← 15 Apr Sunday 16 April 2017 · to 23:59 UTC 17 Apr →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
30,123 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 protests in Colombo (Sri Lanka), the hurricane in el Salvador and violence in Mogadishu. Somalia's coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Across the world, the tone of the words was much softer than usual.

Reports of evacuations ran at about 4 times the usual rate, most often about Syria and the US →
Part of lifeRights & justice 35 in 100 of the stories about harm · much more than usual Country that rose mostSri Lanka 78 in 100 of its 553 stories, usually 30
RegionSouth Asia 31 in 100 of its stories, usually 25
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

Sri Lanka

430 of its 553 stories (78%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Colombo accounted for 379 of Sri Lanka's 430 stories about harm, carried by 329 outlets. 231 of Colombo's 379 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (30 stories). Landslides were named in 63 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Sri Lanka over 30 days → its stories → Colombo stories →
Disasters & accidents

El Salvador

51 of its 54 stories (94%) were about people being harmed, usually 51%. el Faro accounted for 51 of el Salvador's 51 stories about harm, carried by 51 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (51 stories). Hurricane was named in 51 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with power cuts. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

El Salvador over 30 days → its stories → El Faro stories →
Conflict & violence

Somalia

307 of its 339 stories (91%) were about people being harmed, usually 71%. Mogadishu accounted for 213 of Somalia's 307 stories about harm, carried by 174 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (270 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Somalia over 30 days → its stories → Mogadishu stories →
Rights & justice

Egypt

665 of its 884 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 56%. Cairo accounted for 364 of Egypt's 665 stories about harm, carried by 351 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about 7 times the usual rate (6 stories).

Egypt over 30 days → its stories → Cairo stories →
6 more places the news pointed at
Protests & strikes

Hong Kong

108 of its 167 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Lantau accounted for 94 of Hong Kong's 108 stories about harm, carried by 3 outlets. 90 of Lantau's 94 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (8 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

its stories →
Conflict & violence

Syria

1,789 of its 2,185 stories (82%) were about people being harmed, usually 72%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 10 times the usual rate (768 stories). Drownings were named in 39 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

its stories →
Protests & strikes

Saudi Arabia

202 of its 439 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. 144 of Riyadh's 161 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (137 stories).

its stories →
Conflict & violence

Iraq

320 of its 394 stories (81%) were about people being harmed, usually 69%. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (91 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

its stories →
Protests & strikes

Niger

18 of its 24 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 49%. 13 of Niamey's 13 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 6 times the usual rate (16 stories).

its stories →
Conflict & violence

Philippines

Reports of evacuations ran at about 5 times the usual rate (35 stories). Drownings were named in 54 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with cyclone and cholera. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

its stories →

Also named far more than usual: volcanic eruption in Costa Rica (11 of its stories, about three times its usual); natural hazards in Peru (12 of its stories, about 9 times its usual); power cuts in New Zealand (21 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); landslides in Iran (14 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); drownings in Philippines (54 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

25 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 22; 25 the day before
27 in 10019 in 10018 Mar25 Mar1 Apr8 Apr16 Apr18 Mar: 22 in 10019 Mar: 22 in 10020 Mar: 19 in 10021 Mar: 20 in 10022 Mar: 22 in 10023 Mar: 24 in 10024 Mar: 21 in 10025 Mar: 22 in 10026 Mar: 26 in 10027 Mar: 21 in 10028 Mar: 20 in 10029 Mar: 20 in 10030 Mar: 21 in 10031 Mar: 21 in 1001 Apr: 23 in 1002 Apr: 25 in 1003 Apr: 22 in 1004 Apr: 21 in 1005 Apr: 22 in 1006 Apr: 21 in 1007 Apr: 24 in 1008 Apr: 25 in 1009 Apr: 27 in 10010 Apr: 22 in 10011 Apr: 22 in 10012 Apr: 20 in 10013 Apr: 21 in 10014 Apr: 23 in 10015 Apr: 25 in 10016 Apr: 25 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 16 Apr. 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 30,123 stories about harm among 118,622 counted on 16 Apr.

Read the day's briefing

Evacuations were reported at about 4 times the usual rate, most often about Syria and the US. the news turned to Sri Lanka for the third day running. Sri Lanka's news was 78% about people being harmed, against a usual 30%. of the day's 118,622 news stories, 25 in every 100 were about people being harmed, above the usual 22. This week the news turned most often to Venezuela, on 4 of 7 days; help rose on 1 of them.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where harm was most of the news all →

El Salvador94 in 100 of its 54 stories · usually 51 · mostly disasters & accidents South Sudan93 in 100 of its 170 stories · usually 77 · mostly conflict & violence Somalia91 in 100 of its 339 stories · usually 71 · mostly conflict & violence Syria82 in 100 of its 2,185 stories · usually 72 · mostly conflict & violence Iraq81 in 100 of its 394 stories · usually 69 · mostly conflict & violence

Countries with at least 50 stories that day.

Where people protested

Berkeley US728 stories about protests or strikes, of its 944 Washington US442 stories about protests or strikes, of its 1014 Madaya Syria235 stories about protests or strikes, of its 577 Colombo Sri Lanka231 stories about protests or strikes, of its 379 Harpursville US155 stories about protests or strikes, of its 171

Stories, not people.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Rome, Italy -- attacks & violence: 70 stories, carried by 75 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100El Faro, el Salvador -- accidents & disasters: 51 stories, carried by 51 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sinpo, North Korea -- attacks & violence: 25 stories, carried by 97 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Sanaag, Somalia -- accidents & disasters: 44 stories, carried by 53 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Madrid, Spain -- deaths, cause not given: 76 stories, carried by 63 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Pebbly Beach, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 40 stories, carried by 88 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Verbania, Italy -- attacks & violence: 156 stories, carried by 180 outlets; harsh wording in 74 in 100Lahore, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 124 stories, carried by 97 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- attacks & violence: 185 stories, carried by 136 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 103 stories, carried by 93 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Alexandria, Egypt -- attacks & violence: 67 stories, carried by 169 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Blue Mountains, Australia -- deaths, cause not given: 8 stories, carried by 113 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Paris, France -- protests & strikes: 194 stories, carried by 183 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- protests & strikes: 161 stories, carried by 148 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Moscow, Russia -- attacks & violence: 258 stories, carried by 271 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Pyongyang, North Korea -- attacks & violence: 114 stories, carried by 215 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Mogadishu, Somalia -- attacks & violence: 213 stories, carried by 174 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Colombo, Sri Lanka -- protests & strikes: 379 stories, carried by 329 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Blacksburg, US -- attacks & violence: 308 stories, carried by 386 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 310 stories, carried by 288 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Istanbul, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 1,210 stories, carried by 493 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Madaya, Syria -- people displaced: 577 stories, carried by 539 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Aleppo, Syria -- attacks & violence: 587 stories, carried by 581 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Berkeley, US -- protests & strikes: 944 stories, carried by 1,031 outlets; harsh wording in 96 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.

Biggest events

● Berkeley US protests & strikes · 944 stories, 1,031 outlets ● Aleppo Syria attacks & violence · 587 stories, 581 outlets ● Madaya Syria people displaced · 577 stories, 539 outlets ● Istanbul Türkiye attacks & violence · 1,210 stories, 493 outlets ● Kabul Afghanistan attacks & violence · 310 stories, 288 outlets ● Blacksburg US attacks & violence · 308 stories, 386 outlets ● Colombo Sri Lanka protests & strikes · 379 stories, 329 outlets ● Mogadishu Somalia attacks & violence · 213 stories, 174 outlets

The day in three measures

Parts of life 30 days →

Rights & justice35% 10,382 stories · much more than usual (usually 29%) Conflict & violence27% 7,916 stories · more than usual (usually 24%) Health14% 4,031 stories · less than usual (usually 17%) Disasters & accidents12% 3,588 stories · less than usual (usually 15%) Deaths & injuries, cause not given5% 1,619 stories · about as usual Displacement4% 1,137 stories · about as usual Shelter & services2% 696 stories · about as usual Food & livelihood1% 371 stories · about as usual

Of the stories about people being harmed, what part of life each was about. The mark is usual.

Harm reported 30 days →

Stories reporting people killed11,583 at about one and a half times the usual rate · most about the US and Syria Stories reporting arrests4,831 at about one and a half times the usual rate · most about the US and Türkiye Stories reporting people affected4,343 at about one and a half times the usual rate · most about the US and Syria Stories reporting people injured2,685 at about the usual rate Stories reporting evacuations1,066 at about 4 times the usual rate · most about Syria and the US Stories reporting refugees1,017 at about twice the usual rate · most about Türkiye and Saudi Arabia Stories reporting abductions281 at about two-thirds of the usual rate · most about Italy and the US Stories reporting people displaced219 at about the usual rate Stories reporting people falling ill18 at about a third of the usual rate · most about Lebanon and Haiti

Stories that report it, not people: we count what reporters wrote, not what happened.

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.