We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
121 of its 393 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. 53 of Okinawa's 58 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 8 times the usual rate (37 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
89 of its 138 stories (64%) were about people being harmed, usually 53%. Gaza accounted for 57 of Palestine's 89 stories about harm, carried by 55 outlets. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
27 of its 52 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. Tigray accounted for 25 of Ethiopia's 27 stories about harm, carried by 53 outlets. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
30 of its 70 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
157 of its 336 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Islamabad accounted for 68 of Pakistan's 157 stories about harm, carried by 52 outlets. 42 of Islamabad's 68 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
84 of its 328 stories (26%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. 37 of Paris' 53 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (30 stories).
14 of its 54 stories (26%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. 6 of Taipei's 12 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (5 stories).
11 of Madrid's 14 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (8 stories). Flooding was named in 14 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual.
Havana accounted for 20 of Cuba's 31 stories about harm, carried by 4 outlets. 11 of Havana's 20 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (12 stories).
Kyiv accounted for 84 of Ukraine's 96 stories about harm, carried by 215 outlets. Power cuts were named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Also named far more than usual: plague in Russia (28 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flooding in Spain (14 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); illness in Iran (10 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); power cuts in Ukraine (10 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); dengue in US (10 of its stories, about three times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 4 Oct. 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 6,270 stories about harm among 32,286 counted on 4 Oct.
Japan's news was 31% about people being harmed, against a usual 14%. of the day's 32,286 news stories, 19 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. On 4 October 2025, a year earlier, the share was 19 in every 100, the same as today. This week the news turned most often to Thailand, on 3 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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