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What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
42,998 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 wildfires in Armenia, the drought in Burkina Faso and volcanic eruption in Japan. Burkina Faso's coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Language across the world's news ran softer than usual.

Part of lifeRights & justice 30 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostItaly 76 in 100 of its 2,564 stories, usually 25
RegionEurope 27 in 100 of its stories, usually 19
Tone of the words Softer than usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Rights & justice

Armenia

126 of its 198 stories (64%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Yerevan accounted for 122 of Armenia's 126 stories about harm, carried by 86 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (74 stories). Wildfires were named in 14 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Burkina Faso

77 of its 87 stories (89%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. Ouagadougou accounted for 69 of Burkina Faso's 77 stories about harm, carried by 77 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (69 stories). Drought was named in 69 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Disasters & accidents

Japan

393 of its 1,489 stories (26%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 7 times the usual rate (91 stories). Volcanic eruption was named in 101 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with earthquake and extreme cold. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Health

Denmark

179 of its 335 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (6 stories). Flu was named in 129 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with outbreaks.

6 more places the news pointed at
Conflict & violence

Venezuela

239 of its 319 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 58%. Caracas accounted for 157 of Venezuela's 239 stories about harm, carried by 144 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (146 stories). Measles was named in 47 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual, with diphtheria, hiv and tuberculosis.

Conflict & violence

Afghanistan

1,010 of its 1,177 stories (86%) were about people being harmed, usually 74%. Kabul accounted for 542 of Afghanistan's 1,010 stories about harm, carried by 421 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (139 stories). Its coverage was about 4 times as angry as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Disasters & accidents

Italy

1,952 of its 2,564 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Genoa accounted for 1,003 of Italy's 1,952 stories about harm, carried by 887 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (301 stories).

Disasters & accidents

Malta

229 of its 318 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Senglea accounted for 209 of Malta's 229 stories about harm, carried by 142 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about 7 times the usual rate (217 stories).

Rights & justice

Cuba

115 of its 212 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of arrests ran at about 6 times the usual rate (45 stories). Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Rights & justice

Ethiopia

90 of its 152 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (28 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: power cuts in Puerto Rico (49 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); heatwave in Switzerland (23 of its stories, about 9 times its usual); measles in Venezuela (47 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); wildfires in Australia (189 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); hurricane in France (33 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

21 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 20; 22 the day before
24 in 10016 in 10017 Jul24 Jul31 Jul7 Aug15 Aug17 Jul: 18 in 10018 Jul: 16 in 10019 Jul: 17 in 10020 Jul: 19 in 10021 Jul: 19 in 10022 Jul: 21 in 10023 Jul: 20 in 10024 Jul: 20 in 10025 Jul: 19 in 10026 Jul: 18 in 10027 Jul: 18 in 10028 Jul: 21 in 10029 Jul: 23 in 10030 Jul: 19 in 10031 Jul: 19 in 1001 Aug: 18 in 1002 Aug: 18 in 1003 Aug: 18 in 1004 Aug: 20 in 1005 Aug: 23 in 1006 Aug: 23 in 1007 Aug: 21 in 1008 Aug: 20 in 1009 Aug: 21 in 10010 Aug: 21 in 10011 Aug: 24 in 10012 Aug: 24 in 10013 Aug: 21 in 10014 Aug: 22 in 10015 Aug: 21 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 15 Aug. 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 42,998 stories about harm among 200,383 counted on 15 Aug.

Read the day's briefing

In Denmark's news, mentions of the flu ran more than ten times their usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 21 in every 100 of the day's 200,383 stories, above the usual 20. Armenia's news was 64% about people being harmed, against a usual 29%. A year earlier, on 15 August 2017, 24 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 21 today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Tokyo, Japan -- attacks & violence: 140 stories, carried by 128 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Paris, France -- accidents & disasters: 118 stories, carried by 106 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso -- attacks & violence: 69 stories, carried by 77 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sanaa, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 23 stories, carried by 99 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Margaret River, Australia -- deaths, cause not given: 38 stories, carried by 95 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Senglea, Malta -- accidents & disasters: 209 stories, carried by 142 outlets; harsh wording in 65 in 100Khartoum, Sudan -- accidents & disasters: 101 stories, carried by 93 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Cairo, Egypt -- people displaced: 137 stories, carried by 173 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Caracas, Venezuela -- attacks & violence: 157 stories, carried by 144 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Fujairah, United Arab Emirates -- accidents & disasters: 103 stories, carried by 96 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tunis, Tunisia -- attacks & violence: 48 stories, carried by 119 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Stone Town, Tanzania -- protests & strikes: 8 stories, carried by 100 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Burrill Lake, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 97 stories, carried by 106 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Milan, Italy -- accidents & disasters: 142 stories, carried by 114 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Kuchinoerabu, Japan -- accidents & disasters: 103 stories, carried by 115 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Copenhagen, Denmark -- disease & outbreaks: 127 stories, carried by 129 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Ankara, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 242 stories, carried by 254 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Northern Ireland, UK -- attacks & violence: 200 stories, carried by 268 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Ghazni, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 283 stories, carried by 250 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Broward County, US -- attacks & violence: 420 stories, carried by 490 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 542 stories, carried by 421 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100London, UK -- attacks & violence: 993 stories, carried by 920 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Erie, US -- attacks & violence: 350 stories, carried by 598 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Genoa, Italy -- accidents & disasters: 1,003 stories, carried by 887 outlets; harsh wording in 100 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 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.