← 16 Oct Wednesday 17 October 2018 · to 23:59 UTC 18 Oct →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
38,264 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 the avalanche in Nepal, protests in Chisinau (Moldova) and gas explosion in Russia. Nepal's coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Language across the world's news ran harsher than usual.

Help and hope: reports of vaccination ran at about twice the usual rate →
Part of lifeRights & justice 32 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostCzechia 64 in 100 of its 293 stories, usually 15
RegionSouth Asia 28 in 100 of its stories, usually 25
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

Nepal

120 of its 178 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Gurja Himal accounted for 84 of Nepal's 120 stories about harm, carried by 97 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (105 stories). Avalanche was named in 90 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with earthquake and snowstorms. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Moldova

48 of its 67 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 10%. Chisinau accounted for 47 of Moldova's 48 stories about harm, carried by 70 outlets. 46 of Chisinau's 47 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Russia

1,175 of its 2,903 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (801 stories). Gas explosion was named in 465 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with building collapse and power cuts. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about three times its own usual.

Displacement

South Korea

236 of its 694 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (122 stories). Avalanche was named in 34 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with earthquake and snowstorms. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Disasters & accidents

Morocco

97 of its 158 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Kenitra accounted for 89 of Morocco's 97 stories about harm, carried by 89 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (90 stories). Train derailment was named in 87 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Ukraine

187 of its 368 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (142 stories). Gas explosion was named in 34 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 twice its own usual.

Conflict & violence

Afghanistan

363 of its 473 stories (77%) were about people being harmed, usually 58%. Kabul accounted for 201 of Afghanistan's 363 stories about harm, carried by 140 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at about 4 times the usual rate (111 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Panama

167 of its 265 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 51%. Panama City accounted for 155 of Panama's 167 stories about harm, carried by 134 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (67 stories). Power cuts were named in 129 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual.

Protests & strikes

Congo

192 of its 240 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 72%. 72 of Alima's 72 stories were about protests or strikes. Flu was named in 59 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's.

Health

Angola

97 of its 148 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (36 stories). Cholera was named in 41 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with dengue, ebola and malaria.

Also named far more than usual: power cuts in Panama (129 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); train derailment in Morocco (87 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); plague in Honduras (122 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); cholera in Angola (41 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flu in Congo (59 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

19 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 21; 19 the day before
24 in 10017 in 10018 Sep25 Sep2 Oct9 Oct17 Oct18 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 1001 Oct: 19 in 1002 Oct: 19 in 1003 Oct: 19 in 1004 Oct: 19 in 1005 Oct: 20 in 1006 Oct: 22 in 1007 Oct: 23 in 1008 Oct: 21 in 1009 Oct: 21 in 10010 Oct: 21 in 10011 Oct: 22 in 10012 Oct: 21 in 10013 Oct: 23 in 10014 Oct: 24 in 10015 Oct: 20 in 10016 Oct: 19 in 10017 Oct: 19 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 17 Oct. 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 38,264 stories about harm among 204,564 counted on 17 Oct.

Read the day's briefing

On the side of help, reports of vaccination ran at about twice the usual rate. Stories about people being harmed made up 19 in every 100 of the day's 204,564 stories, below the usual 21. Mentions of power cuts ran about 5 times their usual in Panama's news. On 17 October 2017, a year earlier, the share was 23 in every 100, against 19 today. Nepal stood out: 67% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 41%.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Seoul, South Korea -- accidents & disasters: 128 stories, carried by 138 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Fateh Kadal, Kashmir -- attacks & violence: 106 stories, carried by 55 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Clogher, UK -- accidents & disasters: 13 stories, carried by 75 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Low Head, Australia -- deaths, cause not given: 15 stories, carried by 87 outlets; harsh wording in 87 in 100Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 62 stories, carried by 58 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Crimea, Ukraine -- attacks & violence: 90 stories, carried by 69 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Ahvaz, Iran -- attacks & violence: 50 stories, carried by 68 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Chisinau, Moldova -- protests & strikes: 47 stories, carried by 70 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Atar, South Sudan -- attacks & violence: 10 stories, carried by 96 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Alima, Congo -- protests & strikes: 72 stories, carried by 73 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Black Sea, -- attacks & violence: 12 stories, carried by 103 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Jeju, South Korea -- people displaced: 91 stories, carried by 86 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kenitra, Morocco -- accidents & disasters: 89 stories, carried by 89 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Gurja Himal, Nepal -- accidents & disasters: 84 stories, carried by 97 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Panama City, Panama -- accidents & disasters: 155 stories, carried by 134 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 201 stories, carried by 140 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Mogadishu, Somalia -- attacks & violence: 136 stories, carried by 141 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Canberra, Australia -- people displaced: 140 stories, carried by 276 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Beersheba, Israel -- protests & strikes: 514 stories, carried by 360 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sabarimala, India -- protests & strikes: 268 stories, carried by 226 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Bay County, US -- accidents & disasters: 311 stories, carried by 447 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Komsomolskaya, Russia -- attacks & violence: 210 stories, carried by 422 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Moscow, Russia -- attacks & violence: 629 stories, carried by 641 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Mexico Beach, US -- accidents & disasters: 560 stories, carried by 652 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.

● 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?

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.