11 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
44 of its 107 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Kariba accounted for 27 of Zimbabwe's 44 stories about harm, carried by 24 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (30 stories).
10 of its 24 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Reports of people affected ran at about 6 times the usual rate (7 stories). Drought was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 10 times usual.
24 of its 49 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Reports of refugees ran at about 5 times the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
71 of its 325 stories (22%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (13 stories). Volcanic eruption was named in 24 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual.
Also named far more than usual: wildfires in Belgium (30 of its stories, about three times its usual); volcanic eruption in Italy (24 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); drought in Mongolia (10 of its stories, about 10 times its usual); illness in Ukraine (25 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); flooding in South Korea (13 of its stories, about 9 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 17 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 11,916 stories about harm among 60,850 counted on 17 Aug.
It was the third day running that the news turned to Indonesia. of the day's 60,850 news stories, 20 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. Belgium's news mentioned wildfires about three times as often as usual. Indonesia's news was 56% about people being harmed, against a usual 31%. On 17 August 2025, a year earlier, the share was 20 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 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?
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