We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
185 of its 330 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Johannesburg accounted for 83 of South Africa's 185 stories about harm, carried by 221 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (102 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.
59 of its 107 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Bangkok accounted for 50 of Thailand's 59 stories about harm, carried by 68 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (8 stories). Flooding was named in 49 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual.
130 of its 314 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. 25 of Islamabad's 38 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (82 stories). Respiratory illness was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
48 of its 121 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Athens accounted for 36 of Greece's 48 stories about harm, carried by 56 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 6 times the usual rate (19 stories).
71 of its 137 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. Kyiv accounted for 53 of Ukraine's 71 stories about harm, carried by 66 outlets. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (15 stories). Avalanche was named in 51 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with snowstorms. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Gaza accounted for 50 of Palestine's 85 stories about harm, carried by 33 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about twice the usual rate (9 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
9 of its 10 stories (90%) were about people being harmed, usually 12%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (8 stories).
8 of its 12 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 12%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (8 stories).
Also named far more than usual: avalanche in Nepal (51 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); flooding in US (282 of its stories, about three times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 27 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 6,757 stories about harm among 34,413 counted on 27 Sep.
South Africa stood out: 56% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 28%. 20 in every 100 of the day's 34,413 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. A year earlier, on 27 September 2025, 20 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, the same as today. This week the news turned most often to Ethiopia, on 4 of 7 days.
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 much harsher than 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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