← 21 Dec Thursday 22 December 2016 · to 23:59 UTC 23 Dec →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
50,519 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 Bogota (Colombia), violence in Berlin and people affected in Mexico. Mexico's coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Over the whole world, the tone was harsher than usual.

Part of lifeRights & justice 26 in 100 of the stories about harm · less than usual Country that rose mostBahrain 68 in 100 of its 282 stories, usually 30
RegionEurope 26 in 100 of its stories, usually 19
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 →
Protests & strikes

Colombia

162 of its 306 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Bogota accounted for 123 of Colombia's 162 stories about harm, carried by 155 outlets. 117 of Bogota's 123 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 6 times the usual rate (43 stories). Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Conflict & violence

Germany

2,877 of its 4,639 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Berlin accounted for 2,639 of Germany's 2,877 stories about harm, carried by 1,361 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (1,881 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Deaths & injuries, cause not given

Mexico

679 of its 1,455 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of people affected ran at about 5 times the usual rate (305 stories). Whooping cough was named in 10 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Rights & justice

Peru

136 of its 315 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Lima accounted for 122 of Peru's 136 stories about harm, carried by 185 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (9 stories).

6 more places the news pointed at
Protests & strikes

Afghanistan

354 of its 493 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 61%. Kabul accounted for 251 of Afghanistan's 354 stories about harm, carried by 191 outlets. 144 of Kabul's 251 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of abductions ran at about three times the usual rate (13 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Türkiye

591 of its 1,001 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Ankara accounted for 319 of Türkiye's 591 stories about harm, carried by 256 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Iraq

821 of its 978 stories (84%) were about people being harmed, usually 71%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (528 stories). Power cuts were named in 113 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Syria

Aleppo accounted for 2,279 of Syria's 2,576 stories about harm, carried by 1,290 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (390 stories). Snowstorms were named in 408 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with oil spill. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Congo

234 of its 269 stories (87%) were about people being harmed, usually 57%. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (44 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Lebanon

150 of its 274 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Reports of refugees ran at about 5 times the usual rate (93 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Also named far more than usual: extreme cold in Greenland (20 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); volcanic eruption in Italy (82 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); heavy rain in Haiti (14 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); snowstorms in Syria (408 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); cholera in Jamaica (15 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

21 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 21; 22 the day before
25 in 10020 in 10023 Nov30 Nov7 Dec14 Dec22 Dec23 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 10022 Dec: 21 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 22 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 50,519 stories about harm among 243,045 counted on 22 Dec.

Read the day's briefing

21 in every 100 of the day's 243,045 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Jakarta, Indonesia -- attacks & violence: 106 stories, carried by 92 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Seoul, South Korea -- protests & strikes: 112 stories, carried by 100 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Marham, UK -- attacks & violence: 26 stories, carried by 118 outlets; harsh wording in 85 in 100Campi Flegrei, Italy -- accidents & disasters: 81 stories, carried by 70 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Cairo, Egypt -- protests & strikes: 116 stories, carried by 117 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Bucharest, Romania -- attacks & violence: 89 stories, carried by 90 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Tunis, Tunisia -- attacks & violence: 85 stories, carried by 87 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Beirut, Lebanon -- attacks & violence: 97 stories, carried by 103 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Istanbul, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 127 stories, carried by 121 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Tultepec, Mexico -- deaths, cause not given: 308 stories, carried by 251 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Braintree, UK -- accidents & disasters: 94 stories, carried by 191 outlets; harsh wording in 79 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- protests & strikes: 251 stories, carried by 191 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Bogota, Colombia -- protests & strikes: 123 stories, carried by 155 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Itoigawa, Japan -- accidents & disasters: 212 stories, carried by 162 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Aleutian Islands, US -- accidents & disasters: 81 stories, carried by 159 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Canberra, Australia -- attacks & violence: 134 stories, carried by 187 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 247 stories, carried by 195 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Ankara, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 319 stories, carried by 256 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Gogjali, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 132 stories, carried by 215 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100San Pablito, Mexico -- deaths, cause not given: 220 stories, carried by 225 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Moscow, Russia -- attacks & violence: 844 stories, carried by 556 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Washington, US -- attacks & violence: 2,265 stories, carried by 1,391 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Berlin, Germany -- attacks & violence: 2,639 stories, carried by 1,361 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Aleppo, Syria -- attacks & violence: 2,279 stories, carried by 1,290 outlets; harsh wording in 98 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?

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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.