← 3 Dec Tuesday 4 December 2018 · to 23:59 UTC 5 Dec →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
35,799 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.

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The news turned to protests in Faraba Banta (Gambia), rights and justice in Bentiu and people killed in Algeria. South Sudan's coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Taken together, the world's news read softer than usual.

Part of lifeRights & justice 28 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostGambia 59 in 100 of its 125 stories, usually 16
RegionLatin America & Caribbean 26 in 100 of its stories, usually 22
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 →
Protests & strikes

Gambia

74 of its 125 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Faraba Banta accounted for 71 of the Gambia's 74 stories about harm, carried by 84 outlets. 69 of Faraba Banta's 71 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about 9 times the usual rate (70 stories). Accidents were named in 68 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual.

Rights & justice

South Sudan

107 of its 125 stories (86%) were about people being harmed, usually 58%. Bentiu accounted for 83 of South Sudan's 107 stories about harm, carried by 88 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about 4 times the usual rate (18 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Health

Algeria

30 of its 68 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Reports of people killed ran at about 5 times the usual rate (26 stories). Flu was named in 27 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Yemen

Sanaa accounted for 347 of Yemen's 488 stories about harm, carried by 248 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about 9 times the usual rate (140 stories). Drownings were named in 18 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Warmth in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

6 more places the news pointed at
Protests & strikes

Denmark

129 of its 364 stories (35%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. 56 of Copenhagen's 105 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (59 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Mexico

435 of its 1,116 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. 165 of Tamaulipas' 166 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about 7 times the usual rate (310 stories). Grief in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Conflict & violence

Israel

Jerusalem accounted for 690 of Israel's 1,086 stories about harm, carried by 321 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at about three times the usual rate (14 stories). Poisoning was named in 20 of its stories about harm, about 10 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Somalia

41 of Mogadishu's 72 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (9 stories). Hunger was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Honduras

30 of its 43 stories (70%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. 3 of Agua Zarca's 3 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (27 stories).

Rights & justice

Malaysia

230 of its 812 stories (28%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (26 stories). Gas explosion was named in 11 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

Also named far more than usual: drought in Argentina (17 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flooding in Iraq (24 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); hiv in Ghana (36 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); measles in Guinea (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); drought in Colombia (14 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

18 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 20; 17 the day before
24 in 10015 in 1005 Nov12 Nov19 Nov26 Nov4 Dec5 Nov: 18 in 1006 Nov: 18 in 1007 Nov: 15 in 1008 Nov: 19 in 1009 Nov: 21 in 10010 Nov: 24 in 10011 Nov: 23 in 10012 Nov: 20 in 10013 Nov: 19 in 10014 Nov: 19 in 10015 Nov: 20 in 10016 Nov: 20 in 10017 Nov: 22 in 10018 Nov: 23 in 10019 Nov: 20 in 10020 Nov: 20 in 10021 Nov: 20 in 10022 Nov: 20 in 10023 Nov: 20 in 10024 Nov: 21 in 10025 Nov: 22 in 10026 Nov: 21 in 10027 Nov: 19 in 10028 Nov: 19 in 10029 Nov: 19 in 10030 Nov: 19 in 1001 Dec: 23 in 1002 Dec: 19 in 1003 Dec: 17 in 1004 Dec: 18 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 4 Dec. 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 35,799 stories about harm among 204,353 counted on 4 Dec.

Read the day's briefing

In the Gambia, 59% of the news was about people being harmed, where 16% is usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 18 in every 100 of the day's 204,353 stories, below the usual 20. A year earlier, on 4 December 2017, 19 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 18 today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Dhaka, Bangladesh -- protests & strikes: 98 stories, carried by 94 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Tulkarem, Palestine -- attacks & violence: 62 stories, carried by 53 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sydney, Australia -- attacks & violence: 156 stories, carried by 145 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Tel Aviv, Israel -- protests & strikes: 67 stories, carried by 68 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Bulandshahr, India -- protests & strikes: 231 stories, carried by 84 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Belfast, UK -- attacks & violence: 148 stories, carried by 177 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Mexico City, Mexico -- attacks & violence: 77 stories, carried by 89 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Jakarta, Indonesia -- attacks & violence: 123 stories, carried by 106 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 75 stories, carried by 155 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Nikiszowiec, Poland -- protests & strikes: 57 stories, carried by 71 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Faraba Banta, Gambia -- protests & strikes: 71 stories, carried by 84 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Badme, Eritrea -- protests & strikes: 7 stories, carried by 98 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Addis Ababa, Ethiopia -- protests & strikes: 14 stories, carried by 123 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Damascus, Syria -- attacks & violence: 159 stories, carried by 192 outlets; harsh wording in 81 in 100Istanbul, Türkiye -- accidents & disasters: 135 stories, carried by 145 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Copenhagen, Denmark -- protests & strikes: 105 stories, carried by 230 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 184 stories, carried by 187 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Metula, Israel -- attacks & violence: 134 stories, carried by 168 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tamaulipas, Mexico -- protests & strikes: 166 stories, carried by 179 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sanaa, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 347 stories, carried by 248 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Islamabad, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 213 stories, carried by 309 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Anchorage, US -- accidents & disasters: 240 stories, carried by 360 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Washington, US -- attacks & violence: 2,391 stories, carried by 1,675 outlets; harsh wording in 49 in 100Paris, France -- protests & strikes: 817 stories, carried by 816 outlets; harsh wording in 95 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.