← 29 Dec Saturday 30 December 2017 · to 23:59 UTC 31 Dec →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
27,173 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 Tehran (Iran), illness in Lusaka and violence in Cairo. Egypt's coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Everywhere we counted, the words were much harsher than usual.

Reports of abductions ran at about three times the usual rate, most often about Ukraine and the US → Help and hope: reports of people freed or reunited ran at about twice the usual rate →
Part of lifeRights & justice 28 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostEgypt 80 in 100 of its 821 stories, usually 42
RegionMiddle East & North Africa 62 in 100 of its stories, usually 38
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

Iran

1,245 of its 1,680 stories (74%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Tehran accounted for 830 of Iran's 1,245 stories about harm, carried by 633 outlets. 803 of Tehran's 830 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 10 times the usual rate (678 stories). Bird flu was named in 253 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with flu. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Health

Zambia

67 of its 100 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Lusaka accounted for 63 of Zambia's 67 stories about harm, carried by 54 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about 8 times the usual rate (64 stories). Cholera was named in 64 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Egypt

657 of its 821 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Cairo accounted for 567 of Egypt's 657 stories about harm, carried by 575 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (213 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Libya

69 of its 102 stories (68%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (14 stories). Oil spill was named in 27 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

6 more places the news pointed at
Protests & strikes

Argentina

90 of its 171 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. 59 of Buenos Aires' 71 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (69 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Protests & strikes

Peru

76 of its 149 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. 28 of Alberto Fujimori's 32 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about 5 times the usual rate (34 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Syria

361 of its 437 stories (83%) were about people being harmed, usually 68%. Reports of people displaced ran at about three times the usual rate (40 stories). Drownings were named in 60 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with meningitis. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Protests & strikes

Israel

438 of its 915 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Jerusalem accounted for 394 of Israel's 438 stories about harm, carried by 163 outlets. 247 of Jerusalem's 394 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (58 stories).

Conflict & violence

Iraq

187 of its 253 stories (74%) were about people being harmed, usually 60%. Imam Mahdi accounted for 136 of Iraq's 187 stories about harm, carried by 97 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (150 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Protests & strikes

North Korea

170 of its 633 stories (27%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. 131 of Pyongyang's 156 stories were about protests or strikes. Earthquake was named in 126 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: earthquake in North Korea (126 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); accidents in Puerto Rico (226 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); drought in Mozambique (20 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); ebola in Denmark (13 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); extreme cold in Canada (119 of its stories, about 8 times its usual).

27 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 21; 24 the day before
27 in 10019 in 1001 Dec8 Dec15 Dec22 Dec30 Dec1 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 10022 Dec: 20 in 10023 Dec: 23 in 10024 Dec: 23 in 10025 Dec: 24 in 10026 Dec: 23 in 10027 Dec: 23 in 10028 Dec: 23 in 10029 Dec: 24 in 10030 Dec: 27 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 30 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 27,173 stories about harm among 102,239 counted on 30 Dec.

Read the day's briefing

No day had a higher share of stories about people being harmed since 21 October 2017. Stories about people being harmed made up 27 in every 100 of the day's 102,239 stories, above the usual 21. Help and hope: reports of people freed or reunited ran at about twice the usual rate. In North Korea's news, mentions of the earthquake ran more than ten times their usual.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Alberto Fujimori, Peru -- protests & strikes: 32 stories, carried by 34 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Quetta, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 62 stories, carried by 49 outlets; harsh wording in 77 in 100Hodeida, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 45 stories, carried by 46 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Petatlan, Mexico -- attacks & violence: 14 stories, carried by 50 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Mumbai, India -- accidents & disasters: 369 stories, carried by 90 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Lusaka, Zambia -- disease & outbreaks: 63 stories, carried by 54 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Paris, France -- protests & strikes: 114 stories, carried by 106 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Moscow, Russia -- attacks & violence: 168 stories, carried by 181 outlets; harsh wording in 60 in 100London, UK -- attacks & violence: 240 stories, carried by 278 outlets; harsh wording in 77 in 100Buenos Aires, Argentina -- protests & strikes: 71 stories, carried by 85 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Islamabad, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 267 stories, carried by 160 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Golan Heights, Syria -- attacks & violence: 85 stories, carried by 87 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Imam Mahdi, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 136 stories, carried by 97 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- protests & strikes: 394 stories, carried by 163 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Idlib, Syria -- attacks & violence: 84 stories, carried by 112 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Pyongyang, North Korea -- protests & strikes: 156 stories, carried by 128 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 131 stories, carried by 128 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Northern Ireland, UK -- accidents & disasters: 69 stories, carried by 172 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Mashhad, Iran -- protests & strikes: 277 stories, carried by 337 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Petersburg, Russia -- attacks & violence: 275 stories, carried by 375 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Cairo, Egypt -- attacks & violence: 567 stories, carried by 575 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100New York, US -- accidents & disasters: 645 stories, carried by 742 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Staten Island, US -- protests & strikes: 340 stories, carried by 580 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Tehran, Iran -- protests & strikes: 830 stories, carried by 633 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
● Griefa little more than 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.