← 26 Jan Saturday 27 January 2018 · to 23:59 UTC 28 Jan →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
27,470 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 the earthquake in Colombia, rights and justice in Riyadh and people affected in North Korea. North Korea's coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's. Everywhere we counted, the words were much harsher than usual.

Help and hope: reports of peace efforts ran at about one and a half times the usual rate →
Part of lifeRights & justice 30 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostSaudi Arabia 72 in 100 of its 683 stories, usually 29
RegionSouth Asia 43 in 100 of its stories, usually 29
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 →
Conflict & violence

Colombia

120 of its 178 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Barranquilla accounted for 103 of Colombia's 120 stories about harm, carried by 106 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (105 stories). Earthquake was named in 22 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Rights & justice

Saudi Arabia

494 of its 683 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Riyadh accounted for 448 of Saudi Arabia's 494 stories about harm, carried by 375 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (184 stories). Earthquake was named in 48 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

Food & livelihood

North Korea

139 of its 344 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. Reports of people affected ran at more than ten times the usual rate (118 stories). Hepatitis was named in 121 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with tuberculosis. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Venezuela

165 of its 260 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Caracas accounted for 115 of Venezuela's 165 stories about harm, carried by 102 outlets. 101 of Caracas' 115 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Conflict & violence

Afghanistan

1,733 of its 1,925 stories (90%) were about people being harmed, usually 72%. Kabul accounted for 1,654 of Afghanistan's 1,733 stories about harm, carried by 1,393 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about 5 times the usual rate (99 stories). Building collapse was named in 47 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.

Protests & strikes

India

1,417 of its 5,387 stories (26%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. 151 of New Delhi's 299 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (409 stories). Polio was named in 31 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with volcanic eruption.

Conflict & violence

Mali

170 of its 186 stories (91%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (91 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Algeria

70 of its 89 stories (79%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (50 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Kiribati

66 of its 83 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Nonouti Island accounted for 56 of Kiribati's 66 stories about harm, carried by 56 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about 5 times the usual rate (65 stories).

Disasters & accidents

South Korea

226 of its 717 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 11%. Reports of people injured ran at about 6 times the usual rate (125 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: natural hazards in Haiti (38 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); landslides in Albania (16 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); typhoon in Philippines (65 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); rabies in Malaysia (15 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); rabies in Switzerland (17 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

23 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 23; 20 the day before
27 in 10020 in 10029 Dec5 Jan12 Jan19 Jan27 Jan29 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 10024 Jan: 20 in 10025 Jan: 20 in 10026 Jan: 20 in 10027 Jan: 23 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 27 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 27,470 stories about harm among 121,052 counted on 27 Jan.

Read the day's briefing

North Korea's news mentioned hepatitis more than ten times as often as usual. 23 in every 100 of the day's 121,052 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. On the side of help, reports of peace efforts ran at about one and a half times the usual rate. A year earlier, on 27 January 2017, 19 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 23 today. Colombia's news was 67% about people being harmed, against a usual 42%.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Prague, Czechia -- people displaced: 162 stories, carried by 123 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Philippine, Philippines -- accidents & disasters: 231 stories, carried by 99 outlets; harsh wording in 87 in 100Ankara, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 108 stories, carried by 75 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Soumpi, Mali -- attacks & violence: 65 stories, carried by 60 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Mogadishu, Somalia -- attacks & violence: 64 stories, carried by 70 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Crimea, Ukraine -- protests & strikes: 7 stories, carried by 62 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Karachi, Pakistan -- protests & strikes: 144 stories, carried by 95 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Ceara, Brazil -- attacks & violence: 65 stories, carried by 68 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Ghouta, Syria -- attacks & violence: 93 stories, carried by 87 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Anbar, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 65 stories, carried by 69 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Hanoi, Vietnam -- attacks & violence: 41 stories, carried by 78 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Oroville, US -- people displaced: 69 stories, carried by 79 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Caracas, Venezuela -- protests & strikes: 115 stories, carried by 102 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Barranquilla, Colombia -- attacks & violence: 103 stories, carried by 106 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tegucigalpa, Honduras -- protests & strikes: 110 stories, carried by 127 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Houston, US -- accidents & disasters: 224 stories, carried by 227 outlets; harsh wording in 86 in 100Miryang, South Korea -- accidents & disasters: 156 stories, carried by 190 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100New Delhi, India -- protests & strikes: 299 stories, carried by 287 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Sfax, Tunisia -- accidents & disasters: 31 stories, carried by 160 outlets; harsh wording in 87 in 100Afrin, Syria -- attacks & violence: 267 stories, carried by 192 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Braemar, UK -- accidents & disasters: 66 stories, carried by 155 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Paris, France -- accidents & disasters: 382 stories, carried by 472 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Warsaw, Poland -- attacks & violence: 135 stories, carried by 263 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 1,654 stories, carried by 1,393 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 harsher than usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.

● Angera little more than 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?

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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.