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What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
25,262 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 →

Landslides in Indonesia, road crashes in Oman and violence in Luhansk drew the news. Uganda's coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's. Everywhere we counted, the words were harsher than usual.

Part of lifeRights & justice 32 in 100 of the stories about harm · more than usual Country that rose mostIndonesia 94 in 100 of its 2,103 stories, usually 29
RegionSoutheast Asia 59 in 100 of its stories, usually 32
Tone of the words Harsher than usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Disasters & accidents

Indonesia

1,975 of its 2,103 stories (94%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Donggala accounted for 991 of Indonesia's 1,975 stories about harm, carried by 1,211 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 8 times the usual rate (1,115 stories). Landslides were named in 267 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Deaths & injuries, cause not given

Oman

89 of its 139 stories (64%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Salalah accounted for 85 of Oman's 89 stories about harm, carried by 98 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about 9 times the usual rate (86 stories). Road crashes were named in 18 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Conflict & violence

Ukraine

163 of its 257 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Luhansk accounted for 129 of Ukraine's 163 stories about harm, carried by 141 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 7 times the usual rate (145 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Health

Uganda

174 of its 230 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 56%. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (69 stories). Ebola was named in 145 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with haemorrhagic fever. Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Protests & strikes

Israel

673 of its 1,078 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. 155 of Jerusalem's 275 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 6 times the usual rate (545 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Protests & strikes

Iran

345 of its 734 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. 123 of Tehran's 187 stories were about protests or strikes. Poisoning was named in 16 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Russia

389 of its 1,393 stories (28%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. 167 of Moscow's 220 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (52 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Spain

379 of its 858 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. 266 of Barcelona's 327 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (295 stories).

Rights & justice

Slovakia

21 of its 25 stories (84%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (21 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Displacement

Chad

24 of its 47 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (16 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: drought in Romania (66 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); hepatitis in Hong Kong (38 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); earthquake in Syria (209 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); earthquake in Mexico (65 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); tornadoes in Norway (15 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

22 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 21; 19 the day before
27 in 10017 in 10031 Aug7 Sep14 Sep21 Sep29 Sep31 Aug: 20 in 1001 Sep: 22 in 1002 Sep: 22 in 1003 Sep: 21 in 1004 Sep: 20 in 1005 Sep: 21 in 1006 Sep: 20 in 1007 Sep: 19 in 1008 Sep: 21 in 1009 Sep: 22 in 10010 Sep: 22 in 10011 Sep: 23 in 10012 Sep: 23 in 10013 Sep: 22 in 10014 Sep: 24 in 10015 Sep: 27 in 10016 Sep: 26 in 10017 Sep: 21 in 10018 Sep: 20 in 10019 Sep: 20 in 10020 Sep: 20 in 10021 Sep: 20 in 10022 Sep: 23 in 10023 Sep: 22 in 10024 Sep: 20 in 10025 Sep: 19 in 10026 Sep: 18 in 10027 Sep: 17 in 10028 Sep: 19 in 10029 Sep: 22 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 29 Sep. 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 25,262 stories about harm among 115,019 counted on 29 Sep.

Read the day's briefing

In Indonesia, 94% of the news was about people being harmed, where 29% is usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 22 in every 100 of the day's 115,019 stories, as usual. It was the second day running that the news turned to Indonesia. On 29 September 2017, a year earlier, the share was 23 in every 100, against 22 today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Cairo, Egypt -- protests & strikes: 97 stories, carried by 95 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Okinawa, Japan -- accidents & disasters: 73 stories, carried by 65 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Mexico City, Mexico -- accidents & disasters: 75 stories, carried by 82 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Salalah, Oman -- deaths, cause not given: 85 stories, carried by 98 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Ahvaz, Iran -- attacks & violence: 72 stories, carried by 77 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Islamabad, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 200 stories, carried by 99 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Kivu, Uganda -- disease & outbreaks: 72 stories, carried by 76 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tokyo, Japan -- accidents & disasters: 131 stories, carried by 103 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Gaza, Palestine -- protests & strikes: 125 stories, carried by 116 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Moscow, Russia -- protests & strikes: 220 stories, carried by 150 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Fermanagh, UK -- accidents & disasters: 10 stories, carried by 118 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Honiara, Solomon Islands -- accidents & disasters: 8 stories, carried by 120 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Nairobi, Kenya -- protests & strikes: 159 stories, carried by 147 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Athens, Greece -- accidents & disasters: 77 stories, carried by 162 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Tehran, Iran -- protests & strikes: 187 stories, carried by 203 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Luhansk, Ukraine -- attacks & violence: 129 stories, carried by 141 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Damascus, Syria -- accidents & disasters: 254 stories, carried by 174 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Jakarta, Indonesia -- accidents & disasters: 307 stories, carried by 216 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Idlib, Syria -- attacks & violence: 256 stories, carried by 242 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Barcelona, Spain -- protests & strikes: 327 stories, carried by 305 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Chuuk, Micronesia -- accidents & disasters: 248 stories, carried by 407 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Brookhaven, US -- attacks & violence: 424 stories, carried by 823 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Washington, US -- protests & strikes: 1,249 stories, carried by 1,033 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Donggala, Indonesia -- accidents & disasters: 991 stories, carried by 1,211 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 harsher than usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.

● Angera little more than usual
● Warmthabout as usual
● Griefabout as usual
● Feara little more than 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.