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What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
50,461 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 Bangassou (Central African Republic), rights and justice in Stockholm and people injured in Libya. Libya's coverage was about three times as angry as the world's. In the world's news as a whole, the wording was about as usual.

Reports of people falling ill ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about the US and Yemen →
Part of lifeRights & justice 34 in 100 of the stories about harm · more than usual Country that rose mostSweden 67 in 100 of its 1,590 stories, usually 28
RegionMiddle East & North Africa 51 in 100 of its stories, usually 44
Tone of the words About as usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Protests & strikes

Central African Republic

269 of its 296 stories (91%) were about people being harmed, usually 83%. Bangassou accounted for 170 of the Central African Republic's 269 stories about harm, carried by 147 outlets. 110 of Bangassou's 170 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at about 7 times the usual rate (90 stories). Ebola was named in 79 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Rights & justice

Sweden

1,062 of its 1,590 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Stockholm accounted for 772 of Sweden's 1,062 stories about harm, carried by 544 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (15 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Libya

209 of its 244 stories (86%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. Reports of people injured ran at about 10 times the usual rate (91 stories). Hunger was named in 15 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual. Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.

Deaths & injuries, cause not given

Albania

72 of its 167 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (55 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Conflict & violence

Mali

205 of its 227 stories (90%) were about people being harmed, usually 58%. Bamako accounted for 156 of Mali's 205 stories about harm, carried by 117 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Rights & justice

Gambia

102 of its 194 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Banjul accounted for 95 of the Gambia's 102 stories about harm, carried by 80 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (89 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

South Sudan

236 of its 276 stories (86%) were about people being harmed, usually 65%. Juba accounted for 135 of South Sudan's 236 stories about harm, carried by 132 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (119 stories). Its coverage was about 4 times as angry as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Palestine

794 of its 1,368 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. 378 of Ramallah's 491 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (212 stories). Accidents were named in 68 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

Conflict & violence

Iraq

398 of its 540 stories (74%) were about people being harmed, usually 64%. Baghdad accounted for 237 of Iraq's 398 stories about harm, carried by 167 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (133 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Bangladesh

238 of its 422 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. 121 of Dhaka's 172 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 6 times the usual rate (182 stories).

Also named far more than usual: measles in Italy (117 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); extreme cold in Hungary (17 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); overdoses in Japan (82 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); accidents in Palestine (68 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flu in Brazil (24 of its stories, about 7 times its usual).

21 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 21; 20 the day before
24 in 10019 in 10020 Apr27 Apr4 May11 May19 May20 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 10013 May: 22 in 10014 May: 20 in 10015 May: 20 in 10016 May: 20 in 10017 May: 20 in 10018 May: 20 in 10019 May: 21 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 19 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 50,461 stories about harm among 234,894 counted on 19 May.

Read the day's briefing

Reports of people falling ill ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about the US and Yemen. Stories about people being harmed made up 21 in every 100 of the day's 234,894 stories, as usual. Mentions of measles ran more than ten times their usual in Italy's news. On 19 May 2016, a year earlier, the share was 20 in every 100, against 21 today. Central African Republic stood out: 91% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 83%.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Milan, Italy -- disease & outbreaks: 146 stories, carried by 122 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Manila, Philippines -- attacks & violence: 284 stories, carried by 144 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Gaza, Palestine -- protests & strikes: 116 stories, carried by 83 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Pyongyang, North Korea -- attacks & violence: 103 stories, carried by 100 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Balaka, Central African Republic -- people displaced: 85 stories, carried by 94 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Caracas, Venezuela -- protests & strikes: 215 stories, carried by 177 outlets; harsh wording in 79 in 100Beijing, China -- accidents & disasters: 273 stories, carried by 237 outlets; harsh wording in 67 in 100Bangassou, Central African Republic -- protests & strikes: 170 stories, carried by 147 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Paris, France -- attacks & violence: 199 stories, carried by 154 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Juba, South Sudan -- attacks & violence: 135 stories, carried by 132 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Dhaka, Bangladesh -- protests & strikes: 172 stories, carried by 151 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Maracaibo, Venezuela -- protests & strikes: 152 stories, carried by 115 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Bamako, Mali -- attacks & violence: 156 stories, carried by 117 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Istanbul, Türkiye -- protests & strikes: 319 stories, carried by 225 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100San Antonio, US -- accidents & disasters: 207 stories, carried by 200 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 194 stories, carried by 144 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Jacksonville, US -- attacks & violence: 191 stories, carried by 286 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Sao Paulo, Brazil -- protests & strikes: 125 stories, carried by 145 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 237 stories, carried by 167 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Raqqa, Syria -- attacks & violence: 170 stories, carried by 188 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Damascus, Syria -- attacks & violence: 288 stories, carried by 227 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 762 stories, carried by 429 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Moscow, Russia -- protests & strikes: 254 stories, carried by 378 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- attacks & violence: 358 stories, carried by 412 outlets; harsh wording in 95 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 about as 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.