We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
132 of its 286 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Riyadh accounted for 60 of Saudi Arabia's 132 stories about harm, carried by 84 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories). Hunger was named in 20 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
26 of its 42 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. Damascus accounted for 18 of Syria's 26 stories about harm, carried by 16 outlets. 10 of Damascus' 18 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (9 stories).
107 of its 373 stories (29%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of people injured ran at about 7 times the usual rate (40 stories). Train derailment was named in 38 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
Reports of people falling ill ran at about 4 times the usual rate (6 stories). Food poisoning was named in 14 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.
148 of its 396 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Tehran accounted for 71 of Iran's 148 stories about harm, carried by 143 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about 4 times the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
82 of its 150 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. Kyiv accounted for 40 of Ukraine's 82 stories about harm, carried by 184 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
126 of its 228 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. Reports of people displaced ran at about three times the usual rate (12 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
15 of its 42 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
61 of its 178 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (37 stories). Accidents were named in 10 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
11 of its 57 stories (19%) were about people being harmed, usually 7%. 5 of Doha's 7 stories were about protests or strikes.
Also named far more than usual: dengue in Bangladesh (10 of its stories, about three times its usual); accidents in Philippines (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hunger in Ireland (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hypothermia in US (21 of its stories, about 7 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 12 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 8,189 stories about harm among 41,287 counted on 12 Sep.
The news turned to Saudi Arabia for the fifth day running. 20 in every 100 of the day's 41,287 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. On the side of help, reports of people freed or reunited ran at about twice the usual rate. Saudi Arabia stood out: 46% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 20%. On 12 September 2025, a year earlier, the share was 19 in every 100, against 20 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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