We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
101 of its 277 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (65 stories). Helicopter crash 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.
163 of its 340 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Kyiv accounted for 115 of Ukraine's 163 stories about harm, carried by 116 outlets. Power cuts were named in 12 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
18 of its 33 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (10 stories). Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
20 of its 22 stories (91%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
25 of its 45 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (24 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
23 of its 34 stories (68%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (7 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
36 of its 83 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Earthquake was named in 25 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with tsunami. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (18 stories). Wildfires were named in 12 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with tornadoes and heatwave. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
Tehran accounted for 150 of Iran's 247 stories about harm, carried by 215 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (24 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
6 of its 7 stories (86%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. 3 of Tunis' 5 stories were about protests or strikes.
Also named far more than usual: earthquake in Peru (25 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); wildfires in Germany (12 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); hiv in Nigeria (12 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); extreme cold in UK (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 20 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 12,984 stories about harm among 70,572 counted on 20 Aug.
It was the lowest share of stories about people being harmed since 8 July 2026. of the day's 70,572 news stories, 18 in every 100 were about people being harmed, below the usual 20. Peru's news mentioned the earthquake more than ten times as often as usual. It was the second day running that the news turned to Kenya. In Kenya, 36% of the news was about people being harmed, where 23% is usual.
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 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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