← 7 May Tuesday 8 May 2018 · to 23:59 UTC 9 May →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
42,275 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 →

Heavy rain in Rwanda, protests in Bujumbura (Burundi) and people killed in Congo drew the news. Rwanda'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 31 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostCongo 82 in 100 of its 250 stories, usually 51
RegionEast Asia 16 in 100 of its stories, usually 13
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 →
Disasters & accidents

Rwanda

109 of its 187 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. Karongi accounted for 81 of Rwanda's 109 stories about harm, carried by 98 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about 6 times the usual rate (71 stories). Heavy rain was named in 90 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about 4 times as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Protests & strikes

Burundi

79 of its 97 stories (81%) were about people being harmed, usually 66%. Bujumbura accounted for 63 of Burundi's 79 stories about harm, carried by 76 outlets. 51 of Bujumbura's 63 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 7 times the usual rate (56 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Health

Congo

204 of its 250 stories (82%) were about people being harmed, usually 51%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (167 stories). Haemorrhagic fever was named in 98 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Rights & justice

North Korea

302 of its 674 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Pyongyang accounted for 230 of North Korea's 302 stories about harm, carried by 301 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 6 times the usual rate (238 stories). Hunger was named in 34 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with drought.

6 more places the news pointed at
Health

Ukraine

146 of its 329 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (47 stories). Poisoning was named in 79 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

Conflict & violence

Libya

213 of its 266 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 62%. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (87 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.

Disasters & accidents

Tanzania

59 of its 133 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (10 stories). Wildfires were named in 32 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.

Health

Japan

456 of its 1,801 stories (25%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Reports of refugees ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Syria

386 of its 538 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 63%. Damascus accounted for 244 of Syria's 386 stories about harm, carried by 407 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Kenya

231 of its 655 stories (35%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (38 stories). Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Also named far more than usual: poisoning in Ukraine (79 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); wildfires in Tanzania (32 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); earthquake in Armenia (46 of its stories, about 9 times its usual); heavy rain in Jamaica (14 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); cholera in Uganda (16 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).

20 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 21; 22 the day before
25 in 10019 in 1009 Apr16 Apr23 Apr30 Apr8 May9 Apr: 21 in 10010 Apr: 20 in 10011 Apr: 20 in 10012 Apr: 20 in 10013 Apr: 20 in 10014 Apr: 25 in 10015 Apr: 24 in 10016 Apr: 22 in 10017 Apr: 21 in 10018 Apr: 21 in 10019 Apr: 20 in 10020 Apr: 21 in 10021 Apr: 24 in 10022 Apr: 24 in 10023 Apr: 22 in 10024 Apr: 22 in 10025 Apr: 21 in 10026 Apr: 20 in 10027 Apr: 20 in 10028 Apr: 21 in 10029 Apr: 21 in 10030 Apr: 20 in 1001 May: 19 in 1002 May: 19 in 1003 May: 20 in 1004 May: 20 in 1005 May: 23 in 1006 May: 24 in 1007 May: 22 in 1008 May: 20 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 8 May. 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 42,275 stories about harm among 207,152 counted on 8 May.

Read the day's briefing

Of the day's 207,152 news stories, 20 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. On 8 May 2017, a year earlier, the share was 20 in every 100, the same as today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
La Loche, Canada -- deaths, cause not given: 28 stories, carried by 68 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kaduna, Nigeria -- attacks & violence: 55 stories, carried by 48 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Beirut, Lebanon -- attacks & violence: 86 stories, carried by 64 outlets; harsh wording in 78 in 100Delhi, India -- accidents & disasters: 381 stories, carried by 129 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Derna, Libya -- attacks & violence: 51 stories, carried by 42 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Sanaa, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 63 stories, carried by 57 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Warsaw, Poland -- attacks & violence: 39 stories, carried by 46 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Rome, Italy -- accidents & disasters: 116 stories, carried by 106 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Palais, France -- attacks & violence: 45 stories, carried by 63 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Bujumbura, Burundi -- protests & strikes: 63 stories, carried by 76 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Xanthi, Greece -- deaths, cause not given: 61 stories, carried by 68 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Moscow, Russia -- attacks & violence: 196 stories, carried by 164 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Berlin, Germany -- attacks & violence: 184 stories, carried by 144 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100Aichach, Germany -- deaths, cause not given: 97 stories, carried by 104 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Swat, Pakistan -- protests & strikes: 9 stories, carried by 83 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Cherkassy, Ukraine -- disease & outbreaks: 79 stories, carried by 77 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Geneva, Switzerland -- attacks & violence: 99 stories, carried by 124 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- protests & strikes: 389 stories, carried by 190 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Heimaey, Iceland -- accidents & disasters: 14 stories, carried by 97 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Karongi, Rwanda -- accidents & disasters: 81 stories, carried by 98 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Damascus, Syria -- attacks & violence: 244 stories, carried by 407 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Macomb, US -- deaths, cause not given: 249 stories, carried by 526 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 946 stories, carried by 665 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Leilani Estates, US -- accidents & disasters: 714 stories, carried by 866 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.

● Angera little less than usual
● Warmthabout as usual
● Griefa little less 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.