We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
Paris accounted for 207 of France's 314 stories about harm, carried by 340 outlets. 141 of Paris' 207 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories). Wildfires were named in 21 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with flooding and storms. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
58 of its 76 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 59%. Abyei accounted for 21 of Sudan's 58 stories about harm, carried by 21 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (25 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
69 of its 178 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (12 stories). Ebola was named in 37 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.
14 of its 17 stories (82%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (11 stories).
468 of its 1,346 stories (35%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Ebola was named in 213 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with malaria. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
17 of its 93 stories (18%) were about people being harmed, usually 10%. 7 of Lisbon's 8 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (5 stories).
35 of Milan's 39 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (13 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Riyadh accounted for 89 of Saudi Arabia's 151 stories about harm, carried by 121 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (10 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
172 of its 769 stories (22%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Flooding was named in 27 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with heavy rain and storms.
36 of its 111 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (10 stories).
Also named far more than usual: ebola in Nigeria (213 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hunger in Afghanistan (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flooding in Ireland (27 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); hunger in Russia (20 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); heavy rain in UK (75 of its stories, about 6 times its usual).
Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 21 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 13,640 stories about harm among 74,031 counted on 21 Oct.
The news turned to France for the fifth day running. 18 in every 100 of the day's 74,031 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. A year earlier, on 21 October 2025, 17 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 18 today. France stood out: 29% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 25%.
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 softer 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?
Unlock a year of trends, free. Follow up to 5 countries, with a bell when their news changes, and 👍 vote for Pro — ten years of the archive, any period, daily alerts.
Create a free accountSign in · a username, an email and a password.