← 7 Dec Saturday 8 December 2018 · to 23:59 UTC 9 Dec →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
20,947 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 protests in Paris (France), deaths in Corinaldo and violence in Algiers. Algeria's coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Everywhere we counted, the words were harsher than usual.

Reports of abductions ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about the US and Brazil → Help and hope: reports of people freed or reunited ran at about three times the usual rate →
Part of lifeRights & justice 36 in 100 of the stories about harm · much more than usual Country that rose mostItaly 63 in 100 of its 1,331 stories, usually 17
RegionSoutheast Asia 32 in 100 of its stories, usually 26
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 →
Protests & strikes

France

1,051 of its 2,962 stories (35%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Paris accounted for 977 of France's 1,051 stories about harm, carried by 1,037 outlets. 930 of Paris' 977 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (725 stories). Hurricane was named in 88 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual, with train derailment and typhoon. 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.

France over 30 days → its stories → Paris stories →
Deaths & injuries, cause not given

Italy

841 of its 1,331 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Corinaldo accounted for 635 of Italy's 841 stories about harm, carried by 866 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (638 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Italy over 30 days → its stories → Corinaldo stories →
Conflict & violence

Algeria

70 of its 80 stories (88%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Algiers accounted for 62 of Algeria's 70 stories about harm, carried by 59 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about 5 times the usual rate (63 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.

Algeria over 30 days → its stories → Algiers stories →
Rights & justice

Palestine

482 of its 727 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. Qusra accounted for 300 of Palestine's 482 stories about harm, carried by 10 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about 9 times the usual rate (70 stories). Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Palestine over 30 days → its stories → Qusra stories →
6 more places the news pointed at
Protests & strikes

Belgium

138 of its 243 stories (57%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Brussels accounted for 135 of Belgium's 138 stories about harm, carried by 130 outlets. 124 of Brussels' 135 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (96 stories). Flu was named in 14 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

its stories →
Conflict & violence

Sweden

83 of its 158 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (18 stories). Plague was named in 19 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with outbreaks. Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

its stories →
Protests & strikes

Malaysia

166 of its 460 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. 118 of Kuala Lumpur's 132 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (31 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

its stories →
Protests & strikes

Honduras

17 of its 27 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. 11 of Tegucigalpa's 12 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (16 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

its stories →
Conflict & violence

Kashmir

155 of its 336 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 8 times the usual rate (13 stories). Road crashes were named in 26 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

its stories →
Rights & justice

Brazil

127 of its 346 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (103 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

its stories →

Also named far more than usual: haemorrhagic fever in DR Congo (18 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); illness in Finland (17 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); plague in Sweden (19 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); road crashes in Kashmir (26 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flu in Belgium (14 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

19 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 20; 18 the day before
24 in 10017 in 1009 Nov16 Nov23 Nov30 Nov8 Dec9 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 1005 Dec: 18 in 1006 Dec: 19 in 1007 Dec: 18 in 1008 Dec: 19 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 8 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 20,947 stories about harm among 110,423 counted on 8 Dec.

Read the day's briefing

Reports of people freed or reunited, a sign of help, ran at about three times the usual rate. 19 in every 100 of the day's 110,423 news stories were about people being harmed, below the usual 20. Reports of abductions ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about the US and Brazil. the DR Congo's news mentioned haemorrhagic fever about 4 times as often as usual. France's news was 35% about people being harmed, against a usual 27%.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where harm was most of the news all →

Algeria88 in 100 of its 80 stories · usually 25 · mostly conflict & violence Syria81 in 100 of its 245 stories · usually 73 · mostly conflict & violence Yemen74 in 100 of its 218 stories · usually 78 · mostly conflict & violence Palestine66 in 100 of its 727 stories · usually 46 · mostly rights & justice Israel64 in 100 of its 665 stories · usually 51 · mostly conflict & violence

Countries with at least 50 stories that day.

Where people protested

Paris France930 stories about protests or strikes, of its 977 Charlottesville US523 stories about protests or strikes, of its 564 Gaza Palestine173 stories about protests or strikes, of its 175 Moscow Russia159 stories about protests or strikes, of its 215 Greenwood County US159 stories about protests or strikes, of its 243

Stories, not people.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Madrid, Spain -- accidents & disasters: 37 stories, carried by 43 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Hajjah, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 28 stories, carried by 35 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 40 stories, carried by 41 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Poonch, Kashmir -- deaths, cause not given: 56 stories, carried by 44 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Amsterdam, Netherlands -- protests & strikes: 46 stories, carried by 45 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- attacks & violence: 21 stories, carried by 98 outlets; harsh wording in 86 in 100Islamabad, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 81 stories, carried by 81 outlets; harsh wording in 85 in 100Algiers, Algeria -- attacks & violence: 62 stories, carried by 59 outlets; harsh wording in 77 in 100Budapest, Hungary -- protests & strikes: 5 stories, carried by 81 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Rimbo, Sweden -- attacks & violence: 57 stories, carried by 58 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Warsaw, Poland -- protests & strikes: 63 stories, carried by 57 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Chabahar, Iran -- attacks & violence: 48 stories, carried by 65 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sanaa, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 87 stories, carried by 84 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Ottawa, Canada -- protests & strikes: 77 stories, carried by 166 outlets; harsh wording in 87 in 100Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -- protests & strikes: 132 stories, carried by 99 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 110 stories, carried by 102 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Hajin, Syria -- attacks & violence: 81 stories, carried by 92 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Aleppo, Syria -- attacks & violence: 76 stories, carried by 119 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Brussels, Belgium -- protests & strikes: 135 stories, carried by 130 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Houston, US -- accidents & disasters: 190 stories, carried by 235 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Moscow, Russia -- protests & strikes: 215 stories, carried by 203 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Corinaldo, Italy -- deaths, cause not given: 635 stories, carried by 866 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Charlottesville, US -- protests & strikes: 564 stories, carried by 748 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Paris, France -- protests & strikes: 977 stories, carried by 1,037 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.

Biggest events

● Paris France protests & strikes · 977 stories, 1,037 outlets ● Charlottesville US protests & strikes · 564 stories, 748 outlets ● Corinaldo Italy deaths, cause not given · 635 stories, 866 outlets ● Moscow Russia protests & strikes · 215 stories, 203 outlets ● Houston US accidents & disasters · 190 stories, 235 outlets ● Brussels Belgium protests & strikes · 135 stories, 130 outlets ● Aleppo Syria attacks & violence · 76 stories, 119 outlets ● Hajin Syria attacks & violence · 81 stories, 92 outlets

The day in three measures

Parts of life 30 days →

Rights & justice36% 7,377 stories · much more than usual (usually 27%) Health17% 3,420 stories · less than usual (usually 19%) Disasters & accidents17% 3,406 stories · less than usual (usually 20%) Conflict & violence16% 3,364 stories · less than usual (usually 19%) Deaths & injuries, cause not given6% 1,182 stories · about as usual Shelter & services5% 932 stories · about as usual Displacement2% 503 stories · about as usual Food & livelihood2% 438 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 killed5,533 at about two-thirds of the usual rate · most about the US and Italy Stories reporting arrests4,067 at about one and a half times the usual rate · most about the US and France Stories reporting people injured3,026 at about one and a half times the usual rate · most about the US and Italy Stories reporting people affected2,177 at about the usual rate Stories reporting abductions554 at about twice the usual rate · most about the US and Brazil Stories reporting refugees312 at about the usual rate Stories reporting people displaced286 at about the usual rate Stories reporting evacuations88 at less than a quarter of the usual rate · most about the US and Kashmir Stories reporting people falling ill18 at less than a quarter of the usual rate · most about the US and Japan

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 harsher 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.