We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
15 of its 19 stories (79%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Tunis accounted for 13 of Tunisia's 15 stories about harm, carried by 17 outlets. 12 of Tunis' 13 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
69 of its 176 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Fagersta accounted for 43 of Sweden's 69 stories about harm, carried by 65 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (28 stories).
29 of its 45 stories (64%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Port-au-Prince accounted for 20 of Haiti's 29 stories about harm, carried by 83 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (8 stories).
14 of its 23 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (9 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
62 of its 115 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Havana accounted for 34 of Cuba's 62 stories about harm, carried by 47 outlets. 20 of Havana's 34 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (22 stories).
58 of its 169 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. 16 of Ankara's 20 stories were about protests or strikes. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
25 of its 51 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (9 stories). Earthquake was named in 18 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual.
11 of its 24 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. 3 of Mandakao's 3 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (7 stories).
40 of its 77 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Ghouta accounted for 25 of Syria's 40 stories about harm, carried by 10 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Reports of abductions ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories). Drought was named in 12 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with hunger. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: earthquake in Peru (18 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); drought in Panama (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); drought in Somalia (12 of its stories, about three times its usual); wildfires in Indonesia (16 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); illness in France (14 of its stories, about three times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 21 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 12,570 stories about harm among 66,036 counted on 21 Aug.
In Tunisia, 79% of the news was about people being harmed, where 34% is usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 19 in every 100 of the day's 66,036 stories, as usual. On 21 August 2025, a year earlier, the share was 18 in every 100, against 19 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 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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