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What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
28,207 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 protests in Nairobi (Kenya), the heatwave in Poland and drownings in Nepal. Poland's coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Everywhere we counted, the words were harsher than usual.

Reports of people falling ill ran at about three times the usual rate, most often about the US and Bahrain →
Part of lifeRights & justice 33 in 100 of the stories about harm · much more than usual Country that rose mostPoland 65 in 100 of its 270 stories, usually 18
RegionSouth Asia 35 in 100 of its stories, usually 27
Tone of the words Harsher than usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Protests & strikes

Kenya

1,019 of its 1,489 stories (68%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. Nairobi accounted for 523 of Kenya's 1,019 stories about harm, carried by 511 outlets. 447 of Nairobi's 523 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (442 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Rights & justice

Poland

175 of its 270 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (68 stories). Heatwave was named in 28 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with power cuts. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Nepal

161 of its 242 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (36 stories). Drownings were named in 21 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Syria

396 of its 464 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 71%. Sarmin accounted for 154 of Syria's 396 stories about harm, carried by 211 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (93 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Disasters & accidents

Libya

80 of its 112 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. Reports of refugees ran at about 6 times the usual rate (45 stories). Drownings were named in 47 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.

Health

Cuba

227 of its 377 stories (60%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Havana accounted for 221 of Cuba's 227 stories about harm, carried by 214 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Portugal

118 of its 167 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (48 stories). Wildfires were named in 109 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual.

Disasters & accidents

Denmark

255 of its 475 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Copenhagen accounted for 250 of Denmark's 255 stories about harm, carried by 179 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (218 stories).

Disasters & accidents

Guam

150 of its 389 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 9%. Typhoon was named in 117 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with tsunami and hurricane. Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Kuwait

105 of its 195 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (64 stories). Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: wildfires in Portugal (109 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); typhoon in Guam (117 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); train derailment in Egypt (147 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); drownings in Libya (47 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); helicopter crash in Yemen (71 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

25 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 22; 20 the day before
26 in 10020 in 10014 Jul21 Jul28 Jul4 Aug12 Aug14 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 1006 Aug: 24 in 1007 Aug: 21 in 1008 Aug: 21 in 1009 Aug: 21 in 10010 Aug: 20 in 10011 Aug: 20 in 10012 Aug: 25 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 12 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 28,207 stories about harm among 113,345 counted on 12 Aug.

Read the day's briefing

People falling ill were reported at about three times the usual rate, most often about the US and Bahrain. It was the second day running that the news turned to Kenya. of the day's 113,345 news stories, 25 in every 100 were about people being harmed, above the usual 22. A year earlier, on 12 August 2016, 20 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 25 today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 99 stories, carried by 92 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Jhapa, Nepal -- accidents & disasters: 39 stories, carried by 30 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Bracal, Portugal -- accidents & disasters: 47 stories, carried by 31 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Saptari, Nepal -- accidents & disasters: 44 stories, carried by 33 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Kigali, Rwanda -- people displaced: 39 stories, carried by 45 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Seoul, South Korea -- attacks & violence: 46 stories, carried by 41 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 46 stories, carried by 42 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Maiduguri, Nigeria -- attacks & violence: 94 stories, carried by 52 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Lisbon, Portugal -- accidents & disasters: 60 stories, carried by 48 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 55 stories, carried by 45 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Cairo, Egypt -- attacks & violence: 90 stories, carried by 113 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Damascus, Syria -- attacks & violence: 84 stories, carried by 79 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Awamiya, Saudi Arabia -- protests & strikes: 62 stories, carried by 71 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- attacks & violence: 296 stories, carried by 182 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Shabwa, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 89 stories, carried by 107 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Copenhagen, Denmark -- accidents & disasters: 250 stories, carried by 179 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Pyongyang, North Korea -- attacks & violence: 168 stories, carried by 167 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Alexandria, Egypt -- accidents & disasters: 203 stories, carried by 164 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sarmin, Syria -- attacks & violence: 154 stories, carried by 211 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Lake Mcdonald, US -- accidents & disasters: 174 stories, carried by 210 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Quetta, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 208 stories, carried by 271 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kisumu, Kenya -- protests & strikes: 367 stories, carried by 398 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Nairobi, Kenya -- protests & strikes: 523 stories, carried by 511 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Charlottesville, US -- protests & strikes: 2,389 stories, carried by 1,676 outlets; harsh wording in 97 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 harsher than usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.

● Angera little more than usual
● Warmthabout as usual
● Griefabout as usual
● Feara little less than 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.