← 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.

How to read these numbers →

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.

Venezuela over 30 days → its stories → Caracas stories →
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).

Iran over 30 days → its stories → Tehran 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.

Colombia over 30 days → its stories →
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.

Sri Lanka over 30 days → its stories →
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.

its stories →
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.

its stories →
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.

its stories →
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).

its 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).

its 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).

its 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 harm was most of the news all →

Yemen73 in 100 of its 262 stories · usually 82 · mostly conflict & violence Syria70 in 100 of its 670 stories · usually 76 · mostly conflict & violence Iraq70 in 100 of its 728 stories · usually 66 · mostly conflict & violence Burundi70 in 100 of its 66 stories · usually 77 · mostly conflict & violence Afghanistan66 in 100 of its 820 stories · usually 69 · mostly rights & justice

Countries with at least 50 stories that day.

Where people protested

Washington US351 stories about protests or strikes, of its 1738 Kabul Afghanistan233 stories about protests or strikes, of its 303 Nairobi Kenya147 stories about protests or strikes, of its 170 Hazara Afghanistan133 stories about protests or strikes, of its 134 Raleigh US125 stories about protests or strikes, of its 161

Stories, not people.

Where the news was warmest

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Zimbabwe: about as warm as its own usual or lessZambia: about as warm as its own usual or lessYemen: about as warm as its own usual or lessVietnam: about as warm as its own usual or lessVenezuela: about as warm as its own usual or lessVanuatu: about as warm as its own usual or lessUzbekistan: about as warm as its own usual or lessUruguay: about as warm as its own usual or lessMicronesia: about as warm as its own usual or lessU.S. Virgin Islands: about as warm as its own usual or lessGuam: about as warm as its own usual or lessPuerto Rico: about as warm as its own usual or lessUnited States: about as warm as its own usual or lessSouth Georgia & South Sandwich Islands: too little coverage to readFalkland Islands: too little coverage to readCayman Islands: too little coverage to readIsle of Man: too little coverage to readUnited Kingdom: about as warm as its own usual or lessUnited Arab Emirates: about as warm as its own usual or lessUganda: too little coverage to readTurkmenistan: about as warm as its own usual or lessTurkey: about as warm as its own usual or lessTunisia: about as warm as its own usual or lessTrinidad & Tobago: about as warm as its own usual or lessTonga: too little coverage to readTogo: too little coverage to readTimor-Leste: about as warm as its own usual or lessThailand: about as warm as its own usual or lessTajikistan: too little coverage to readTaiwan: too little coverage to readSyria: about as warm as its own usual or lessSwitzerland: about as warm as its own usual or lessSweden: about as warm as its own usual or lessEswatini: about as warm as its own usual or lessSuriname: too little coverage to readSouth Sudan: about as warm as its own usual or lessSudan: about as warm as its own usual or lessSri Lanka: about as warm as its own usual or lessSpain: about as warm as its own usual or lessSouth Korea: too little coverage to readSouth Africa: about as warm as its own usual or lessSomalia: about as warm as its own usual or lessSomaliland: too little coverage to readSolomon Islands: about as warm as its own usual or lessSlovakia: about as warm as its own usual or lessSlovenia: about as warm as its own usual or lessSingapore: about as warm as its own usual or lessSierra Leone: about as warm as its own usual or lessSeychelles: about as warm as its own usual or lessSerbia: too little coverage to readSenegal: about as warm as its own usual or lessSão Tomé: too little coverage to readSamoa: about as warm as its own usual or lessSt Vincent: too little coverage to readSt. Lucia: too little coverage to readRwanda: about as warm as its own usual or lessRussia: about as warm as its own usual or lessRomania: about as warm as its own usual or lessQatar: about as warm as its own usual or lessPortugal: about as warm as its own usual or lessPoland: about as warm as its own usual or lessPhilippines: about as warm as its own usual or lessPeru: about as warm as its own usual or lessParaguay: about as warm as its own usual or lessPapua New Guinea: about as warm as its own usual or lessPanama: about as warm as its own usual or lessPalau: too little coverage to readPakistan: about as warm as its own usual or lessOman: about as warm as its own usual or lessNorway: about as warm as its own usual or lessNorth Korea: about as warm as its own usual or lessNigeria: about as warm as its own usual or lessNiger: too little coverage to readNicaragua: too little coverage to readNew Zealand: about as warm as its own usual or lessNiue: too little coverage to readNetherlands: about as warm as its own usual or lessCuraçao: too little coverage to readNepal: about as warm as its own usual or lessNamibia: too little coverage to readMozambique: about as warm as its own usual or lessMorocco: about as warm as its own usual or lessWestern Sahara: about as warm as its own usual or lessMontenegro: too little coverage to readMongolia: about as warm as its own usual or lessMoldova: about as warm as its own usual or lessMauritius: about as warm as its own usual or lessMauritania: too little coverage to readMalta: about as warm as its own usual or lessMali: about as warm as its own usual or lessMalaysia: about as warm as its own usual or lessMalawi: about as warm as its own usual or lessMadagascar: about as warm as its own usual or lessNorth Macedonia: about as warm as its own usual or lessLuxembourg: about as warm as its own usual or lessLithuania: about as warm as its own usual or lessLibya: about as warm as its own usual or lessLiberia: about as warm as its own usual or lessLesotho: about as warm as its own usual or lessLatvia: about as warm as its own usual or lessLaos: about as warm as its own usual or lessKyrgyzstan: too little coverage to readKuwait: too little coverage to readKosovo: too little coverage to readKiribati: too little coverage to readKenya: about as warm as its own usual or lessKazakhstan: about as warm as its own usual or lessJordan: about as warm as its own usual or lessJapan: about as warm as its own usual or lessIsrael: about as warm as its own usual or lessPalestine: about as warm as its own usual or lessIreland: about as warm as its own usual or lessIraq: about as warm as its own usual or lessIran: about as warm as its own usual or lessIndonesia: about as warm as its own usual or lessIndia: too little coverage to readIceland: about as warm as its own usual or lessHonduras: about as warm as its own usual or lessHaiti: about as warm as its own usual or lessGuyana: about as warm as its own usual or lessGuinea-Bissau: too little coverage to readGuinea: about as warm as its own usual or lessGrenada: about as warm as its own usual or lessGreece: about as warm as its own usual or lessGhana: about as warm as its own usual or lessGermany: about as warm as its own usual or lessGeorgia: about as warm as its own usual or lessGambia: about as warm as its own usual or lessGabon: about as warm as its own usual or lessSt Pierre & Miquelon: too little coverage to readFrench Polynesia: about as warm as its own usual or lessNew Caledonia: too little coverage to readFrench Southern Territories: too little coverage to readÅland Islands: too little coverage to readFinland: about as warm as its own usual or lessFiji: about as warm as its own usual or lessEstonia: about as warm as its own usual or lessEritrea: about as warm as its own usual or lessEquatorial Guinea: too little coverage to readEl Salvador: about as warm as its own usual or lessEgypt: about as warm as its own usual or lessEcuador: about as warm as its own usual or lessDominica: too little coverage to readDjibouti: about as warm as its own usual or lessGreenland: about as warm as its own usual or lessFaroe Islands: too little coverage to readDenmark: about as warm as its own usual or lessCzech Republic: about as warm as its own usual or lessN. Cyprus: too little coverage to readCyprus: about as warm as its own usual or lessCuba: about as warm as its own usual or lessCroatia: about as warm as its own usual or lessCôte d'Ivoire: about as warm as its own usual or lessCosta Rica: too little coverage to readDR Congo: about as warm as its own usual or lessCongo: about as warm as its own usual or lessComoros: too little coverage to readColombia: about as warm as its own usual or lessChina: about as warm as its own usual or lessHong Kong: about as warm as its own usual or lessChile: about as warm as its own usual or lessChad: about as warm as its own usual or lessCentral African Republic: about as warm as its own usual or lessCape Verde: too little coverage to readCanada: about as warm as its own usual or lessCameroon: about as warm as its own usual or lessCambodia: about as warm as its own usual or lessBurundi: about as warm as its own usual or lessBurkina Faso: about as warm as its own usual or lessBulgaria: about as warm as its own usual or lessBrunei: about as warm as its own usual or lessBrazil: about as warm as its own usual or lessBotswana: about as warm as its own usual or lessBosnia and Herzegovina: about as warm as its own usual or lessBolivia: about as warm as its own usual or lessBhutan: about as warm as its own usual or lessBenin: about as warm as its own usual or lessBelize: about as warm as its own usual or lessBelgium: about as warm as its own usual or lessBelarus: about as warm as its own usual or lessBarbados: about as warm as its own usual or lessBangladesh: about as warm as its own usual or lessBahrain: about as warm as its own usual or lessBahamas: about as warm as its own usual or lessAzerbaijan: about as warm as its own usual or lessAustria: about as warm as its own usual or lessAustralia: about as warm as its own usual or lessHeard & McDonald Islands: too little coverage to readArmenia: about as warm as its own usual or lessArgentina: about as warm as its own usual or lessAntigua & Barbuda: too little coverage to readAngola: about as warm as its own usual or lessAndorra: too little coverage to readAlgeria: about as warm as its own usual or lessAlbania: about as warm as its own usual or lessAfghanistan: about as warm as its own usual or lessJammu & Kashmir: about as warm as its own usual or lessAksai Chin: about as warm as its own usual or lessGaza: about as warm as its own usual or lessWest Bank: about as warm as its own usual or lessWestern Sahara (Moroccan-controlled): about as warm as its own usual or lessWestern Sahara (Free Zone): about as warm as its own usual or lessAzad Kashmir & Gilgit-Baltistan: about as warm as its own usual or lessSiachen Glacier: about as warm as its own usual or lessEast Jerusalem: about as warm as its own usual or lessAzad Kashmir & Gilgit-Baltistan: about as warm as its own usual or lessVatican City: too little coverage to readMarshall Islands: too little coverage to readNorthern Mariana Islands: too little coverage to readAmerican Samoa: too little coverage to readChagos Islands: too little coverage to readSt. Helena: too little coverage to readPitcairn: too little coverage to readAnguilla: about as warm as its own usual or lessBermuda: about as warm as its own usual or lessBritish Virgin Islands: too little coverage to readTurks & Caicos Islands: too little coverage to readMontserrat: too little coverage to readGuernsey: too little coverage to readSan Marino: too little coverage to readSt Kitts & Nevis: too little coverage to readCook Islands: too little coverage to readAruba: too little coverage to readNauru: about as warm as its own usual or lessMonaco: about as warm as its own usual or lessMaldives: about as warm as its own usual or lessLiechtenstein: too little coverage to readWallis & Futuna: too little coverage to readSt. Martin: too little coverage to readSt. Barthélemy: too little coverage to readMacao: too little coverage to readNorfolk Island: too little coverage to readSint Maarten: too little coverage to readChristmas Island: too little coverage to readGibraltar: about as warm as its own usual or lessMayotte: too little coverage to readUkraine: warmth about its own usualTanzania: warmth about its own usualSaudi Arabia: warmth about one and a half times its own usualMexico: warmth about its own usualLebanon: warmth about its own usualJamaica: warmth about its own usualItaly: warmth about its own usualHungary: warmth about its own usualGuatemala: warmth about its own usualFrance: warmth about its own usualEthiopia: warmth about its own usualDominican Republic: warmth about one and a half times its own usualMyanmar: warmth about its own usualUkraine: warmth about its own usualJersey: warmth about its own usualStillwater, US -- disasters & accidents: 29 stories, carried by 28 outletsMuzaffarnagar, India -- rights & justice: 10 stories, carried by 10 outletsChibok, Nigeria -- conflict & violence: 17 stories, carried by 14 outletsAnnapolis Royal, Canada -- health: 10 stories, carried by 14 outletsHawke Bay, New Zealand -- health: 21 stories, carried by 11 outletsLos Angeles, US -- deaths & injuries, cause not given: 639 stories, carried by 624 outletsMallacoota, Australia -- shelter & services: 16 stories, carried by 116 outletsBarcelona, Spain -- health: 15 stories, carried by 14 outlets
Warmer than its own usual The warmest eventsAbout as warm or lessToo little news

Each country shaded by the warmth in its news — care, help, gratitude — against its own last 30 days. Stronger colour: further above. Dots: the events whose coverage carried the most warmth, even where the event itself began as harm. Warm words, not good outcomes. Click a country or a dot.

Warmest news

● Dominican Republic warmth about one and a half times usual ● Saudi Arabia warmth about one and a half times usual

Warmest events

● Stillwater US about one and a half times as warm as the day's news · disasters & accidents · 29 stories ● Muzaffarnagar India about one and a half times as warm as the day's news · rights & justice · 10 stories ● Chibok Nigeria about one and a half times as warm as the day's news · conflict & violence · 17 stories ● Annapolis Royal Canada about one and a half times as warm as the day's news · health · 10 stories ● Hawke Bay New Zealand about one and a half times as warm as the day's news · health · 21 stories

The day in three measures

Parts of life 30 days →

Rights & justice30% 14,071 stories · about as usual Health22% 10,362 stories · more than usual (usually 19%) Conflict & violence18% 8,647 stories · less than usual (usually 21%) Disasters & accidents14% 6,602 stories · about as usual Deaths & injuries, cause not given8% 3,669 stories · about as usual Displacement3% 1,527 stories · about as usual Shelter & services3% 1,377 stories · about as usual Food & livelihood3% 1,295 stories · about as usual

Of the stories about people being harmed, what part of life each was about. The mark is usual.

Harm reported 30 days →

Stories reporting people killed13,139 at about the usual rate Stories reporting arrests6,383 at about the usual rate Stories reporting people affected5,421 at about the usual rate Stories reporting people injured3,285 at about two-thirds of the usual rate · most about the US and Iraq Stories reporting refugees1,145 at about the usual rate Stories reporting abductions540 at about two-thirds of the usual rate · most about the US and Nigeria Stories reporting evacuations494 at about two-thirds of the usual rate · most about the UK and Norway Stories reporting people displaced405 at about two-thirds of the usual rate · most about the US and Nigeria Stories reporting people falling ill40 at about half the usual rate · most about the US and the UK

Stories that report it, not people: we count what reporters wrote, not what happened.

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?

The weekly briefing · 19 Oct – 25 Oct

The week in human impact

Read the week →

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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.