← 23 Oct Wednesday 24 October 2018 · to 23:59 UTC 25 Oct →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
39,468 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 rights and justice in Riyadh, violence in Sirte and evacuations in Mexico. Saudi Arabia's coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Language across the world's news ran softer than usual.

Reports of people falling ill ran at about three times the usual rate, most often about the US and France →
Part of lifeRights & justice 31 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostGuam 78 in 100 of its 76 stories, usually 19
RegionCentral Asia 23 in 100 of its stories, usually 11
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

Saudi Arabia

1,863 of its 3,999 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Riyadh accounted for 1,312 of Saudi Arabia's 1,863 stories about harm, carried by 1,035 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about 8 times the usual rate (50 stories). Poisoning was named in 77 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual, with cholera. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Libya

178 of its 204 stories (87%) were about people being harmed, usually 49%. Sirte accounted for 140 of Libya's 178 stories about harm, carried by 193 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about 6 times the usual rate (140 stories). 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

Mexico

1,229 of its 2,243 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (429 stories). Power cuts were named in 65 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual.

Displacement

Cuba

98 of its 203 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Havana accounted for 89 of Cuba's 98 stories about harm, carried by 120 outlets. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

6 more places the news pointed at
Conflict & violence

Central African Republic

86 of its 106 stories (81%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. Balaka accounted for 78 of the Central African Republic's 86 stories about harm, carried by 106 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about 6 times the usual rate (35 stories). Its coverage was about twice as warm as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Bosnia

40 of its 53 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Sarajevo accounted for 36 of Bosnia's 40 stories about harm, carried by 35 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (38 stories). Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Conflict & violence

Thailand

124 of its 408 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (55 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Guatemala

37 of its 81 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. 3 of Guatemala City's 6 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (12 stories).

Rights & justice

Japan

447 of its 1,756 stories (25%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (181 stories). Poisoning was named in 20 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual, with rubella.

Disasters & accidents

Yemen

268 of its 338 stories (79%) were about people being harmed, usually 72%. Hodeida accounted for 199 of Yemen's 268 stories about harm, carried by 349 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: hunger in Cambodia (35 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); ebola in Sierra Leone (17 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); tropical storm in Northern Mariana Islands (13 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); drownings in Tanzania (14 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); natural hazards in Italy (25 of its stories, about 5 times its usual).

19 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 20; 19 the day before
24 in 10017 in 10025 Sep2 Oct9 Oct16 Oct24 Oct25 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 10018 Oct: 19 in 10019 Oct: 18 in 10020 Oct: 22 in 10021 Oct: 21 in 10022 Oct: 19 in 10023 Oct: 19 in 10024 Oct: 19 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 24 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 39,468 stories about harm among 204,993 counted on 24 Oct.

Read the day's briefing

The news turned to Saudi Arabia for the third day running. 19 in every 100 of the day's 204,993 news stories were about people being harmed, below the usual 20. People falling ill were reported at about three times the usual rate, most often about the US and France. Cambodia's news mentioned the hunger more than ten times as often as usual. On 24 October 2017, a year earlier, the share was 21 in every 100, against 19 today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Sarajevo, Bosnia -- attacks & violence: 36 stories, carried by 35 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 66 stories, carried by 50 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Moscow, Russia -- attacks & violence: 67 stories, carried by 80 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Rodat, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 40 stories, carried by 37 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Paris, France -- attacks & violence: 187 stories, carried by 123 outlets; harsh wording in 74 in 100Old Fort, Canada -- people displaced: 12 stories, carried by 50 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Kampala, Uganda -- protests & strikes: 63 stories, carried by 61 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 45 stories, carried by 53 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Damascus, Syria -- attacks & violence: 104 stories, carried by 90 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Cairo, Egypt -- attacks & violence: 63 stories, carried by 75 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Bangkok, Thailand -- attacks & violence: 77 stories, carried by 77 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Federation Square, Australia -- attacks & violence: 6 stories, carried by 60 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Suva, Fiji -- accidents & disasters: 45 stories, carried by 147 outlets; harsh wording in 64 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- protests & strikes: 535 stories, carried by 148 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Tuam, Ireland -- deaths, cause not given: 67 stories, carried by 98 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Berlin, Germany -- attacks & violence: 61 stories, carried by 94 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Balaka, Central African Republic -- attacks & violence: 78 stories, carried by 106 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Havana, Cuba -- people displaced: 89 stories, carried by 120 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Sirte, Libya -- attacks & violence: 140 stories, carried by 193 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Isla del Bosque, Mexico -- accidents & disasters: 103 stories, carried by 200 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Hodeida, Yemen -- accidents & disasters: 199 stories, carried by 349 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Atlanta, US -- protests & strikes: 243 stories, carried by 333 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Sinaloa, Mexico -- accidents & disasters: 421 stories, carried by 574 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Washington, US -- attacks & violence: 2,949 stories, carried by 1,881 outlets; harsh wording in 96 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
● 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?

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.