← 16 May Tuesday 17 May 2016 · to 23:59 UTC 18 May →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
61,373 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 →

Most of the day's attention went to protests in les Cayes (Haiti), heavy rain in Sri Lanka and violence in Baghdad. Iraq's coverage was about three times as angry as the world's. Taken together, the world's news read about as usual.

Reports of people falling ill ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about the US and Canada →
Part of lifeRights & justice 29 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostMalta 50 in 100 of its 208 stories, usually 11
RegionNorth America 22 in 100 of its stories, usually 20
Tone of the words About as usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Protests & strikes

Haiti

128 of its 176 stories (73%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. les Cayes accounted for 111 of Haiti's 128 stories about harm, carried by 104 outlets. 90 of les Cayes' 111 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (87 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Sri Lanka

327 of its 643 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Reports of people affected ran at more than ten times the usual rate (258 stories). Heavy rain was named in 221 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Iraq

1,523 of its 1,817 stories (84%) were about people being harmed, usually 67%. Baghdad accounted for 1,226 of Iraq's 1,523 stories about harm, carried by 927 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (1,049 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.

Rights & justice

Palestine

643 of its 1,111 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. Ramallah accounted for 505 of Palestine's 643 stories about harm, carried by 19 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about 6 times the usual rate (126 stories). Earthquake was named in 61 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual.

6 more places the news pointed at
Protests & strikes

Georgia

53 of its 98 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Tbilisi accounted for 50 of Georgia's 53 stories about harm, carried by 46 outlets. 48 of Tbilisi's 50 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (45 stories).

Disasters & accidents

Chile

137 of its 276 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (11 stories). Plague was named in 86 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Protests & strikes

Nepal

Kathmandu accounted for 166 of Nepal's 209 stories about harm, carried by 133 outlets. 130 of Kathmandu's 166 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (16 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Libya

531 of its 796 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 57%. Reports of refugees ran at about twice the usual rate (49 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Latvia

19 of its 52 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. 12 of Riga's 18 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (17 stories).

Conflict & violence

Finland

61 of its 255 stories (24%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Reports of refugees ran at about 6 times the usual rate (37 stories). Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Also named far more than usual: plague in Chile (86 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); ebola in Angola (22 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); plague in Tunisia (16 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); road crashes in Singapore (27 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hiv in Egypt (35 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

20 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 20; 19 the day before
22 in 10018 in 10018 Apr25 Apr2 May9 May17 May18 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 10017 May: 20 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 17 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 61,373 stories about harm among 303,507 counted on 17 May.

Read the day's briefing

Mentions of heavy rain ran more than ten times their usual in Sri Lanka's news. of the day's 303,507 news stories, 20 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. People falling ill were reported at about twice the usual rate, most often about the US and Canada. Haiti's news was 73% about people being harmed, against a usual 33%.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Les Cayes, Haiti -- protests & strikes: 111 stories, carried by 104 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kunduz, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 98 stories, carried by 88 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Santiago, Chile -- accidents & disasters: 104 stories, carried by 117 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Istanbul, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 172 stories, carried by 138 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Vienna, Austria -- attacks & violence: 128 stories, carried by 142 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Sirte, Libya -- attacks & violence: 122 stories, carried by 99 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Valletta, Malta -- deaths, cause not given: 85 stories, carried by 104 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kathmandu, Nepal -- protests & strikes: 166 stories, carried by 133 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Moscow, Russia -- attacks & violence: 284 stories, carried by 231 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- attacks & violence: 117 stories, carried by 152 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Niger Delta, Nigeria -- attacks & violence: 228 stories, carried by 234 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Sydney, Australia -- attacks & violence: 503 stories, carried by 347 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100Sanaa, Yemen -- protests & strikes: 235 stories, carried by 192 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Pelangi, Indonesia -- protests & strikes: 104 stories, carried by 148 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Beijing, China -- protests & strikes: 413 stories, carried by 300 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Nairobi, Kenya -- protests & strikes: 269 stories, carried by 218 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Tripoli, Libya -- attacks & violence: 205 stories, carried by 219 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Paris, France -- protests & strikes: 472 stories, carried by 359 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Raleigh, US -- protests & strikes: 189 stories, carried by 252 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100London, UK -- attacks & violence: 1,042 stories, carried by 749 outlets; harsh wording in 79 in 100Damascus, Syria -- attacks & violence: 326 stories, carried by 247 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Fort Mcmurray, Canada -- accidents & disasters: 926 stories, carried by 609 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Philadelphia, US -- accidents & disasters: 1,167 stories, carried by 861 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 1,226 stories, carried by 927 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 about as 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.