← 30 Aug Wednesday 31 August 2016 · to 23:59 UTC 1 Sep →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
60,657 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 day's news pointed at violence in Mogadishu, people affected in Liberia and protests in Libreville (Gabon). Somalia's coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Language across the world's news ran softer than usual.

Reports of people falling ill ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about Israel and Angola →
Part of lifeRights & justice 30 in 100 of the stories about harm · more than usual Country that rose mostPoland 47 in 100 of its 508 stories, usually 20
RegionCentral Asia 54 in 100 of its stories, usually 31
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 →
Conflict & violence

Somalia

267 of its 306 stories (87%) were about people being harmed, usually 62%. Mogadishu accounted for 207 of Somalia's 267 stories about harm, carried by 127 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at about 5 times the usual rate (12 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Health

Liberia

165 of its 279 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Reports of people affected ran at about 9 times the usual rate (114 stories). Plague was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 10 times usual.

Displacement

Germany

Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (165 stories). Plague was named in 26 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.

6 more places the news pointed at
Conflict & violence

Syria

Aleppo accounted for 890 of Syria's 1,474 stories about harm, carried by 805 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (405 stories). Accidents were named in 13 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Poland

241 of its 508 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (110 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Lebanon

190 of its 327 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (130 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Health

Angola

104 of its 156 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Reports of people falling ill ran at more than ten times the usual rate (92 stories). Haemorrhagic fever was named in 91 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

Conflict & violence

Tunisia

116 of its 146 stories (79%) were about people being harmed, usually 53%. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (61 stories). Its coverage was about 4 times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Kyrgyzstan

103 of its 165 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Bishkek accounted for 93 of Kyrgyzstan's 103 stories about harm, carried by 63 outlets. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: haemorrhagic fever in Angola (91 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); tsunami in Papua New Guinea (32 of its stories, about 10 times its usual); dengue in Singapore (110 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); landslides in Iceland (25 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); drought in Vietnam (22 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

21 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 22; 22 the day before
24 in 10020 in 1002 Aug9 Aug16 Aug23 Aug31 Aug2 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 10029 Aug: 23 in 10030 Aug: 22 in 10031 Aug: 21 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 31 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 60,657 stories about harm among 283,484 counted on 31 Aug.

Read the day's briefing

In Angola's news, mentions of haemorrhagic fever ran more than ten times their usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 21 in every 100 of the day's 283,484 stories, as usual. People falling ill were reported at about twice the usual rate, most often about Israel and Angola. In Somalia, 87% of the news was about people being harmed, where 62% is usual.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Frankfurt, Germany -- people displaced: 142 stories, carried by 114 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Namatanai, Papua New Guinea -- accidents & disasters: 16 stories, carried by 92 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Delhi, India -- attacks & violence: 785 stories, carried by 363 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Tel Aviv, Israel -- attacks & violence: 323 stories, carried by 169 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Libreville, Gabon -- protests & strikes: 98 stories, carried by 107 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 109 stories, carried by 103 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Warsaw, Poland -- attacks & violence: 174 stories, carried by 130 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Anadolu, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 121 stories, carried by 133 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Gippsland, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 12 stories, carried by 114 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tokyo, Japan -- accidents & disasters: 335 stories, carried by 235 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Mogadishu, Somalia -- attacks & violence: 207 stories, carried by 127 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Manbij, Syria -- attacks & violence: 108 stories, carried by 136 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Seoul, South Korea -- attacks & violence: 382 stories, carried by 331 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -- attacks & violence: 228 stories, carried by 244 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Aljunied, Singapore -- disease & outbreaks: 262 stories, carried by 148 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Lampedusa, Italy -- people displaced: 112 stories, carried by 147 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Iwaizumi, Japan -- accidents & disasters: 104 stories, carried by 142 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Beirut, Lebanon -- attacks & violence: 150 stories, carried by 156 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Sanaa, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 210 stories, carried by 177 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Amatrice, Italy -- accidents & disasters: 261 stories, carried by 226 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Ankara, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 397 stories, carried by 253 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Hilo Harbor, US -- accidents & disasters: 315 stories, carried by 390 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Miami, US -- accidents & disasters: 716 stories, carried by 579 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Aleppo, Syria -- attacks & violence: 890 stories, carried by 805 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 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.