← 15 Oct Monday 16 October 2017 · to 23:59 UTC 17 Oct →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
42,620 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 →

Protests in Raqqa (Syria), violence in Maseru and evacuations in Spain drew the news. Lesotho's coverage was about 4 times as grief-stricken as the world's. Worldwide, the words used were much harsher than usual.

Help and hope: reports of people freed or reunited ran at about twice the usual rate →
Part of lifeDisasters & accidents 23 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostPortugal 68 in 100 of its 548 stories, usually 15
RegionSub-Saharan Africa 42 in 100 of its stories, usually 30
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 →
Protests & strikes

Syria

Raqqa accounted for 208 of Syria's 440 stories about harm, carried by 152 outlets. 109 of Raqqa's 208 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of evacuations ran at about three times the usual rate (27 stories). Extreme cold was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with hypothermia and snowstorms. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Lesotho

64 of its 75 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Maseru accounted for 53 of Lesotho's 64 stories about harm, carried by 45 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (62 stories). Its coverage was about 4 times as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Rights & justice

Spain

698 of its 1,898 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 5 times the usual rate (14 stories). Outbreaks were named in 13 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. Grief in its coverage rose to about 4 times its own usual.

Disasters & accidents

Portugal

373 of its 548 stories (68%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (295 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Protests & strikes

Kenya

359 of its 734 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. 168 of Nairobi's 209 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (252 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Somalia

1,691 of its 1,819 stories (93%) were about people being harmed, usually 72%. Mogadishu accounted for 1,598 of Somalia's 1,691 stories about harm, carried by 1,243 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about 6 times the usual rate (20 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Ireland

1,154 of its 2,103 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of people killed ran at about 5 times the usual rate (512 stories). Storm surge was named in 377 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with cyclone and landslides.

Conflict & violence

Philippines

1,092 of its 2,148 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Reports of abductions ran at about 9 times the usual rate (438 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Conflict & violence

Egypt

355 of its 613 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Reports of people injured ran at about 8 times the usual rate (171 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.

Rights & justice

Rwanda

101 of its 166 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. Kigali accounted for 84 of Rwanda's 101 stories about harm, carried by 83 outlets. Road crashes were named in 37 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual.

Also named far more than usual: storm surge in Ireland (377 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); illness in Afghanistan (122 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); road crashes in Rwanda (37 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); outbreaks in Puerto Rico (88 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hunger in South Sudan (12 of its stories, about 6 times its usual).

24 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 23; 25 the day before
28 in 10020 in 10017 Sep24 Sep1 Oct8 Oct16 Oct17 Sep: 27 in 10018 Sep: 23 in 10019 Sep: 23 in 10020 Sep: 23 in 10021 Sep: 23 in 10022 Sep: 22 in 10023 Sep: 24 in 10024 Sep: 24 in 10025 Sep: 20 in 10026 Sep: 21 in 10027 Sep: 20 in 10028 Sep: 22 in 10029 Sep: 23 in 10030 Sep: 23 in 1001 Oct: 21 in 1002 Oct: 28 in 1003 Oct: 26 in 1004 Oct: 24 in 1005 Oct: 23 in 1006 Oct: 23 in 1007 Oct: 27 in 1008 Oct: 26 in 1009 Oct: 22 in 10010 Oct: 22 in 10011 Oct: 21 in 10012 Oct: 22 in 10013 Oct: 22 in 10014 Oct: 26 in 10015 Oct: 25 in 10016 Oct: 24 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 16 Oct. 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 42,620 stories about harm among 179,671 counted on 16 Oct.

Read the day's briefing

On the side of help, reports of people freed or reunited ran at about twice the usual rate. Stories about people being harmed made up 24 in every 100 of the day's 179,671 stories, as usual. It was the third day running that the news turned to Syria. In Ireland's news, mentions of storm surge ran more than ten times their usual. A year earlier, on 16 October 2016, 22 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 24 today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Cairo, Egypt -- attacks & violence: 200 stories, carried by 82 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Paktika, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 27 stories, carried by 78 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100West Midlands, UK -- accidents & disasters: 104 stories, carried by 174 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 151 stories, carried by 119 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Raqqa, Syria -- protests & strikes: 208 stories, carried by 152 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Perth, Australia -- deaths, cause not given: 145 stories, carried by 154 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Damascus, Syria -- attacks & violence: 109 stories, carried by 99 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Philippine, Philippines -- attacks & violence: 315 stories, carried by 156 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Nairobi, Kenya -- protests & strikes: 209 stories, carried by 133 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Hanoi, Vietnam -- accidents & disasters: 127 stories, carried by 120 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Pyongyang, North Korea -- attacks & violence: 153 stories, carried by 132 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 122 stories, carried by 125 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Lisbon, Portugal -- accidents & disasters: 186 stories, carried by 144 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Bidnija, Malta -- attacks & violence: 146 stories, carried by 138 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Caracas, Venezuela -- attacks & violence: 284 stories, carried by 208 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Naf River, Bangladesh -- accidents & disasters: 195 stories, carried by 196 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100British Isles, Ireland -- accidents & disasters: 131 stories, carried by 180 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Dublin, Ireland -- accidents & disasters: 378 stories, carried by 387 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Kirkuk, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 512 stories, carried by 394 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Northern Ireland, UK -- accidents & disasters: 372 stories, carried by 392 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Marawi, Philippines -- attacks & violence: 518 stories, carried by 421 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Jefferson Parish, US -- accidents & disasters: 648 stories, carried by 748 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Sonoma, US -- accidents & disasters: 1,023 stories, carried by 911 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Mogadishu, Somalia -- attacks & violence: 1,598 stories, carried by 1,243 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 much harsher 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.