← 20 Dec Wednesday 21 December 2016 · to 23:59 UTC 22 Dec →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
55,846 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 Berlin, illness in Kathmandu and protests in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). Nepal's coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Language across the world's news ran much harsher than usual.

Reports of people falling ill ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about the US and Jamaica →
Part of lifeRights & justice 26 in 100 of the stories about harm · less than usual Country that rose mostMexico 74 in 100 of its 3,400 stories, usually 21
RegionLatin America & Caribbean 49 in 100 of its stories, usually 27
Tone of the words Much harsher than usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Conflict & violence

Germany

3,768 of its 5,643 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Berlin accounted for 3,492 of Germany's 3,768 stories about harm, carried by 1,755 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (944 stories). Tornadoes were named in 222 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Health

Nepal

526 of its 680 stories (77%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Kathmandu accounted for 467 of Nepal's 526 stories about harm, carried by 181 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 8 times the usual rate (169 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Ethiopia

162 of its 290 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. 55 of Addis Ababa's 96 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (123 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Mexico

2,521 of its 3,400 stories (74%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Tultepec accounted for 2,088 of Mexico's 2,521 stories about harm, carried by 1,397 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (1,828 stories).

6 more places the news pointed at
Protests & strikes

DR Congo

66 of its 96 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Kinshasa accounted for 60 of the DR Congo's 66 stories about harm, carried by 42 outlets. 50 of Kinshasa's 60 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (16 stories).

Conflict & violence

Indonesia

709 of its 1,103 stories (64%) were about people being harmed, usually 51%. Jakarta accounted for 533 of Indonesia's 709 stories about harm, carried by 645 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about 7 times the usual rate (40 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Conflict & violence

Syria

Aleppo accounted for 1,781 of Syria's 2,137 stories about harm, carried by 956 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about three times the usual rate (1,005 stories). Extreme cold was named in 195 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with snowstorms. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Mongolia

123 of its 223 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 10%. Reports of people killed ran at more than ten times the usual rate (119 stories). Storms were named in 60 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with snowstorms.

Protests & strikes

Bahrain

199 of its 286 stories (70%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. 20 of Manama's 28 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (133 stories).

Conflict & violence

Tunisia

214 of its 324 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (135 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: storms in Mongolia (60 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); extreme cold in Greenland (22 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); tsunami in Timor-Leste (15 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hunger in Kenya (24 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flu in Hong Kong (12 of its stories, about 8 times its usual).

22 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 21; 23 the day before
25 in 10020 in 10022 Nov29 Nov6 Dec13 Dec21 Dec22 Nov: 22 in 10023 Nov: 20 in 10024 Nov: 21 in 10025 Nov: 21 in 10026 Nov: 23 in 10027 Nov: 23 in 10028 Nov: 20 in 10029 Nov: 20 in 10030 Nov: 20 in 1001 Dec: 20 in 1002 Dec: 20 in 1003 Dec: 22 in 1004 Dec: 22 in 1005 Dec: 20 in 1006 Dec: 20 in 1007 Dec: 21 in 1008 Dec: 20 in 1009 Dec: 21 in 10010 Dec: 23 in 10011 Dec: 22 in 10012 Dec: 20 in 10013 Dec: 20 in 10014 Dec: 20 in 10015 Dec: 20 in 10016 Dec: 21 in 10017 Dec: 23 in 10018 Dec: 25 in 10019 Dec: 21 in 10020 Dec: 23 in 10021 Dec: 22 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 21 Dec. 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 55,846 stories about harm among 258,965 counted on 21 Dec.

Read the day's briefing

Mongolia's news mentioned storms more than ten times as often as usual. 22 in every 100 of the day's 258,965 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. People falling ill were reported at about twice the usual rate, most often about the US and Jamaica. the news turned to Germany for the second day running. Germany's news was 67% 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
Islamabad, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 174 stories, carried by 97 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Perth, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 114 stories, carried by 163 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia -- accidents & disasters: 63 stories, carried by 66 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Philippine, Philippines -- attacks & violence: 219 stories, carried by 197 outlets; harsh wording in 82 in 100Achham, Nepal -- accidents & disasters: 30 stories, carried by 89 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Monju, Japan -- accidents & disasters: 64 stories, carried by 74 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Puerto Carreno, Colombia -- deaths, cause not given: 43 stories, carried by 96 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Shanghai, China -- attacks & violence: 136 stories, carried by 122 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Karak, Jordan -- attacks & violence: 116 stories, carried by 107 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Canberra, Australia -- attacks & violence: 159 stories, carried by 136 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- protests & strikes: 425 stories, carried by 215 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Paris, France -- attacks & violence: 317 stories, carried by 270 outlets; harsh wording in 68 in 100Helmand, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 44 stories, carried by 159 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 131 stories, carried by 175 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100San Pablito, Mexico -- accidents & disasters: 238 stories, carried by 364 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Beijing, China -- attacks & violence: 291 stories, carried by 398 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Baton Rouge, US -- protests & strikes: 213 stories, carried by 383 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Washington, US -- attacks & violence: 2,073 stories, carried by 1,245 outlets; harsh wording in 87 in 100Moscow, Russia -- attacks & violence: 748 stories, carried by 651 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Ankara, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 828 stories, carried by 573 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Aleppo, Syria -- attacks & violence: 1,781 stories, carried by 956 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Tultepec, Mexico -- accidents & disasters: 2,088 stories, carried by 1,397 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Jakarta, Indonesia -- attacks & violence: 533 stories, carried by 645 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Berlin, Germany -- attacks & violence: 3,492 stories, carried by 1,755 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 much 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.