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What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
32,268 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 →

A disaster in Rouen, violence in Brussels and building collapse in Morocco drew the news. Belgium's coverage was about three times as angry as the world's. Everywhere we counted, the words were harsher than usual.

Reports of people falling ill ran at about three times the usual rate, most often about the US and India →
Part of lifeRights & justice 27 in 100 of the stories about harm · less than usual Country that rose mostKuwait 80 in 100 of its 113 stories, usually 22
RegionEast Asia 23 in 100 of its stories, usually 17
Tone of the words Harsher than usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Disasters & accidents

France

1,191 of its 2,176 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Rouen accounted for 862 of France's 1,191 stories about harm, carried by 905 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (742 stories). Gas explosion was named in 89 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with poisoning. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Belgium

459 of its 758 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Brussels accounted for 325 of Belgium's 459 stories about harm, carried by 348 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (278 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.

Rights & justice

Morocco

76 of its 112 stories (68%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (8 stories). Building collapse was named in 28 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Uganda

107 of its 172 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Kampala accounted for 79 of Uganda's 107 stories about harm, carried by 44 outlets. 62 of Kampala's 79 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (65 stories).

6 more places the news pointed at
Conflict & violence

Iran

422 of its 729 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (99 stories). Road crashes were named in 28 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Conflict & violence

Ukraine

200 of its 420 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Luhansk accounted for 166 of Ukraine's 200 stories about harm, carried by 210 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (106 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Syria

889 of its 1,052 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 77%. Aleppo accounted for 582 of Syria's 889 stories about harm, carried by 411 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about three times the usual rate (39 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Kuwait

90 of its 113 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (36 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Ethiopia

84 of its 123 stories (68%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. 31 of Amhara's 31 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (30 stories).

Conflict & violence

Japan

515 of its 1,394 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (369 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Also named far more than usual: tropical storm in Mexico (161 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); respiratory illness in Taiwan (27 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); road crashes in Sweden (23 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); outbreaks in Myanmar (19 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); wildfires in Spain (72 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

22 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 23; 21 the day before
27 in 10020 in 1008 Jul15 Jul22 Jul29 Jul6 Aug8 Jul: 25 in 1009 Jul: 27 in 10010 Jul: 26 in 10011 Jul: 23 in 10012 Jul: 22 in 10013 Jul: 20 in 10014 Jul: 20 in 10015 Jul: 25 in 10016 Jul: 26 in 10017 Jul: 27 in 10018 Jul: 23 in 10019 Jul: 23 in 10020 Jul: 22 in 10021 Jul: 21 in 10022 Jul: 21 in 10023 Jul: 24 in 10024 Jul: 24 in 10025 Jul: 22 in 10026 Jul: 21 in 10027 Jul: 20 in 10028 Jul: 20 in 10029 Jul: 21 in 10030 Jul: 25 in 10031 Jul: 24 in 1001 Aug: 22 in 1002 Aug: 21 in 1003 Aug: 21 in 1004 Aug: 21 in 1005 Aug: 21 in 1006 Aug: 22 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 6 Aug. 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 32,268 stories about harm among 146,447 counted on 6 Aug.

Read the day's briefing

Reports of people falling ill ran at about three times the usual rate, most often about the US and India. of the day's 146,447 news stories, 22 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. France stood out: 55% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 45%.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Anantnag, Kashmir -- protests & strikes: 48 stories, carried by 37 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Niger Delta, Nigeria -- attacks & violence: 88 stories, carried by 53 outlets; harsh wording in 85 in 100Beijing, China -- protests & strikes: 96 stories, carried by 86 outlets; harsh wording in 80 in 100Genaveh, Iran -- accidents & disasters: 59 stories, carried by 64 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kashmir Valley, Kashmir -- attacks & violence: 94 stories, carried by 47 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Paris, France -- attacks & violence: 123 stories, carried by 131 outlets; harsh wording in 72 in 100Jakarta, Indonesia -- attacks & violence: 91 stories, carried by 69 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Islamabad, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 176 stories, carried by 111 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Gulf of Mexico, Mexico -- accidents & disasters: 57 stories, carried by 70 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sangin, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 78 stories, carried by 74 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Heathrow, UK -- protests & strikes: 88 stories, carried by 145 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100Fengrui, China -- protests & strikes: 86 stories, carried by 80 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 193 stories, carried by 168 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Sanaa, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 199 stories, carried by 173 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Kokrajhar, India -- attacks & violence: 249 stories, carried by 185 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Luhansk, Ukraine -- attacks & violence: 166 stories, carried by 210 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100London, UK -- attacks & violence: 525 stories, carried by 603 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Manbij, Syria -- attacks & violence: 166 stories, carried by 268 outlets; harsh wording in 87 in 100Brussels, Belgium -- attacks & violence: 325 stories, carried by 348 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100New Jersey, US -- deaths, cause not given: 199 stories, carried by 653 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Camden County, US -- deaths, cause not given: 618 stories, carried by 593 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Aleppo, Syria -- attacks & violence: 582 stories, carried by 411 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Hiroshima, Japan -- attacks & violence: 427 stories, carried by 438 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Rouen, France -- accidents & disasters: 862 stories, carried by 905 outlets; harsh wording in 97 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 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.