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What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
26,352 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 day's news pointed at protests in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), helicopter crash in Mexico and abductions in Russia. Burkina Faso's coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Across the world, the tone of the words was much harsher than usual.

Part of lifeConflict & violence 26 in 100 of the stories about harm · much more than usual Country that rose mostBurkina Faso 90 in 100 of its 167 stories, usually 41
RegionMiddle East & North Africa 49 in 100 of its stories, usually 42
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

Burkina Faso

151 of its 167 stories (90%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Ouagadougou accounted for 151 of Burkina Faso's 151 stories about harm, carried by 177 outlets. 108 of Ouagadougou's 151 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (129 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about three times its own usual.

Disasters & accidents

Mexico

326 of its 610 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of people injured ran at about 9 times the usual rate (187 stories). Helicopter crash was named in 66 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual, with power cuts. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Russia

1,209 of its 3,720 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Reports of abductions ran at about 9 times the usual rate (30 stories). Train derailment was named in 23 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

Deaths & injuries, cause not given

Ghana

122 of its 390 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (69 stories). Road crashes were named in 19 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Disasters & accidents

Iran

1,539 of its 2,479 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. Tehran accounted for 793 of Iran's 1,539 stories about harm, carried by 713 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (1,214 stories). Plane crash was named in 314 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with snowstorms.

Conflict & violence

Türkiye

224 of its 361 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 53%. Reports of people affected ran at about 5 times the usual rate (90 stories). Heavy rain was named in 64 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Syria

Afrin accounted for 222 of Syria's 353 stories about harm, carried by 320 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about twice the usual rate (84 stories). Poisoning was named in 40 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's. Warmth in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Displacement

Cyprus

28 of its 40 stories (70%) were about people being harmed, usually 6%. Kofinou accounted for 28 of Cyprus' 28 stories about harm, carried by 28 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (27 stories).

Conflict & violence

Israel

935 of its 1,487 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Jerusalem accounted for 469 of Israel's 935 stories about harm, carried by 214 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about 7 times the usual rate (23 stories).

Deaths & injuries, cause not given

Denmark

36 of its 100 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (31 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: cyclone in New Zealand (49 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); avalanche in Switzerland (24 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); heavy rain in Türkiye (64 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); avalanche in France (49 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); plane crash in Iran (314 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

24 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 21; 23 the day before
25 in 10019 in 10020 Jan27 Jan3 Feb10 Feb18 Feb20 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 10028 Jan: 24 in 10029 Jan: 20 in 10030 Jan: 19 in 10031 Jan: 20 in 1001 Feb: 19 in 1002 Feb: 20 in 1003 Feb: 22 in 1004 Feb: 22 in 1005 Feb: 19 in 1006 Feb: 20 in 1007 Feb: 19 in 1008 Feb: 19 in 1009 Feb: 19 in 10010 Feb: 22 in 10011 Feb: 23 in 10012 Feb: 21 in 10013 Feb: 20 in 10014 Feb: 19 in 10015 Feb: 22 in 10016 Feb: 20 in 10017 Feb: 23 in 10018 Feb: 24 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 18 Feb. 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 26,352 stories about harm among 109,052 counted on 18 Feb.

Read the day's briefing

Burkina Faso's news was 90% about people being harmed, against a usual 41%. of the day's 109,052 news stories, 24 in every 100 were about people being harmed, above the usual 21. New Zealand's news mentioned the cyclone about 4 times as often as usual. A year earlier, on 18 February 2017, 23 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 24 today. This week the news turned most often to Denmark, on 3 of 7 days.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Munich, Germany -- attacks & violence: 39 stories, carried by 43 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Le Dauphine, France -- accidents & disasters: 30 stories, carried by 33 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Maiduguri, Nigeria -- attacks & violence: 45 stories, carried by 36 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Addis Ababa, Ethiopia -- attacks & violence: 45 stories, carried by 44 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Damascus, Syria -- attacks & violence: 55 stories, carried by 42 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Kiev, Ukraine -- protests & strikes: 44 stories, carried by 43 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Ajmer, India -- deaths, cause not given: 63 stories, carried by 54 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Gaza, Palestine -- attacks & violence: 149 stories, carried by 43 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Caspian Sea, -- attacks & violence: 15 stories, carried by 43 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Lagos, Nigeria -- attacks & violence: 73 stories, carried by 67 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Warsaw, Poland -- attacks & violence: 73 stories, carried by 62 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Anadolu, Türkiye -- accidents & disasters: 91 stories, carried by 79 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Pilbara, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 39 stories, carried by 72 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kizlyar, Russia -- attacks & violence: 76 stories, carried by 82 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Oruro, Bolivia -- deaths, cause not given: 18 stories, carried by 113 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Santiago Jamiltepec, Mexico -- accidents & disasters: 100 stories, carried by 108 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso -- protests & strikes: 151 stories, carried by 177 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- attacks & violence: 469 stories, carried by 214 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Afrin, Syria -- attacks & violence: 222 stories, carried by 320 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Mexico City, Mexico -- accidents & disasters: 156 stories, carried by 220 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tehran, Iran -- accidents & disasters: 793 stories, carried by 713 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Washington, US -- attacks & violence: 1,086 stories, carried by 1,043 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Aseman, Iran -- accidents & disasters: 531 stories, carried by 777 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Fort Lauderdale, US -- protests & strikes: 1,725 stories, carried by 1,411 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.

● 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?

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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.