We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
295 of its 712 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Tehran accounted for 114 of Iran's 295 stories about harm, carried by 199 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (136 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
Kathmandu accounted for 228 of Nepal's 436 stories about harm, carried by 299 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about 4 times the usual rate (30 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
15 of its 19 stories (79%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. 8 of Tunis' 10 stories were about protests or strikes.
Copenhagen accounted for 19 of Denmark's 23 stories about harm, carried by 21 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (9 stories).
41 of its 71 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (12 stories). Outbreaks were named in 12 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
33 of its 45 stories (73%) were about people being harmed, usually 62%. Hunger was named in 15 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
15 of its 77 stories (19%) were about people being harmed, usually 11%. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (10 stories). Covid was named in 10 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
10 of its 21 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. 6 of Tbilisi's 8 stories were about protests or strikes.
Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (33 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Mokha accounted for 14 of Yemen's 33 stories about harm, carried by 16 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: hunger in Sudan (15 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); covid in Jordan (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); outbreaks in Lebanon (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); food poisoning in Indonesia (14 of its stories, about 9 times its usual); power cuts in Canada (20 of its stories, about 6 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 4 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 13,116 stories about harm among 66,970 counted on 4 Sep.
It was the third day running that the news turned to Iran. of the day's 66,970 news stories, 20 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. Sudan's news mentioned the hunger about 5 times as often as usual. A year earlier, on 4 September 2025, 18 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 20 today. In Iran, 41% of the news was about people being harmed, where 29% is usual.
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 20 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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