← 29 Sep Sunday 30 September 2018 · to 23:59 UTC 1 Oct →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
21,180 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 landslides in Indonesia, rights and justice in Bratislava and people killed in North Korea. Slovakia's coverage was about 4 times as grief-stricken as the world's. Across the world, the tone of the words was about as usual.

Part of lifeDisasters & accidents 26 in 100 of the stories about harm · more than usual Country that rose mostIndonesia 94 in 100 of its 2,144 stories, usually 39
RegionSoutheast Asia 60 in 100 of its stories, usually 33
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 →
Disasters & accidents

Indonesia

2,019 of its 2,144 stories (94%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Donggala accounted for 1,215 of Indonesia's 2,019 stories about harm, carried by 1,147 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (109 stories). Landslides were named in 386 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with drownings. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Indonesia over 30 days → its stories → Donggala stories →
Rights & justice

Slovakia

99 of its 105 stories (94%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Bratislava accounted for 93 of Slovakia's 99 stories about harm, carried by 83 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (99 stories). Its coverage was about 4 times as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Slovakia over 30 days → its stories → Bratislava stories →
Conflict & violence

North Korea

219 of its 540 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 11%. Reports of people killed ran at about 6 times the usual rate (160 stories). Outbreaks were named in 55 of its stories about harm, about 10 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as warm as the world's.

North Korea over 30 days → its stories →
Protests & strikes

Iran

67 of Tehran's 109 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (67 stories). Poisoning was named in 17 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

Iran over 30 days → its stories → Tehran stories →
6 more places the news pointed at
Disasters & accidents

Greece

208 of its 348 stories (60%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Athens accounted for 171 of Greece's 208 stories about harm, carried by 178 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (33 stories). Landslides were named in 34 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with power cuts.

its stories →
Conflict & violence

Cameroon

194 of its 242 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 50%. Maroua accounted for 135 of Cameroon's 194 stories about harm, carried by 203 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (151 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

its stories →
Disasters & accidents

Japan

602 of its 1,235 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 10 times the usual rate (262 stories). Heatwave was named in 69 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with storm surge.

its stories →
Health

Romania

110 of its 251 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Bucharest accounted for 109 of Romania's 110 stories about harm, carried by 2 outlets. Drought was named in 108 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual, with bird flu and flu.

its stories →
Disasters & accidents

Türkiye

276 of its 503 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Reports of people killed ran at about 5 times the usual rate (221 stories). Grief in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

its stories →
Conflict & violence

Israel

407 of its 674 stories (60%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (101 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

its stories →

Also named far more than usual: drought in Romania (108 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); hurricane in Mexico (62 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); ebola in Uganda (28 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); wildfires in France (35 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hepatitis in Hong Kong (11 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).

21 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 21; 22 the day before
27 in 10017 in 1001 Sep8 Sep15 Sep22 Sep30 Sep1 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 10030 Sep: 21 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 30 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 21,180 stories about harm among 102,508 counted on 30 Sep.

Read the day's briefing

The news turned to Indonesia for the third day running. 21 in every 100 of the day's 102,508 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. In Indonesia, 94% of the news was about people being harmed, where 39% is usual. A year earlier, on 30 September 2017, 23 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 21 today. This week the news turned most often to Slovakia, on 3 of 7 days; help rose on 4 of them.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where harm was most of the news all →

Slovakia94 in 100 of its 105 stories · usually 29 · mostly rights & justice Indonesia94 in 100 of its 2,144 stories · usually 39 · mostly disasters & accidents Libya83 in 100 of its 70 stories · usually 72 · mostly conflict & violence Syria81 in 100 of its 738 stories · usually 72 · mostly conflict & violence Cameroon80 in 100 of its 242 stories · usually 50 · mostly conflict & violence

Countries with at least 50 stories that day.

Where people protested

Washington US245 stories about protests or strikes, of its 725 San Diego US167 stories about protests or strikes, of its 227 Greenwood County US166 stories about protests or strikes, of its 167 Donggala Indonesia95 stories about protests or strikes, of its 1215 Jerusalem Israel77 stories about protests or strikes, of its 199

Stories, not people.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Baja California, Mexico -- accidents & disasters: 39 stories, carried by 35 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Barcelona, Spain -- protests & strikes: 42 stories, carried by 46 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Osaka, Japan -- accidents & disasters: 61 stories, carried by 48 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tripoli, Libya -- attacks & violence: 52 stories, carried by 43 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Cairo, Egypt -- protests & strikes: 69 stories, carried by 61 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Edirne, Türkiye -- accidents & disasters: 50 stories, carried by 46 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Madrid, Spain -- attacks & violence: 49 stories, carried by 53 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 61 stories, carried by 60 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100New Delhi, India -- attacks & violence: 324 stories, carried by 156 outlets; harsh wording in 86 in 100Islamabad, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 131 stories, carried by 83 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Belfast, UK -- attacks & violence: 57 stories, carried by 123 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100Peshawar, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 78 stories, carried by 66 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Munich, Germany -- protests & strikes: 10 stories, carried by 87 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Tehran, Iran -- protests & strikes: 109 stories, carried by 110 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Damascus, Syria -- accidents & disasters: 239 stories, carried by 171 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Enez, Türkiye -- accidents & disasters: 145 stories, carried by 128 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Bandung, Indonesia -- accidents & disasters: 152 stories, carried by 158 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Athens, Greece -- accidents & disasters: 171 stories, carried by 178 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Allentown, US -- deaths, cause not given: 260 stories, carried by 241 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Maroua, Cameroon -- attacks & violence: 135 stories, carried by 203 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Brookhaven, US -- attacks & violence: 149 stories, carried by 235 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Idlib, Syria -- attacks & violence: 258 stories, carried by 238 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Tokyo, Japan -- accidents & disasters: 377 stories, carried by 375 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Donggala, Indonesia -- accidents & disasters: 1,215 stories, carried by 1,147 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.

Biggest events

● Donggala Indonesia accidents & disasters · 1,215 stories, 1,147 outlets ● Tokyo Japan accidents & disasters · 377 stories, 375 outlets ● Idlib Syria attacks & violence · 258 stories, 238 outlets ● Brookhaven US attacks & violence · 149 stories, 235 outlets ● Maroua Cameroon attacks & violence · 135 stories, 203 outlets ● Allentown US deaths, cause not given · 260 stories, 241 outlets ● Athens Greece accidents & disasters · 171 stories, 178 outlets ● Bandung Indonesia accidents & disasters · 152 stories, 158 outlets

The day in three measures

Parts of life 30 days →

Disasters & accidents26% 5,448 stories · more than usual (usually 23%) Rights & justice25% 5,286 stories · less than usual (usually 28%) Health19% 3,883 stories · about as usual Conflict & violence18% 3,735 stories · more than usual (usually 16%) Deaths & injuries, cause not given6% 1,171 stories · about as usual Shelter & services2% 500 stories · about as usual Displacement2% 418 stories · about as usual Food & livelihood2% 373 stories · about as usual

Of the stories about people being harmed, what part of life each was about. The mark is usual.

Harm reported 30 days →

Stories reporting people killed7,871 at about one and a half times the usual rate · most about the US and Indonesia Stories reporting people injured2,800 at about one and a half times the usual rate · most about Indonesia and the US Stories reporting people affected2,591 at about the usual rate Stories reporting arrests2,127 at about the usual rate Stories reporting evacuations458 at about the usual rate Stories reporting refugees338 at about two-thirds of the usual rate · most about Indonesia and the US Stories reporting people displaced314 at about the usual rate Stories reporting abductions157 at about two-thirds of the usual rate · most about Nigeria and India Stories reporting people falling ill15 at less than a quarter of the usual rate · most about the US and Australia

Stories that report it, not people: we count what reporters wrote, not what happened.

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
● 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?

The weekly briefing · 19 Oct – 25 Oct

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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.