← 3 Aug Friday 4 August 2017 · to 23:59 UTC 5 Aug →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
43,051 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 a disaster in Dubai, rights and justice in Lulua and protests in Kiev (Ukraine). Angola's coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. In the world's news as a whole, the wording was much softer than usual.

Reports of people falling ill ran at about 4 times the usual rate, most often about the US and Australia →
Part of lifeRights & justice 27 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostUnited Arab Emirates 66 in 100 of its 1,236 stories, usually 10
RegionSub-Saharan Africa 33 in 100 of its stories, usually 27
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 →
Rights & justice

Angola

109 of its 175 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 12%. Lulua accounted for 91 of Angola's 109 stories about harm, carried by 87 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (96 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Protests & strikes

Ukraine

104 of its 268 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. 30 of Kiev's 58 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people displaced ran at about twice the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Rwanda

413 of its 540 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Kigali accounted for 369 of Rwanda's 413 stories about harm, carried by 246 outlets. Landslides were named in 53 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

6 more places the news pointed at
Rights & justice

Cameroon

134 of its 180 stories (74%) were about people being harmed, usually 49%. Reports of people displaced ran at about 4 times the usual rate (66 stories). Drownings were named in 47 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Ethiopia

160 of its 223 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. 61 of Amhara's 72 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (108 stories).

Conflict & violence

Somalia

367 of its 419 stories (88%) were about people being harmed, usually 66%. Mogadishu accounted for 307 of Somalia's 367 stories about harm, carried by 237 outlets. Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Congo

146 of its 178 stories (82%) were about people being harmed, usually 65%. Reports of refugees ran at about 4 times the usual rate (18 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Switzerland

159 of its 434 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (124 stories). Plane crash was named in 89 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

Rights & justice

Poland

102 of its 325 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (84 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: plane crash in Switzerland (89 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); drought in Italy (119 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); drownings in Cameroon (47 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); overdoses in Bahamas (14 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); dengue in Timor-Leste (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

21 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 22; 21 the day before
26 in 10020 in 1006 Jul13 Jul20 Jul27 Jul4 Aug6 Jul: 21 in 1007 Jul: 22 in 1008 Jul: 24 in 1009 Jul: 25 in 10010 Jul: 21 in 10011 Jul: 22 in 10012 Jul: 21 in 10013 Jul: 21 in 10014 Jul: 22 in 10015 Jul: 26 in 10016 Jul: 25 in 10017 Jul: 22 in 10018 Jul: 21 in 10019 Jul: 21 in 10020 Jul: 21 in 10021 Jul: 22 in 10022 Jul: 24 in 10023 Jul: 25 in 10024 Jul: 23 in 10025 Jul: 21 in 10026 Jul: 21 in 10027 Jul: 20 in 10028 Jul: 21 in 10029 Jul: 22 in 10030 Jul: 24 in 10031 Jul: 21 in 1001 Aug: 20 in 1002 Aug: 21 in 1003 Aug: 21 in 1004 Aug: 21 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 4 Aug. 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 43,051 stories about harm among 201,885 counted on 4 Aug.

Read the day's briefing

The United Arab Emirates' news was 66% about people being harmed, against a usual 10%. of the day's 201,885 news stories, 21 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. People falling ill were reported at about 4 times the usual rate, most often about the US and Australia. Mentions of plane crash ran more than ten times their usual in Switzerland's news. On 4 August 2016, a year earlier, the share was 21 in every 100, the same as today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Anantnag, Kashmir -- attacks & violence: 68 stories, carried by 42 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Asna, Egypt -- attacks & violence: 53 stories, carried by 48 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Damascus, Syria -- protests & strikes: 108 stories, carried by 86 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Moscow, Russia -- attacks & violence: 246 stories, carried by 196 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Safra, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 44 stories, carried by 46 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tokyo, Japan -- accidents & disasters: 114 stories, carried by 89 outlets; harsh wording in 86 in 100Spartak, Ukraine -- attacks & violence: 16 stories, carried by 98 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Amhara, Ethiopia -- protests & strikes: 72 stories, carried by 79 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Qarabagh, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 77 stories, carried by 77 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Inverell, Australia -- protests & strikes: 13 stories, carried by 89 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sinaloa, Mexico -- protests & strikes: 158 stories, carried by 102 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Raqqa, Syria -- attacks & violence: 104 stories, carried by 97 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Rome, Italy -- accidents & disasters: 137 stories, carried by 151 outlets; harsh wording in 78 in 100Manila, Philippines -- attacks & violence: 232 stories, carried by 156 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- attacks & violence: 204 stories, carried by 170 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Ocracoke, US -- accidents & disasters: 287 stories, carried by 297 outlets; harsh wording in 72 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 208 stories, carried by 182 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Mogadishu, Somalia -- attacks & violence: 307 stories, carried by 237 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kigali, Rwanda -- attacks & violence: 369 stories, carried by 246 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100San Francisco, US -- attacks & violence: 761 stories, carried by 495 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Caracas, Venezuela -- protests & strikes: 675 stories, carried by 411 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 217 stories, carried by 358 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Sydney, Australia -- attacks & violence: 935 stories, carried by 650 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- accidents & disasters: 813 stories, carried by 833 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?

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.