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What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
11,191 stories about harm· Trends· Every past day

We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.

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The news turned to violence in Kabul, rights and justice in Port-au-Prince and the hurricane in Mexico. Afghanistan's coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Worldwide, the words used were harsher than usual.

Part of lifeRights & justice 26 in 100 of the stories about harm · more than usual Country that rose mostPakistan 48 in 100 of its 469 stories, usually 31
RegionSub-Saharan Africa 28 in 100 of its stories, usually 25
Tone of the words Harsher than usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Conflict & violence

Afghanistan

61 of its 87 stories (70%) were about people being harmed, usually 48%. Kabul accounted for 34 of Afghanistan's 61 stories about harm, carried by 62 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (33 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Rights & justice

Haiti

27 of its 38 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. Port-au-Prince accounted for 22 of Haiti's 27 stories about harm, carried by 103 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (16 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Mexico

64 of its 206 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Hurricane was named in 21 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with flooding, tropical storm and storms.

6 more places the news pointed at
Conflict & violence

Rwanda

22 of its 35 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Rights & justice

Pakistan

223 of its 469 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Reports of abductions ran at about 4 times the usual rate (16 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Conflict & violence

Russia

210 of its 584 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Moscow accounted for 173 of Russia's 210 stories about harm, carried by 223 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Rights & justice

South Africa

200 of its 621 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (56 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.

Conflict & violence

Ethiopia

21 of its 42 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Rights & justice

Bangladesh

56 of its 128 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Dhaka accounted for 32 of Bangladesh's 56 stories about harm, carried by 12 outlets.

Also named far more than usual: typhoon in Japan (19 of its stories, about 10 times its usual); storms in Sri Lanka (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); cyclone in India (11 of its stories, about three times its usual); snowstorms in US (18 of its stories, about three times its usual).

18 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 19; 19 the day before
21 in 10017 in 10023 Aug30 Aug6 Sep13 Sep21 Sep23 Aug: 20 in 10024 Aug: 19 in 10025 Aug: 19 in 10026 Aug: 20 in 10027 Aug: 21 in 10028 Aug: 20 in 10029 Aug: 20 in 10030 Aug: 21 in 10031 Aug: 20 in 1001 Sep: 19 in 1002 Sep: 19 in 1003 Sep: 19 in 1004 Sep: 20 in 1005 Sep: 20 in 1006 Sep: 21 in 1007 Sep: 20 in 1008 Sep: 19 in 1009 Sep: 19 in 10010 Sep: 18 in 10011 Sep: 21 in 10012 Sep: 20 in 10013 Sep: 19 in 10014 Sep: 18 in 10015 Sep: 18 in 10016 Sep: 18 in 10017 Sep: 17 in 10018 Sep: 18 in 10019 Sep: 18 in 10020 Sep: 19 in 10021 Sep: 18 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 21 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 11,191 stories about harm among 61,410 counted on 21 Sep.

Read the day's briefing

Mexico's news mentioned the hurricane about 4 times as often as usual. 18 in every 100 of the day's 61,410 news stories were about people being harmed, below the usual 19. In Afghanistan, 70% of the news was about people being harmed, where 48% is usual. On 21 September 2025, a year earlier, the share was 18 in every 100, the same as today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Quebec, Canada -- accidents & disasters: 15 stories, carried by 34 outlets; harsh wording in 73 in 100Tigray, Ethiopia -- attacks & violence: 14 stories, carried by 18 outlets; harsh wording in 79 in 100Puducherry, India -- deaths, cause not given: 10 stories, carried by 16 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Rasuwa, Nepal -- accidents & disasters: 9 stories, carried by 15 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- attacks & violence: 30 stories, carried by 33 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Athboy, Ireland -- attacks & violence: 7 stories, carried by 57 outlets; harsh wording in 86 in 100Zihuatanejo, Mexico -- accidents & disasters: 6 stories, carried by 14 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Hillcrest, Australia -- deaths, cause not given: 6 stories, carried by 38 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sanaa, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 9 stories, carried by 20 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kyiv, Ukraine -- attacks & violence: 24 stories, carried by 31 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Ostrander Lake, US -- accidents & disasters: 7 stories, carried by 30 outlets; harsh wording in 86 in 100Seoul, South Korea -- attacks & violence: 28 stories, carried by 75 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tokyo, Japan -- accidents & disasters: 29 stories, carried by 46 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Paris, France -- accidents & disasters: 39 stories, carried by 104 outlets; harsh wording in 72 in 100Islamabad, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 85 stories, carried by 60 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Lahore, Pakistan -- protests & strikes: 47 stories, carried by 47 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Berlin, Germany -- attacks & violence: 46 stories, carried by 139 outlets; harsh wording in 87 in 100Baja California, Mexico -- accidents & disasters: 9 stories, carried by 39 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 34 stories, carried by 62 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Texas, US -- accidents & disasters: 60 stories, carried by 133 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Gaza, Palestine -- protests & strikes: 87 stories, carried by 111 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- attacks & violence: 59 stories, carried by 92 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 70 stories, carried by 96 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Moscow, Russia -- attacks & violence: 173 stories, carried by 223 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100
Attacks & violenceAccidents & disastersPeople displacedDeaths, cause not givenProtests & strikesDisease & outbreaks

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.

The day in three measures

How it felt 30 days →

harshwarm

The words in the day's stories were harsher than usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.

● Angerabout as usual
● Warmthabout as usual
● Griefabout as usual
● Fearabout as usual

From the words reporters used across the whole day, never one story. Fear is the weakest of the four measures. How?

The weekly briefing · 19 Oct – 25 Oct

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How to read these numbers →

These are counts of stories, not counts of suffering. Most of what happens to people is never reported at all.