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What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
33,239 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 gas explosion in Spain, deaths in Warsaw and a disaster in Freetown. Sierra Leone's coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Everywhere we counted, the words were much harsher than usual.

Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about the US and Spain →
Part of lifeRights & justice 33 in 100 of the stories about harm · more than usual Country that rose mostFinland 92 in 100 of its 881 stories, usually 25
RegionEurope 39 in 100 of its stories, usually 21
Tone of the words Much harsher than usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Conflict & violence

Spain

2,843 of its 4,159 stories (68%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Barcelona accounted for 2,503 of Spain's 2,843 stories about harm, carried by 1,162 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (1,274 stories). Gas explosion was named in 555 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Deaths & injuries, cause not given

Poland

166 of its 229 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Warsaw accounted for 156 of Poland's 166 stories about harm, carried by 235 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about 6 times the usual rate (154 stories). Its coverage was about twice as warm as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Sierra Leone

280 of its 316 stories (89%) were about people being harmed, usually 76%. Freetown accounted for 261 of Sierra Leone's 280 stories about harm, carried by 254 outlets. Malaria was named in 49 of its stories about harm, about 10 times usual. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Protests & strikes

US

12,705 of its 42,419 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. 1,542 of Boston's 1,761 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of evacuations ran at about 4 times the usual rate (332 stories). Volcanic eruption was named in 89 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with snowstorms.

6 more places the news pointed at
Conflict & violence

Finland

814 of its 881 stories (92%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Helsinki accounted for 380 of Finland's 814 stories about harm, carried by 476 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (164 stories). Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Conflict & violence

Palestine

476 of its 653 stories (73%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Ramallah accounted for 321 of Palestine's 476 stories about harm, carried by 3 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (190 stories).

Conflict & violence

Russia

449 of its 1,021 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (329 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Germany

439 of its 895 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. 295 of Berlin's 362 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Armenia

46 of its 92 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (34 stories). Wildfires were named in 34 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual.

Rights & justice

Algeria

51 of its 68 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. Algiers accounted for 49 of Algeria's 51 stories about harm, carried by 49 outlets. Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: landslides in Congo (35 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); wildfires in Armenia (34 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); flooding in Brunei (26 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); tsunami in Fiji (33 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); train derailment in India (474 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

28 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 23; 27 the day before
29 in 10020 in 10021 Jul28 Jul4 Aug11 Aug19 Aug21 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 10013 Aug: 29 in 10014 Aug: 26 in 10015 Aug: 24 in 10016 Aug: 24 in 10017 Aug: 25 in 10018 Aug: 27 in 10019 Aug: 28 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 19 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 33,239 stories about harm among 117,517 counted on 19 Aug.

Read the day's briefing

28 in every 100 of the day's 117,517 news stories were about people being harmed, above the usual 23. In Congo's news, mentions of landslides ran more than ten times their usual. the news turned to Spain for the third day running. People injured were reported at about twice the usual rate, most often about the US and Spain.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Johannesburg, South Africa -- protests & strikes: 74 stories, carried by 67 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Dieppe, Canada -- attacks & violence: 43 stories, carried by 58 outlets; harsh wording in 81 in 100Raqqa, Syria -- attacks & violence: 55 stories, carried by 54 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Peshawar, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 55 stories, carried by 55 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Khanh Hoa, Vietnam -- attacks & violence: 40 stories, carried by 51 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sydney, Australia -- attacks & violence: 223 stories, carried by 245 outlets; harsh wording in 74 in 100Damascus, Syria -- attacks & violence: 82 stories, carried by 75 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Tal Afar, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 74 stories, carried by 73 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Moscow, Russia -- attacks & violence: 164 stories, carried by 133 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Ras Baalbek, Lebanon -- attacks & violence: 98 stories, carried by 87 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Zapoapan, Mexico -- attacks & violence: 76 stories, carried by 87 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 106 stories, carried by 101 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Muzaffarnagar, India -- accidents & disasters: 198 stories, carried by 116 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Warsaw, Poland -- deaths, cause not given: 156 stories, carried by 235 outlets; harsh wording in 52 in 100Khatauli, India -- accidents & disasters: 117 stories, carried by 127 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Surgut, Russia -- attacks & violence: 215 stories, carried by 230 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Beirut, Lebanon -- attacks & violence: 174 stories, carried by 163 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Freetown, Sierra Leone -- accidents & disasters: 261 stories, carried by 254 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Cambrils, Spain -- attacks & violence: 185 stories, carried by 286 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Berlin, Germany -- protests & strikes: 362 stories, carried by 363 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Helsinki, Finland -- attacks & violence: 380 stories, carried by 476 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Charlottesville, US -- protests & strikes: 1,608 stories, carried by 1,201 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Barcelona, Spain -- attacks & violence: 2,503 stories, carried by 1,162 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Boston, US -- protests & strikes: 1,761 stories, carried by 1,432 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 much harsher than usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.

● Angerabout one and a half times usual
● Warmthabout as usual
● Griefa little more than usual
● Feara little more than 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.