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What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
35,315 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 la Paz (Bolivia), a disaster in Amatrice and violence in Asuncion. Bolivia's coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Across the world, the tone of the words was much softer than usual.

Part of lifeRights & justice 28 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostUzbekistan 73 in 100 of its 119 stories, usually 18
RegionCentral Asia 57 in 100 of its stories, usually 20
Tone of the words Much softer than usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Protests & strikes

Bolivia

179 of its 194 stories (92%) were about people being harmed, usually 56%. la Paz accounted for 161 of Bolivia's 179 stories about harm, carried by 200 outlets. 160 of la Paz's 161 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (143 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Italy

1,245 of its 2,156 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Amatrice accounted for 897 of Italy's 1,245 stories about harm, carried by 742 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about 5 times the usual rate (101 stories). Plague was named in 14 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Paraguay

94 of its 100 stories (94%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Asuncion accounted for 61 of Paraguay's 94 stories about harm, carried by 57 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (93 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Health

Singapore

518 of its 2,043 stories (25%) were about people being harmed, usually 9%. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (34 stories). Dengue was named in 67 of its stories about harm, about 10 times usual, with chikungunya.

6 more places the news pointed at
Protests & strikes

Uzbekistan

87 of its 119 stories (73%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Andijan accounted for 69 of Uzbekistan's 87 stories about harm, carried by 89 outlets. 68 of Andijan's 69 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at more than ten times the usual rate (83 stories).

Conflict & violence

Colombia

278 of its 358 stories (78%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Reports of abductions ran at about 4 times the usual rate (10 stories). Polio was named in 13 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Türkiye

990 of its 1,311 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 64%. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (547 stories). Hunger was named in 11 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Protests & strikes

Sierra Leone

27 of its 38 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. 14 of Freetown's 20 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (14 stories).

Conflict & violence

Sudan

77 of its 103 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 59%. Reports of people displaced ran at about 5 times the usual rate (52 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Syria

969 of its 1,123 stories (86%) were about people being harmed, usually 75%. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (394 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: hunger in Kenya (49 of its stories, about 10 times its usual); hurricane in Cuba (16 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flu in Panama (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); malaria in Japan (39 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); train derailment in India (100 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

23 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 22; 24 the day before
25 in 10020 in 10030 Jul6 Aug13 Aug20 Aug28 Aug30 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 10019 Aug: 20 in 10020 Aug: 22 in 10021 Aug: 24 in 10022 Aug: 22 in 10023 Aug: 22 in 10024 Aug: 23 in 10025 Aug: 22 in 10026 Aug: 22 in 10027 Aug: 24 in 10028 Aug: 23 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 28 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 35,315 stories about harm among 154,822 counted on 28 Aug.

Read the day's briefing

For the third day running, the news turned to Bolivia. Stories about people being harmed made up 23 in every 100 of the day's 154,822 stories, as usual. Bolivia's news was 92% about people being harmed, against a usual 56%. This week the news turned most often to Italy, on 5 of 7 days; help rose on 1 of them.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Berlin, Germany -- people displaced: 156 stories, carried by 110 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Sussex, UK -- accidents & disasters: 43 stories, carried by 164 outlets; harsh wording in 70 in 100Chibok, Nigeria -- attacks & violence: 147 stories, carried by 110 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Trbusnica, -- attacks & violence: 69 stories, carried by 84 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Andijan, Uzbekistan -- protests & strikes: 69 stories, carried by 89 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sirte, Libya -- attacks & violence: 140 stories, carried by 98 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Rome, Italy -- people displaced: 134 stories, carried by 166 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Panama Canal, Panama -- disease & outbreaks: 12 stories, carried by 117 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Medan, Indonesia -- attacks & violence: 166 stories, carried by 127 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100San Vicente del Caguan, Colombia -- attacks & violence: 85 stories, carried by 135 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 140 stories, carried by 140 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Ankara, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 213 stories, carried by 182 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Paris, France -- attacks & violence: 248 stories, carried by 281 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Dhaka, Bangladesh -- attacks & violence: 306 stories, carried by 181 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Damascus, Syria -- attacks & violence: 247 stories, carried by 212 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100London, UK -- accidents & disasters: 597 stories, carried by 467 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Bali, Indonesia -- attacks & violence: 118 stories, carried by 200 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100La Paz, Bolivia -- protests & strikes: 161 stories, carried by 200 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Aleppo, Syria -- attacks & violence: 236 stories, carried by 254 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Washington, US -- attacks & violence: 1,522 stories, carried by 616 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Miami, US -- accidents & disasters: 282 stories, carried by 307 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Anadolu, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 285 stories, carried by 319 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Aljunied, Singapore -- disease & outbreaks: 242 stories, carried by 326 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Amatrice, Italy -- accidents & disasters: 897 stories, carried by 742 outlets; harsh wording in 95 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 much softer 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.