← 30 Jan Sunday 31 January 2016 · to 23:59 UTC 1 Feb →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
27,618 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.

How to read these numbers →

Violence in Kampala, people injured in Brazil and the hunger in Ethiopia drew the news. Brazil's coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's. Across the world, the tone of the words was much harsher than usual.

Help and hope: reports of vaccination ran at about one and a half times the usual rate →
Part of lifeRights & justice 31 in 100 of the stories about harm · more than usual Country that rose mostColombia 74 in 100 of its 217 stories, usually 34
RegionLatin America & Caribbean 39 in 100 of its stories, usually 29
Tone of the words Much harsher than usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Conflict & violence

Uganda

244 of its 362 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Kampala accounted for 179 of Uganda's 244 stories about harm, carried by 157 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (151 stories). Ebola was named in 49 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with haemorrhagic fever.

Health

Brazil

393 of its 748 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Reports of people injured ran at about 10 times the usual rate (48 stories). Malaria was named in 28 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's. Warmth in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Disasters & accidents

Ethiopia

223 of its 310 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. Reports of people affected ran at about 5 times the usual rate (110 stories). Hunger was named in 138 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.

Deaths & injuries, cause not given

Egypt

Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (143 stories). Extreme cold was named in 23 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Disasters & accidents

Mexico

322 of its 603 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (226 stories). Warmth in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Conflict & violence

Switzerland

169 of its 437 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Reports of people injured ran at about 8 times the usual rate (10 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's. Warmth in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Conflict & violence

Nigeria

858 of its 1,942 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of people displaced ran at about 4 times the usual rate (82 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Conflict & violence

Syria

Damascus accounted for 1,034 of Syria's 1,420 stories about harm, carried by 809 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (533 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Warmth in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Disasters & accidents

Türkiye

Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (261 stories). Hypothermia was named in 177 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with flooding. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Israel

Reports of evacuations ran at about three times the usual rate (12 stories). Flooding was named in 30 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: earthquake in El Salvador (84 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hypothermia in Türkiye (177 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); chikungunya in Indonesia (55 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); avalanche in Canada (89 of its stories, about 9 times its usual); poisoning in Trinidad & Tobago (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

22 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 21; 22 the day before
25 in 10019 in 1002 Jan9 Jan16 Jan23 Jan31 Jan2 Jan: 25 in 1003 Jan: 25 in 1004 Jan: 21 in 1005 Jan: 21 in 1006 Jan: 20 in 1007 Jan: 20 in 1008 Jan: 21 in 1009 Jan: 23 in 10010 Jan: 22 in 10011 Jan: 19 in 10012 Jan: 19 in 10013 Jan: 20 in 10014 Jan: 20 in 10015 Jan: 20 in 10016 Jan: 23 in 10017 Jan: 25 in 10018 Jan: 21 in 10019 Jan: 20 in 10020 Jan: 21 in 10021 Jan: 20 in 10022 Jan: 21 in 10023 Jan: 24 in 10024 Jan: 24 in 10025 Jan: 21 in 10026 Jan: 20 in 10027 Jan: 20 in 10028 Jan: 20 in 10029 Jan: 21 in 10030 Jan: 22 in 10031 Jan: 22 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 31 Jan. 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 27,618 stories about harm among 124,842 counted on 31 Jan.

Read the day's briefing

On the side of help, reports of vaccination ran at about one and a half times the usual rate. Stories about people being harmed made up 22 in every 100 of the day's 124,842 stories, as usual. Uganda's news was 67% about people being harmed, against a usual 32%. In Ethiopia's news, mentions of the hunger ran about 4 times their usual.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 112 stories, carried by 92 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Hyderabad, India -- protests & strikes: 100 stories, carried by 69 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Moscow, Russia -- attacks & violence: 198 stories, carried by 146 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Kampala, Uganda -- attacks & violence: 179 stories, carried by 157 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- attacks & violence: 175 stories, carried by 144 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Stony Plain, Canada -- accidents & disasters: 44 stories, carried by 75 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Paris, France -- attacks & violence: 220 stories, carried by 185 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Berlin, Germany -- people displaced: 199 stories, carried by 166 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Northern Ireland, UK -- accidents & disasters: 33 stories, carried by 154 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 221 stories, carried by 166 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Geneva, Switzerland -- attacks & violence: 129 stories, carried by 130 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Sanaa, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 124 stories, carried by 130 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Dover, UK -- protests & strikes: 34 stories, carried by 134 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Maiduguri, Nigeria -- attacks & violence: 143 stories, carried by 126 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Lake Mackenzie, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 23 stories, carried by 138 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Bundaberg, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 15 stories, carried by 162 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 179 stories, carried by 177 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- attacks & violence: 323 stories, carried by 234 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Ayvacik, Türkiye -- accidents & disasters: 229 stories, carried by 181 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Denver, US -- attacks & violence: 527 stories, carried by 540 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Sinaloa, Mexico -- accidents & disasters: 209 stories, carried by 337 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, US -- protests & strikes: 401 stories, carried by 439 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Dalori, Nigeria -- attacks & violence: 314 stories, carried by 456 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Damascus, Syria -- attacks & violence: 1,034 stories, carried by 809 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 much 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.