← 20 Dec Thursday 21 December 2017 · to 23:59 UTC 22 Dec →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
40,525 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 the earthquake in Iran, people injured in Australia and protests in Baghdad (Iraq). Saudi Arabia's coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Over the whole world, the tone was about as usual.

Reports of people falling ill ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about France and the US →
Part of lifeRights & justice 29 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostSouth Sudan 92 in 100 of its 251 stories, usually 61
RegionOceania 30 in 100 of its stories, usually 18
Tone of the words About as usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Disasters & accidents

Iran

264 of its 563 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Tehran accounted for 199 of Iran's 264 stories about harm, carried by 169 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (47 stories). Earthquake was named in 164 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Rights & justice

Australia

2,155 of its 6,865 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (1,172 stories). Hypothermia was named in 19 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Protests & strikes

Iraq

290 of its 423 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 58%. 47 of Baghdad's 84 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (18 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Saudi Arabia

Riyadh accounted for 204 of Saudi Arabia's 236 stories about harm, carried by 196 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (29 stories). Cholera was named in 83 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Protests & strikes

Colombia

69 of its 153 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. 4 of Bogota's 8 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (21 stories). Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Disasters & accidents

Mexico

510 of its 1,207 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (243 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Rights & justice

Myanmar

95 of its 119 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 59%. Yangon accounted for 67 of Myanmar's 95 stories about harm, carried by 75 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (58 stories).

Disasters & accidents

Philippines

832 of its 1,850 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Reports of people affected ran at about 5 times the usual rate (394 stories). Tropical storm was named in 251 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with power cuts.

Displacement

Lebanon

154 of its 334 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Beirut accounted for 119 of Lebanon's 154 stories about harm, carried by 43 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (79 stories).

Conflict & violence

Afghanistan

305 of its 471 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 57%. Kabul accounted for 233 of Afghanistan's 305 stories about harm, carried by 264 outlets. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: food poisoning in France (138 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); hurricane in Cuba (34 of its stories, about three times its usual); tropical storm in Philippines (251 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); tuberculosis in Tanzania (16 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); cyclone in Fiji (13 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).

20 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 21; 20 the day before
24 in 10019 in 10022 Nov29 Nov6 Dec13 Dec21 Dec22 Nov: 20 in 10023 Nov: 20 in 10024 Nov: 21 in 10025 Nov: 24 in 10026 Nov: 23 in 10027 Nov: 20 in 10028 Nov: 20 in 10029 Nov: 19 in 10030 Nov: 19 in 1001 Dec: 20 in 1002 Dec: 21 in 1003 Dec: 20 in 1004 Dec: 19 in 1005 Dec: 20 in 1006 Dec: 20 in 1007 Dec: 19 in 1008 Dec: 20 in 1009 Dec: 23 in 10010 Dec: 24 in 10011 Dec: 22 in 10012 Dec: 21 in 10013 Dec: 20 in 10014 Dec: 20 in 10015 Dec: 19 in 10016 Dec: 21 in 10017 Dec: 22 in 10018 Dec: 22 in 10019 Dec: 21 in 10020 Dec: 20 in 10021 Dec: 20 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 21 Dec. 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 40,525 stories about harm among 202,155 counted on 21 Dec.

Read the day's briefing

Reports of people falling ill ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about France and the US. Stories about people being harmed made up 20 in every 100 of the day's 202,155 stories, as usual. It was the second day running that the news turned to Iran. In Iran's news, mentions of the earthquake ran about three times their usual. Iran stood out: 47% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 34%.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Berea, Syria -- attacks & violence: 82 stories, carried by 70 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Addis Ababa, Ethiopia -- attacks & violence: 49 stories, carried by 56 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Stournara, Greece -- protests & strikes: 49 stories, carried by 49 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Dinka, South Sudan -- attacks & violence: 63 stories, carried by 55 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Berlin, Germany -- attacks & violence: 122 stories, carried by 114 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Caracas, Venezuela -- protests & strikes: 56 stories, carried by 70 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Belgrade, -- attacks & violence: 54 stories, carried by 60 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Bangka, Indonesia -- protests & strikes: 115 stories, carried by 100 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Mexico City, Mexico -- accidents & disasters: 133 stories, carried by 101 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Ayod, South Sudan -- attacks & violence: 78 stories, carried by 85 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Athens, Greece -- protests & strikes: 85 stories, carried by 117 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Polillo Island, Philippines -- accidents & disasters: 95 stories, carried by 115 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Philippine, Philippines -- accidents & disasters: 263 stories, carried by 163 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Tehran, Iran -- accidents & disasters: 199 stories, carried by 169 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Barcelona, Spain -- protests & strikes: 252 stories, carried by 167 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Craon, France -- disease & outbreaks: 135 stories, carried by 148 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- attacks & violence: 204 stories, carried by 196 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Quintana Roo, Mexico -- accidents & disasters: 106 stories, carried by 160 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Charlottesville, US -- protests & strikes: 160 stories, carried by 170 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Ukhia, Bangladesh -- attacks & violence: 270 stories, carried by 199 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Seattle, US -- accidents & disasters: 338 stories, carried by 304 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 233 stories, carried by 264 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Jecheon, South Korea -- accidents & disasters: 223 stories, carried by 281 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Melbourne, Australia -- attacks & violence: 1,232 stories, carried by 1,391 outlets; harsh wording in 99 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 about as usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.

● Angera little less than 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

The week in human impact

Read the week →

Unlock a year of trends, free. Follow up to 5 countries, with a bell when their news changes, and 👍 vote for Pro — ten years of the archive, any period, daily alerts.

Create a free account

Sign in · a username, an email and a password.

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.