← 22 Jan Tuesday 23 January 2018 · to 23:59 UTC 24 Jan →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
45,865 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 violence in Kabul, protests in Akobo (South Sudan) and storms in Palestine. Afghanistan's coverage was about 4 times as grief-stricken as the world's. Taken together, the world's news read much softer than usual.

Part of lifeRights & justice 28 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostBotswana 61 in 100 of its 166 stories, usually 18
RegionEast Asia 19 in 100 of its stories, usually 14
Tone of the words Much softer than usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Conflict & violence

Afghanistan

606 of its 748 stories (81%) were about people being harmed, usually 70%. Kabul accounted for 500 of Afghanistan's 606 stories about harm, carried by 584 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about 5 times the usual rate (269 stories). Flu was named in 13 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with bird flu. Its coverage was about 4 times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Protests & strikes

South Sudan

123 of its 140 stories (88%) were about people being harmed, usually 74%. Akobo accounted for 99 of South Sudan's 123 stories about harm, carried by 101 outlets. 80 of Akobo's 99 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people displaced ran at about 5 times the usual rate (84 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Warmth in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Rights & justice

Palestine

692 of its 1,142 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 48%. Ramallah accounted for 404 of Palestine's 692 stories about harm, carried by 63 outlets. Storms were named in 92 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

Health

Botswana

101 of its 166 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of people affected ran at more than ten times the usual rate (89 stories). Tuberculosis was named in 86 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

6 more places the news pointed at
Protests & strikes

Venezuela

162 of its 290 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. Caracas accounted for 127 of Venezuela's 162 stories about harm, carried by 105 outlets. 110 of Caracas' 127 stories were about protests or strikes. Hunger was named in 22 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Rights & justice

Myanmar

111 of its 152 stories (73%) were about people being harmed, usually 61%. Yangon accounted for 95 of Myanmar's 111 stories about harm, carried by 168 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (81 stories). Power cuts were named in 28 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

Conflict & violence

Mali

73 of its 100 stories (73%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (64 stories). Its coverage was about twice as warm as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about three times its own usual.

Health

New Zealand

721 of its 1,687 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of refugees ran at about 4 times the usual rate (11 stories). Its coverage was about twice as warm as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Japan

797 of its 2,547 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (577 stories). Power cuts were named in 42 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

Displacement

Czechia

71 of its 198 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (27 stories). Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Also named far more than usual: drownings in Trinidad & Tobago (27 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); landslides in Switzerland (123 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); power cuts in Myanmar (28 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); cholera in Zimbabwe (26 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); heavy rain in France (52 of its stories, about 8 times its usual).

21 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 23; 21 the day before
27 in 10020 in 10025 Dec1 Jan8 Jan15 Jan23 Jan25 Dec: 24 in 10026 Dec: 23 in 10027 Dec: 23 in 10028 Dec: 23 in 10029 Dec: 24 in 10030 Dec: 27 in 10031 Dec: 27 in 1001 Jan: 27 in 1002 Jan: 25 in 1003 Jan: 22 in 1004 Jan: 23 in 1005 Jan: 22 in 1006 Jan: 24 in 1007 Jan: 24 in 1008 Jan: 22 in 1009 Jan: 21 in 10010 Jan: 20 in 10011 Jan: 21 in 10012 Jan: 22 in 10013 Jan: 25 in 10014 Jan: 24 in 10015 Jan: 24 in 10016 Jan: 23 in 10017 Jan: 22 in 10018 Jan: 22 in 10019 Jan: 22 in 10020 Jan: 25 in 10021 Jan: 25 in 10022 Jan: 21 in 10023 Jan: 21 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 23 Jan. 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 45,865 stories about harm among 214,909 counted on 23 Jan.

Read the day's briefing

In Botswana's news, mentions of tuberculosis ran more than ten times their usual. the news turned to Afghanistan for the second day running. 21 in every 100 of the day's 214,909 news stories were about people being harmed, below the usual 23. In Afghanistan, 81% of the news was about people being harmed, where 70% is usual.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Beirut, Lebanon -- protests & strikes: 102 stories, carried by 93 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Brussels, Belgium -- attacks & violence: 81 stories, carried by 69 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Abanico, Ecuador -- accidents & disasters: 29 stories, carried by 96 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Nairobi, Kenya -- protests & strikes: 116 stories, carried by 93 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Paris, France -- accidents & disasters: 235 stories, carried by 192 outlets; harsh wording in 87 in 100Moscow, Russia -- deaths, cause not given: 175 stories, carried by 188 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Islamabad, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 184 stories, carried by 91 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 82 stories, carried by 80 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Akobo, South Sudan -- protests & strikes: 99 stories, carried by 101 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Caracas, Venezuela -- protests & strikes: 127 stories, carried by 105 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Ankara, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 200 stories, carried by 117 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100London, UK -- people displaced: 931 stories, carried by 570 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- protests & strikes: 655 stories, carried by 282 outlets; harsh wording in 71 in 100Andermatt, Switzerland -- accidents & disasters: 183 stories, carried by 142 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Jakarta, Indonesia -- accidents & disasters: 243 stories, carried by 172 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Damascus, Syria -- protests & strikes: 385 stories, carried by 302 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Afrin, Syria -- attacks & violence: 581 stories, carried by 327 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Tokyo, Japan -- accidents & disasters: 365 stories, carried by 304 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Johannesburg, South Africa -- protests & strikes: 417 stories, carried by 469 outlets; harsh wording in 79 in 100Pittsburg County, US -- accidents & disasters: 320 stories, carried by 326 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kusatsu, Japan -- accidents & disasters: 242 stories, carried by 345 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Philippine, Philippines -- accidents & disasters: 505 stories, carried by 492 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 500 stories, carried by 584 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Kodiak, US -- accidents & disasters: 1,064 stories, carried by 1,062 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 much softer 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?

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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.