← 11 May Friday 12 May 2017 · to 23:59 UTC 13 May →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
45,627 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 →

Most of the day's attention went to people injured in Congo, violence in Quetta and protests in Amman (Jordan). Congo's coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. In the world's news as a whole, the wording was much softer than usual.

Part of lifeRights & justice 29 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostFinland 55 in 100 of its 339 stories, usually 13
RegionEast Asia 18 in 100 of its stories, usually 15
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 →
Health

Congo

413 of its 427 stories (97%) were about people being harmed, usually 65%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (13 stories). Haemorrhagic fever was named in 286 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Pakistan

1,194 of its 2,038 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Quetta accounted for 670 of Pakistan's 1,194 stories about harm, carried by 413 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (600 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Jordan

105 of its 284 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. 63 of Amman's 69 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at about 8 times the usual rate (78 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Finland

186 of its 339 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. Reports of people killed ran at about 5 times the usual rate (43 stories). Grief in its coverage rose to about three times its own usual.

6 more places the news pointed at
Protests & strikes

Nepal

163 of its 294 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. Kathmandu accounted for 133 of Nepal's 163 stories about harm, carried by 118 outlets. 95 of Kathmandu's 133 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (21 stories).

Protests & strikes

Palestine

577 of its 1,057 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. Ramallah accounted for 392 of Palestine's 577 stories about harm, carried by 91 outlets. 342 of Ramallah's 392 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at about twice the usual rate (32 stories).

Protests & strikes

Venezuela

340 of its 498 stories (68%) were about people being harmed, usually 63%. Caracas accounted for 248 of Venezuela's 340 stories about harm, carried by 178 outlets. 199 of Caracas' 248 stories were about protests or strikes. Malaria was named in 56 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with diphtheria.

Protests & strikes

Côte d’Ivoire

133 of its 235 stories (57%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Abidjan accounted for 85 of Côte d’Ivoire's 133 stories about harm, carried by 77 outlets. 85 of Abidjan's 85 stories were about protests or strikes.

Protests & strikes

Bahrain

31 of its 101 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 10%. 5 of Manama's 9 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about 8 times the usual rate (20 stories).

Conflict & violence

Italy

586 of its 2,045 stories (29%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (98 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: earthquake in El Salvador (33 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hunger in Ethiopia (15 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); hunger in Zambia (15 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); landslides in Iran (34 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); malaria in Venezuela (56 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

20 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 21; 19 the day before
25 in 10019 in 10013 Apr20 Apr27 Apr4 May12 May13 Apr: 21 in 10014 Apr: 23 in 10015 Apr: 25 in 10016 Apr: 25 in 10017 Apr: 23 in 10018 Apr: 20 in 10019 Apr: 21 in 10020 Apr: 21 in 10021 Apr: 22 in 10022 Apr: 23 in 10023 Apr: 22 in 10024 Apr: 22 in 10025 Apr: 21 in 10026 Apr: 20 in 10027 Apr: 20 in 10028 Apr: 20 in 10029 Apr: 20 in 10030 Apr: 21 in 1001 May: 22 in 1002 May: 21 in 1003 May: 21 in 1004 May: 21 in 1005 May: 21 in 1006 May: 23 in 1007 May: 24 in 1008 May: 20 in 1009 May: 20 in 10010 May: 20 in 10011 May: 19 in 10012 May: 20 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 12 May. 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 45,627 stories about harm among 228,311 counted on 12 May.

Read the day's briefing

Mentions of haemorrhagic fever ran more than ten times their usual in Congo's news. of the day's 228,311 news stories, 20 in every 100 were about people being harmed, below the usual 21. Congo stood out: 97% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 65%. A year earlier, on 12 May 2016, 19 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 20 today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Cairo, Egypt -- attacks & violence: 82 stories, carried by 78 outlets; harsh wording in 77 in 100Dinka, South Sudan -- attacks & violence: 51 stories, carried by 50 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Damascus, Syria -- attacks & violence: 96 stories, carried by 64 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Brussels, Belgium -- attacks & violence: 98 stories, carried by 105 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Elwak, Kenya -- attacks & violence: 51 stories, carried by 55 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Beirut, Lebanon -- attacks & violence: 60 stories, carried by 67 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Amman, Jordan -- protests & strikes: 69 stories, carried by 74 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 68 stories, carried by 75 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -- accidents & disasters: 162 stories, carried by 144 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire -- protests & strikes: 85 stories, carried by 77 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Ramallah, Palestine -- protests & strikes: 392 stories, carried by 91 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Saimaa, Finland -- accidents & disasters: 78 stories, carried by 78 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kathmandu, Nepal -- protests & strikes: 133 stories, carried by 118 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Islamabad, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 230 stories, carried by 124 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Ankara, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 213 stories, carried by 151 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Rome, Italy -- accidents & disasters: 167 stories, carried by 166 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Bari, Italy -- attacks & violence: 235 stories, carried by 162 outlets; harsh wording in 84 in 100Caracas, Venezuela -- protests & strikes: 248 stories, carried by 178 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Houston, US -- accidents & disasters: 577 stories, carried by 402 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Raqqa, Syria -- attacks & violence: 254 stories, carried by 203 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Diaoyu, China -- accidents & disasters: 329 stories, carried by 206 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Paris, France -- attacks & violence: 369 stories, carried by 294 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Quetta, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 670 stories, carried by 413 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Kirkersville, US -- attacks & violence: 493 stories, carried by 575 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.

● Angera little less than 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.