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What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
28,931 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 Manama (Bahrain), violence in Brussels and abductions in North Korea. Bahrain's coverage was about 4 times as grief-stricken as the world's. Across the world, the tone of the words was much softer than usual.

Reports of abductions ran at about three times the usual rate, most often about the Philippines and the US → Help and hope: reports of people freed or reunited ran at about one and a half times the usual rate →
Part of lifeRights & justice 33 in 100 of the stories about harm · much more than usual Country that rose mostLibya 96 in 100 of its 382 stories, usually 48
RegionCentral Asia 40 in 100 of its stories, usually 19
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

Bahrain

581 of its 686 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. Manama accounted for 388 of Bahrain's 581 stories about harm, carried by 332 outlets. 353 of Manama's 388 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at more than ten times the usual rate (560 stories). Its coverage was about 4 times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Belgium

236 of its 356 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Brussels accounted for 233 of Belgium's 236 stories about harm, carried by 225 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (206 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Health

North Korea

66 of its 105 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (48 stories). Tuberculosis was named in 48 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

Disasters & accidents

India

1,560 of its 6,511 stories (24%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of people falling ill ran at more than ten times the usual rate (11 stories). Avalanche was named in 31 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual, with storms and heatwave.

6 more places the news pointed at
Protests & strikes

Brazil

628 of its 899 stories (70%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. 355 of Rio Grande do Norte's 412 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (537 stories). Natural hazards were named in 43 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Syria

Damascus accounted for 348 of Syria's 581 stories about harm, carried by 309 outlets. 267 of Damascus' 348 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (244 stories). Hunger was named in 60 of its stories about harm, about 10 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

South Sudan

86 of its 101 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 57%. Juba accounted for 84 of South Sudan's 86 stories about harm, carried by 105 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (83 stories). Its coverage was about twice as warm as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Uganda

94 of its 150 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Flu was named in 41 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with bird flu. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Yemen

112 of its 129 stories (87%) were about people being harmed, usually 75%. Sanaa accounted for 79 of Yemen's 112 stories about harm, carried by 114 outlets. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Italy

363 of its 1,177 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (205 stories). Extreme cold was named in 74 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with storms and hypothermia.

Also named far more than usual: heavy rain in Thailand (48 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); flu in Uganda (41 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); extreme cold in Italy (74 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); heavy rain in Kenya (27 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); drought in Sri Lanka (10 of its stories, about 6 times its usual).

22 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 22; 22 the day before
25 in 10020 in 10017 Dec24 Dec31 Dec7 Jan15 Jan17 Dec: 23 in 10018 Dec: 25 in 10019 Dec: 21 in 10020 Dec: 23 in 10021 Dec: 22 in 10022 Dec: 21 in 10023 Dec: 22 in 10024 Dec: 23 in 10025 Dec: 22 in 10026 Dec: 22 in 10027 Dec: 23 in 10028 Dec: 23 in 10029 Dec: 22 in 10030 Dec: 21 in 10031 Dec: 23 in 1001 Jan: 24 in 1002 Jan: 22 in 1003 Jan: 20 in 1004 Jan: 20 in 1005 Jan: 21 in 1006 Jan: 21 in 1007 Jan: 24 in 1008 Jan: 23 in 1009 Jan: 20 in 10010 Jan: 21 in 10011 Jan: 20 in 10012 Jan: 20 in 10013 Jan: 20 in 10014 Jan: 22 in 10015 Jan: 22 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 15 Jan. 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 28,931 stories about harm among 130,649 counted on 15 Jan.

Read the day's briefing

Mentions of tuberculosis ran more than ten times their usual in North Korea's news. of the day's 130,649 news stories, 22 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. Reports of people freed or reunited, a sign of help, ran at about one and a half times the usual rate. Abductions were reported at about three times the usual rate, most often about the Philippines and the US. For the second day running, the news turned to Bahrain. This week the news turned most often to Afghanistan, on 4 of 7 days; help rose on 3 of them.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Cairo, Egypt -- protests & strikes: 88 stories, carried by 76 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Nangarhar, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 86 stories, carried by 56 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Brisbane, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 53 stories, carried by 123 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Islamabad, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 157 stories, carried by 123 outlets; harsh wording in 80 in 100Bamako, Mali -- attacks & violence: 86 stories, carried by 85 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 106 stories, carried by 77 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Karak, Jordan -- attacks & violence: 84 stories, carried by 79 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Manaus, Brazil -- protests & strikes: 65 stories, carried by 84 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kuwait City, Kuwait -- people displaced: 143 stories, carried by 142 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Rome, Italy -- accidents & disasters: 93 stories, carried by 136 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Manila, Philippines -- attacks & violence: 235 stories, carried by 167 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Philippine, Philippines -- attacks & violence: 151 stories, carried by 206 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Juba, South Sudan -- attacks & violence: 84 stories, carried by 105 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Sanaa, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 79 stories, carried by 114 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Newark, US -- attacks & violence: 298 stories, carried by 345 outlets; harsh wording in 87 in 100Patna, India -- accidents & disasters: 294 stories, carried by 148 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Brussels, Belgium -- attacks & violence: 233 stories, carried by 225 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tigris River, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 145 stories, carried by 173 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Kansas City, US -- accidents & disasters: 209 stories, carried by 216 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 217 stories, carried by 222 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Damascus, Syria -- protests & strikes: 348 stories, carried by 309 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil -- protests & strikes: 412 stories, carried by 290 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Moscow, Russia -- attacks & violence: 358 stories, carried by 481 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Manama, Bahrain -- protests & strikes: 388 stories, carried by 332 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 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?

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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.