← 15 May Monday 16 May 2016 · to 23:59 UTC 17 May →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
48,522 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 protests in Caracas (Venezuela), rights and justice in Tehran and arrests in Colombia. Worldwide, the words used were softer than usual.

Part of lifeRights & justice 30 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostIran 55 in 100 of its 824 stories, usually 28
RegionSoutheast Asia 28 in 100 of its stories, usually 24
Tone of the words Softer than usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Protests & strikes

Venezuela

220 of its 430 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. 70 of Caracas' 131 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (11 stories). Tuberculosis was named in 11 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

Rights & justice

Iran

456 of its 824 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Tehran accounted for 374 of Iran's 456 stories about harm, carried by 308 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 8 times the usual rate (277 stories).

Conflict & violence

Colombia

393 of its 648 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (156 stories). Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Disasters & accidents

Sri Lanka

202 of its 459 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of people affected ran at about 7 times the usual rate (78 stories). Storms were named in 40 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

6 more places the news pointed at
Protests & strikes

Afghanistan

Kabul accounted for 303 of Afghanistan's 544 stories about harm, carried by 306 outlets. 233 of Kabul's 303 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people displaced ran at about 4 times the usual rate (15 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Bangladesh

100 of Dhaka's 185 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (8 stories). Tropical storm was named in 38 of its stories about harm, about 10 times usual. Its coverage was about 4 times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Rights & justice

Greece

306 of its 690 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Athens accounted for 218 of Greece's 306 stories about harm, carried by 215 outlets. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Rights & justice

Palestine

558 of its 1,012 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. Ramallah accounted for 440 of Palestine's 558 stories about harm, carried by 22 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (159 stories).

Conflict & violence

Jordan

99 of its 282 stories (35%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (43 stories).

Rights & justice

Kuwait

43 of its 118 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Reports of people affected ran at about 6 times the usual rate (32 stories).

Also named far more than usual: ebola in Puerto Rico (46 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); road crashes in Netherlands (22 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); respiratory illness in Switzerland (17 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); tropical storm in Bangladesh (38 of its stories, about 10 times its usual); drought in Germany (20 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

19 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 20; 22 the day before
25 in 10018 in 10017 Apr24 Apr1 May8 May16 May17 Apr: 25 in 10018 Apr: 22 in 10019 Apr: 20 in 10020 Apr: 19 in 10021 Apr: 19 in 10022 Apr: 20 in 10023 Apr: 21 in 10024 Apr: 21 in 10025 Apr: 19 in 10026 Apr: 19 in 10027 Apr: 18 in 10028 Apr: 19 in 10029 Apr: 19 in 10030 Apr: 19 in 1001 May: 20 in 1002 May: 19 in 1003 May: 19 in 1004 May: 20 in 1005 May: 20 in 1006 May: 18 in 1007 May: 21 in 1008 May: 22 in 1009 May: 20 in 10010 May: 20 in 10011 May: 19 in 10012 May: 19 in 10013 May: 19 in 10014 May: 22 in 10015 May: 22 in 10016 May: 19 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 16 May. 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 48,522 stories about harm among 250,364 counted on 16 May.

Read the day's briefing

Puerto Rico's news mentioned Ebola more than ten times as often as usual. 19 in every 100 of the day's 250,364 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. In Venezuela, 51% of the news was about people being harmed, where 40% is usual.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Paris, France -- attacks & violence: 178 stories, carried by 255 outlets; harsh wording in 71 in 100Mukalla, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 86 stories, carried by 72 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Fort Mcmurray, Canada -- accidents & disasters: 178 stories, carried by 145 outlets; harsh wording in 83 in 100Damascus, Syria -- attacks & violence: 133 stories, carried by 89 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Ankara, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 91 stories, carried by 147 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Davao, Philippines -- attacks & violence: 181 stories, carried by 124 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Manchester, UK -- people displaced: 208 stories, carried by 187 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Flesland, Norway -- accidents & disasters: 17 stories, carried by 93 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sirte, Libya -- attacks & violence: 120 stories, carried by 93 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kathmandu, Nepal -- protests & strikes: 139 stories, carried by 145 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Niger Delta, Nigeria -- attacks & violence: 267 stories, carried by 117 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- attacks & violence: 473 stories, carried by 246 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Nairobi, Kenya -- protests & strikes: 170 stories, carried by 142 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Hazara, Afghanistan -- protests & strikes: 134 stories, carried by 125 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Stockholm, Sweden -- attacks & violence: 170 stories, carried by 154 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Istanbul, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 240 stories, carried by 187 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Rygge, Norway -- people displaced: 79 stories, carried by 187 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Webb County, US -- deaths, cause not given: 138 stories, carried by 206 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Philippine, Philippines -- attacks & violence: 361 stories, carried by 311 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Philadelphia, US -- accidents & disasters: 424 stories, carried by 464 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- protests & strikes: 303 stories, carried by 306 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100London, UK -- attacks & violence: 870 stories, carried by 732 outlets; harsh wording in 79 in 100Tripoli, Libya -- attacks & violence: 202 stories, carried by 292 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 309 stories, carried by 263 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 softer than usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.

● Angerabout as usual
● Warmthabout as usual
● Griefa little less than 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?

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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.