← 29 May Wednesday 30 May 2018 · to 23:59 UTC 31 May →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
47,548 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 news turned to violence in Brussels, protests in Somalia and people killed in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico's coverage was about 4 times as grief-stricken as the world's. Language across the world's news ran about as usual.

Part of lifeRights & justice 33 in 100 of the stories about harm · more than usual Country that rose mostBelgium 80 in 100 of its 1,116 stories, usually 25
RegionMiddle East & North Africa 45 in 100 of its stories, usually 40
Tone of the words About as usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Conflict & violence

Belgium

891 of its 1,116 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Brussels accounted for 611 of Belgium's 891 stories about harm, carried by 582 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at about 7 times the usual rate (129 stories). Plague was named in 15 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Somalia

104 of its 146 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 63%. 11 of Somalia's 22 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (10 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Puerto Rico

301 of its 363 stories (83%) were about people being harmed, usually 49%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (277 stories). Its coverage was about 4 times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Displacement

Albania

25 of its 49 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (8 stories). Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

6 more places the news pointed at
Conflict & violence

Ukraine

469 of its 879 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Kiev accounted for 426 of Ukraine's 469 stories about harm, carried by 649 outlets. Plane crash was named in 44 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual. Its coverage was about 4 times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Yemen

119 of its 151 stories (79%) were about people being harmed, usually 69%. Hodeida accounted for 86 of Yemen's 119 stories about harm, carried by 85 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about 4 times the usual rate (8 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Nicaragua

121 of its 145 stories (83%) were about people being harmed, usually 75%. Managua accounted for 82 of Nicaragua's 121 stories about harm, carried by 74 outlets. 77 of Managua's 82 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Mozambique

129 of its 153 stories (84%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Mocimboa da Praia accounted for 82 of Mozambique's 129 stories about harm, carried by 105 outlets. Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Protests & strikes

Ethiopia

85 of its 142 stories (60%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. 41 of Addis Ababa's 44 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (13 stories).

Protests & strikes

Venezuela

120 of its 257 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. 37 of Caracas' 69 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (20 stories).

Also named far more than usual: hunger in South Sudan (21 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); drought in Nepal (23 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); plane crash in Russia (192 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); drownings in France (111 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); heatwave in Poland (18 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

21 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 21; 23 the day before
24 in 10019 in 1001 May8 May15 May22 May30 May1 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 1009 May: 20 in 10010 May: 21 in 10011 May: 20 in 10012 May: 22 in 10013 May: 24 in 10014 May: 22 in 10015 May: 22 in 10016 May: 20 in 10017 May: 21 in 10018 May: 22 in 10019 May: 23 in 10020 May: 23 in 10021 May: 21 in 10022 May: 20 in 10023 May: 19 in 10024 May: 20 in 10025 May: 21 in 10026 May: 22 in 10027 May: 22 in 10028 May: 23 in 10029 May: 23 in 10030 May: 21 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 30 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 47,548 stories about harm among 224,821 counted on 30 May.

Read the day's briefing

Belgium stood out: 80% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 25%. 21 in every 100 of the day's 224,821 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. For the second day running, the news turned to Belgium. On 30 May 2017, a year earlier, the share was 23 in every 100, against 21 today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Damascus, Syria -- attacks & violence: 68 stories, carried by 52 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Tuticorin, India -- protests & strikes: 76 stories, carried by 43 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Addis Ababa, Ethiopia -- protests & strikes: 44 stories, carried by 40 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Udupi, India -- accidents & disasters: 77 stories, carried by 46 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Hodeida, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 86 stories, carried by 85 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Gaza, Palestine -- attacks & violence: 197 stories, carried by 62 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Musa Qala, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 67 stories, carried by 61 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Boroughbridge, UK -- accidents & disasters: 51 stories, carried by 132 outlets; harsh wording in 80 in 100Pyongyang, North Korea -- attacks & violence: 164 stories, carried by 199 outlets; harsh wording in 48 in 100Barrow-In-Furness, UK -- attacks & violence: 59 stories, carried by 115 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Managua, Nicaragua -- protests & strikes: 82 stories, carried by 74 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Ghadir, Lebanon -- protests & strikes: 76 stories, carried by 89 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Islamabad, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 176 stories, carried by 146 outlets; harsh wording in 83 in 100Mocimboa da Praia, Mozambique -- attacks & violence: 82 stories, carried by 105 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Paris, France -- people displaced: 418 stories, carried by 344 outlets; harsh wording in 82 in 100Pompeii, Italy -- accidents & disasters: 40 stories, carried by 136 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Netivot, Israel -- attacks & violence: 324 stories, carried by 252 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Las Vegas, US -- deaths, cause not given: 339 stories, carried by 493 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- attacks & violence: 784 stories, carried by 351 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Kremlin, Russia -- attacks & violence: 701 stories, carried by 597 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 548 stories, carried by 396 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Brussels, Belgium -- attacks & violence: 611 stories, carried by 582 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kiev, Ukraine -- attacks & violence: 426 stories, carried by 649 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Old Fort, US -- accidents & disasters: 451 stories, carried by 583 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 about as 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.