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What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
25,536 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 →

Violence in Raqqa, protests in Caracas (Venezuela) and the drought in Croatia drew the news. Syria's coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Everywhere we counted, the words were softer than usual.

Part of lifeRights & justice 30 in 100 of the stories about harm · more than usual Country that rose mostHungary 62 in 100 of its 84 stories, usually 13
RegionSub-Saharan Africa 38 in 100 of its stories, usually 28
Tone of the words Softer than usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Conflict & violence

Syria

337 of its 396 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 71%. Raqqa accounted for 181 of Syria's 337 stories about harm, carried by 195 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about twice the usual rate (37 stories). Outbreaks were named in 17 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual, with hepatitis and cholera. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Venezuela

Caracas accounted for 712 of Venezuela's 871 stories about harm, carried by 468 outlets. 628 of Caracas' 712 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people displaced ran at about 5 times the usual rate (5 stories). Plague was named in 16 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Croatia

59 of its 85 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Reports of people killed ran at more than ten times the usual rate (56 stories). Drought was named in 44 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Rights & justice

Kenya

584 of its 963 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Nairobi accounted for 498 of Kenya's 584 stories about harm, carried by 260 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (56 stories).

6 more places the news pointed at
Disasters & accidents

Switzerland

78 of its 175 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (36 stories). Plane crash was named in 12 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Hungary

52 of its 84 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. Budapest accounted for 52 of Hungary's 52 stories about harm, carried by 75 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at more than ten times the usual rate (50 stories).

Conflict & violence

Rwanda

467 of its 619 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 49%. Kigali accounted for 422 of Rwanda's 467 stories about harm, carried by 422 outlets. Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

Rights & justice

Italy

348 of its 796 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (44 stories). Avalanche was named in 35 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with heavy rain and heatstroke.

Protests & strikes

Ethiopia

43 of its 71 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. 14 of Amhara's 16 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (29 stories).

Rights & justice

Myanmar

81 of its 95 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 56%. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (31 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: typhoon in Japan (41 of its stories, about three times its usual); drownings in Libya (14 of its stories, about three times its usual); plane crash in Switzerland (12 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); road crashes in Spain (19 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); avalanche in Italy (35 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

22 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 22; 21 the day before
26 in 10020 in 1007 Jul14 Jul21 Jul28 Jul5 Aug7 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 1005 Aug: 22 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 5 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 25,536 stories about harm among 114,201 counted on 5 Aug.

Read the day's briefing

In Croatia's news, mentions of the drought ran more than ten times their usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 22 in every 100 of the day's 114,201 stories, as usual. A year earlier, on 5 August 2016, 21 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 22 today. In Syria, 85% of the news was about people being harmed, where 71% is usual.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Damascus, Syria -- attacks & violence: 45 stories, carried by 37 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Gaza, Palestine -- attacks & violence: 59 stories, carried by 42 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Mirzawalang, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 27 stories, carried by 33 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Beijing, China -- attacks & violence: 121 stories, carried by 88 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Dubai, United Arab Emirates -- accidents & disasters: 67 stories, carried by 79 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Sopore, Kashmir -- attacks & violence: 79 stories, carried by 44 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Rome, Italy -- accidents & disasters: 73 stories, carried by 67 outlets; harsh wording in 84 in 100Athens, Greece -- accidents & disasters: 55 stories, carried by 64 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- attacks & violence: 180 stories, carried by 82 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Mogadishu, Somalia -- attacks & violence: 76 stories, carried by 57 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Moscow, Russia -- accidents & disasters: 146 stories, carried by 124 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100New Delhi, India -- attacks & violence: 265 stories, carried by 172 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Budapest, Hungary -- accidents & disasters: 52 stories, carried by 75 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Istanbul, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 92 stories, carried by 84 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 143 stories, carried by 124 outlets; harsh wording in 76 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 126 stories, carried by 97 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Sydney, Australia -- attacks & violence: 336 stories, carried by 320 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Phoenix, US -- accidents & disasters: 100 stories, carried by 144 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Indianapolis, US -- protests & strikes: 130 stories, carried by 130 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 125 stories, carried by 161 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Raqqa, Syria -- attacks & violence: 181 stories, carried by 195 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Kigali, Rwanda -- attacks & violence: 422 stories, carried by 422 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Shoalwater Bay, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 340 stories, carried by 514 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Caracas, Venezuela -- protests & strikes: 712 stories, carried by 468 outlets; harsh wording in 100 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 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.