← 17 Aug Thursday 18 August 2016 · to 23:59 UTC 19 Aug →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
58,090 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 →

Protests in Koinadugu (Sierra Leone), people affected in Puerto Rico and people injured in Türkiye drew the news. Türkiye's coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Over the whole world, the tone was softer than usual.

Help and hope: reports of aid and relief ran at about one and a half times the usual rate →
Part of lifeRights & justice 28 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostHaiti 59 in 100 of its 366 stories, usually 28
RegionMiddle East & North Africa 56 in 100 of its stories, usually 50
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

Sierra Leone

112 of its 220 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. 51 of Koinadugu's 53 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (50 stories). Haemorrhagic fever was named in 17 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Disasters & accidents

Puerto Rico

316 of its 470 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 48%. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (137 stories). Heatstroke was named in 165 of its stories about harm, about 10 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Türkiye

1,907 of its 2,535 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 59%. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (1,229 stories). Flu was named in 38 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with bird flu. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Rights & justice

Sri Lanka

155 of its 409 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Reports of people displaced ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories). Poisoning was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Protests & strikes

Syria

Aleppo accounted for 1,250 of Syria's 1,926 stories about harm, carried by 1,126 outlets. 749 of Aleppo's 1,250 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (291 stories). Building collapse was named in 196 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with ebola. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Vietnam

250 of its 874 stories (29%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (70 stories). Helicopter crash was named in 11 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Disasters & accidents

Chile

151 of its 320 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Santiago accounted for 136 of Chile's 151 stories about harm, carried by 197 outlets. Volcanic eruption was named in 130 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

Conflict & violence

Rwanda

135 of its 236 stories (57%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Kigali accounted for 117 of Rwanda's 135 stories about harm, carried by 117 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Health

Congo

86 of its 99 stories (87%) were about people being harmed, usually 60%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (7 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Displacement

Lebanon

173 of its 344 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Beirut accounted for 143 of Lebanon's 173 stories about harm, carried by 151 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about 5 times the usual rate (116 stories).

Also named far more than usual: volcanic eruption in Chile (130 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); house fires in Ireland (287 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hurricane in Cape Verde (25 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); plague in Venezuela (39 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); avalanche in France (122 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

21 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 22; 22 the day before
25 in 10020 in 10020 Jul27 Jul3 Aug10 Aug18 Aug20 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 1007 Aug: 22 in 1008 Aug: 20 in 1009 Aug: 20 in 10010 Aug: 20 in 10011 Aug: 20 in 10012 Aug: 20 in 10013 Aug: 22 in 10014 Aug: 24 in 10015 Aug: 23 in 10016 Aug: 22 in 10017 Aug: 22 in 10018 Aug: 21 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 18 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 58,090 stories about harm among 279,257 counted on 18 Aug.

Read the day's briefing

Mentions of volcanic eruption ran more than ten times their usual in Chile's news. of the day's 279,257 news stories, 21 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. Reports of aid and relief, a sign of help, ran at about one and a half times the usual rate. Sierra Leone's news was 51% about people being harmed, against a usual 36%.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Delhi, India -- attacks & violence: 1,316 stories, carried by 201 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Islamabad, Pakistan -- protests & strikes: 848 stories, carried by 122 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Munich, Germany -- people displaced: 150 stories, carried by 129 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Vung Tau, Vietnam -- attacks & violence: 18 stories, carried by 89 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Doha, Qatar -- accidents & disasters: 128 stories, carried by 122 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- attacks & violence: 259 stories, carried by 162 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Paris, France -- attacks & violence: 245 stories, carried by 193 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Kigali, Rwanda -- attacks & violence: 117 stories, carried by 117 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Townsville, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 97 stories, carried by 144 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Chamonix, France -- accidents & disasters: 124 stories, carried by 119 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Lesbos, Greece -- accidents & disasters: 116 stories, carried by 123 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 164 stories, carried by 154 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Tokyo, Japan -- accidents & disasters: 144 stories, carried by 253 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Berlin, Germany -- attacks & violence: 191 stories, carried by 242 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Moscow, Russia -- attacks & violence: 353 stories, carried by 257 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Sirte, Libya -- attacks & violence: 227 stories, carried by 204 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Santiago, Chile -- accidents & disasters: 136 stories, carried by 197 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Juba, South Sudan -- attacks & violence: 397 stories, carried by 295 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Saidnaya, Syria -- protests & strikes: 329 stories, carried by 471 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Anadolu, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 367 stories, carried by 316 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Elazig, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 608 stories, carried by 542 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Wrightwood, US -- accidents & disasters: 706 stories, carried by 560 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Aleppo, Syria -- protests & strikes: 1,250 stories, carried by 1,126 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Baton Rouge, US -- accidents & disasters: 1,152 stories, carried by 946 outlets; harsh wording in 92 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.