We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
144 of its 261 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Kyiv accounted for 110 of Ukraine's 144 stories about harm, carried by 277 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about 5 times the usual rate (29 stories). Power cuts were named in 18 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual. Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.
46 of its 110 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Oslo accounted for 36 of Norway's 46 stories about harm, carried by 65 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
519 of its 553 stories (94%) were about people being harmed, usually 79%. Kathmandu accounted for 140 of Nepal's 519 stories about harm, carried by 358 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about 7 times the usual rate (5 stories).
11 of its 13 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 56%. Reports of refugees ran at about 7 times the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
5 of its 8 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
37 of its 64 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. Kabul accounted for 24 of Afghanistan's 37 stories about harm, carried by 20 outlets. Illness was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.
Reports of evacuations ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories). Diphtheria was named in 14 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with heavy rain. Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
30 of its 85 stories (35%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (12 stories).
13 of its 22 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
47 of its 84 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (17 stories).
Also named far more than usual: flooding in Kenya (12 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); illness in Afghanistan (10 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); avalanche in China (28 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); flooding in Australia (29 of its stories, about three times its usual); storms in Ireland (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 1 Sep. 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 13,494 stories about harm among 70,869 counted on 1 Sep.
Mentions of flooding ran about 5 times their usual in Kenya's news. of the day's 70,869 news stories, 19 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. Ukraine stood out: 55% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 42%. On 1 September 2025, a year earlier, the share was 19 in every 100, the same as today. Over August, 20 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 19 in August 2025.
Written by code from the day's numbers.
Countries with at least 50 stories that day.
Stories, not people.
Each country shaded by how much of its news was about people being harmed, against the world's 19 in 100 that day. Stronger colour: further above. A country with few stories is drawn closer to the world's. Click a country.
Stories, not people. Countries with at least 50 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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