← 19 Sep Wednesday 20 September 2017 · to 23:59 UTC 21 Sep →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
50,994 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 building collapse in Mexico, drownings in Belgium and protests in Cairo (Egypt). Mexico's coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Language across the world's news ran harsher than usual.

Help and hope: reports of volunteers ran at about one and a half times the usual rate →
Part of lifeDisasters & accidents 29 in 100 of the stories about harm · less than usual Country that rose mostMexico 81 in 100 of its 5,626 stories, usually 45
RegionLatin America & Caribbean 66 in 100 of its stories, usually 37
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 →
Disasters & accidents

Mexico

4,571 of its 5,626 stories (81%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Mexico City accounted for 3,791 of Mexico's 4,571 stories about harm, carried by 2,016 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about 6 times the usual rate (1,602 stories). Building collapse was named in 935 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with volcanic eruption and avalanche. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Conflict & violence

Belgium

146 of its 351 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Brussels accounted for 130 of Belgium's 146 stories about harm, carried by 128 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (118 stories). Drownings were named in 56 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

Protests & strikes

Egypt

323 of its 615 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. Cairo accounted for 230 of Egypt's 323 stories about harm, carried by 169 outlets. 170 of Cairo's 230 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people displaced ran at about 7 times the usual rate (25 stories).

6 more places the news pointed at
Disasters & accidents

Puerto Rico

1,541 of its 1,879 stories (82%) were about people being harmed, usually 64%. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (111 stories). Tornadoes were named in 20 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Disasters & accidents

Congo

64 of its 90 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (28 stories). Flooding was named in 38 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

North Korea

627 of its 2,056 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (297 stories). Poisoning was named in 28 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Deaths & injuries, cause not given

Slovenia

28 of its 81 stories (35%) were about people being harmed, usually 5%. Reports of people killed ran at more than ten times the usual rate (25 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Conflict & violence

Indonesia

257 of its 619 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (20 stories). Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Disasters & accidents

Greece

150 of its 472 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of arrests ran at about 10 times the usual rate (99 stories). Oil spill was named in 79 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.

Also named far more than usual: oil spill in Greece (79 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); flooding in Congo (38 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hurricane in Jamaica (26 of its stories, about three times its usual); hurricane in Iran (140 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); dengue in French Polynesia (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

23 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 26; 23 the day before
33 in 10022 in 10022 Aug29 Aug5 Sep12 Sep20 Sep22 Aug: 23 in 10023 Aug: 22 in 10024 Aug: 22 in 10025 Aug: 24 in 10026 Aug: 29 in 10027 Aug: 30 in 10028 Aug: 28 in 10029 Aug: 26 in 10030 Aug: 25 in 10031 Aug: 26 in 1001 Sep: 25 in 1002 Sep: 26 in 1003 Sep: 27 in 1004 Sep: 25 in 1005 Sep: 24 in 1006 Sep: 23 in 1007 Sep: 25 in 1008 Sep: 26 in 1009 Sep: 30 in 10010 Sep: 33 in 10011 Sep: 29 in 10012 Sep: 25 in 10013 Sep: 24 in 10014 Sep: 23 in 10015 Sep: 24 in 10016 Sep: 27 in 10017 Sep: 27 in 10018 Sep: 23 in 10019 Sep: 23 in 10020 Sep: 23 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 20 Sep. 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 50,994 stories about harm among 217,728 counted on 20 Sep.

Read the day's briefing

Reports of volunteers, a sign of help, ran at about one and a half times the usual rate. It was the second day running that the news turned to Mexico. In Mexico, 81% of the news was about people being harmed, where 45% is usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 23 in every 100 of the day's 217,728 stories, below the usual 26.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Moscow, Russia -- attacks & violence: 188 stories, carried by 136 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Berlin, Germany -- attacks & violence: 193 stories, carried by 185 outlets; harsh wording in 80 in 100Newport, UK -- attacks & violence: 149 stories, carried by 156 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Paris, France -- attacks & violence: 253 stories, carried by 179 outlets; harsh wording in 87 in 100Jakarta, Indonesia -- attacks & violence: 92 stories, carried by 89 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Athens, Greece -- accidents & disasters: 117 stories, carried by 130 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Brussels, Belgium -- attacks & violence: 130 stories, carried by 128 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Coari, Brazil -- accidents & disasters: 31 stories, carried by 103 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Mumbai, India -- accidents & disasters: 381 stories, carried by 127 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Port Arthur, Australia -- attacks & violence: 15 stories, carried by 91 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Valencia, Venezuela -- protests & strikes: 84 stories, carried by 100 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Puebla, Mexico -- accidents & disasters: 99 stories, carried by 125 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Cairo, Egypt -- protests & strikes: 230 stories, carried by 169 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Balukhali, Bangladesh -- accidents & disasters: 191 stories, carried by 204 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Barcelona, Spain -- protests & strikes: 180 stories, carried by 173 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Kamaishi, Japan -- accidents & disasters: 102 stories, carried by 153 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Raqqa, Syria -- attacks & violence: 201 stories, carried by 163 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Madrid, Spain -- protests & strikes: 355 stories, carried by 214 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100London, UK -- attacks & violence: 907 stories, carried by 642 outlets; harsh wording in 85 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 457 stories, carried by 352 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Pyongyang, North Korea -- attacks & violence: 472 stories, carried by 382 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Houston, US -- accidents & disasters: 763 stories, carried by 600 outlets; harsh wording in 78 in 100Miami, US -- accidents & disasters: 965 stories, carried by 803 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Mexico City, Mexico -- accidents & disasters: 3,791 stories, carried by 2,016 outlets; harsh wording in 98 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.

● Angerabout as usual
● Warmthabout as usual
● Griefabout as 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.