← 16 Dec Monday 17 December 2018 · to 23:59 UTC 18 Dec →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
28,232 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 →

Most of the day's attention went to protests in Pulwama (Kashmir), rights and justice in Kampala and violence in Gandarshe. Somalia's coverage was about 4 times as angry as the world's. Worldwide, the words used were softer than usual.

Part of lifeRights & justice 29 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostNorth Korea 55 in 100 of its 246 stories, usually 17
RegionSub-Saharan Africa 32 in 100 of its stories, usually 28
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

Kashmir

165 of its 292 stories (57%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Pulwama accounted for 103 of Kashmir's 165 stories about harm, carried by 44 outlets. 71 of Pulwama's 103 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Rights & justice

Uganda

97 of its 181 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Kampala accounted for 72 of Uganda's 97 stories about harm, carried by 93 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

Displacement

Germany

229 of its 1,149 stories (20%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (150 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Protests & strikes

Hungary

132 of its 508 stories (26%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. 93 of Budapest's 94 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 6 times the usual rate (56 stories). Flooding was named in 12 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.

Protests & strikes

Kenya

145 of its 423 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. 55 of Nairobi's 80 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (79 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Spain

359 of its 958 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. 19 of Barcelona's 22 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (308 stories).

Protests & strikes

Belgium

44 of Brussels' 58 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at about 5 times the usual rate (16 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Congo

12 of the Congo River's 12 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (12 stories). Cholera was named in 13 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

Rights & justice

North Korea

135 of its 246 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Pyongyang accounted for 123 of North Korea's 135 stories about harm, carried by 236 outlets.

Also named far more than usual: food poisoning in Antarctica (14 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); gas explosion in Japan (64 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); heavy rain in Indonesia (29 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hiv in Philippines (48 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); cholera in Congo (13 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

18 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 19; 19 the day before
23 in 10017 in 10018 Nov25 Nov2 Dec9 Dec17 Dec18 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 1009 Dec: 19 in 10010 Dec: 18 in 10011 Dec: 19 in 10012 Dec: 18 in 10013 Dec: 18 in 10014 Dec: 19 in 10015 Dec: 20 in 10016 Dec: 19 in 10017 Dec: 18 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 17 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 28,232 stories about harm among 158,597 counted on 17 Dec.

Read the day's briefing

The news turned to Kashmir for the third day running. 18 in every 100 of the day's 158,597 news stories were about people being harmed, below the usual 19. In Antarctica's news, mentions of food poisoning ran more than ten times their usual. A year earlier, on 17 December 2017, 22 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 18 today. Kashmir's news was 57% about people being harmed, against a usual 39%.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Damascus, Syria -- attacks & violence: 47 stories, carried by 45 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Jakarta, Indonesia -- accidents & disasters: 79 stories, carried by 58 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Tehran, Iran -- protests & strikes: 58 stories, carried by 66 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Moscow, Russia -- attacks & violence: 109 stories, carried by 149 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Helmand, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 29 stories, carried by 50 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Ankara, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 69 stories, carried by 63 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Istanbul, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 60 stories, carried by 61 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Nairobi, Kenya -- protests & strikes: 80 stories, carried by 83 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Konjic, -- accidents & disasters: 90 stories, carried by 92 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Hodeida, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 84 stories, carried by 65 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Mumbai, India -- accidents & disasters: 187 stories, carried by 117 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Islamabad, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 138 stories, carried by 114 outlets; harsh wording in 86 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- attacks & violence: 329 stories, carried by 173 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Minahasa, Indonesia -- accidents & disasters: 5 stories, carried by 94 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Butte County, US -- accidents & disasters: 97 stories, carried by 108 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Brussels, Belgium -- protests & strikes: 58 stories, carried by 156 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 135 stories, carried by 158 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Budapest, Hungary -- protests & strikes: 94 stories, carried by 141 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Berlin, Germany -- people displaced: 146 stories, carried by 208 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Paris, France -- attacks & violence: 294 stories, carried by 336 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Athens, Greece -- attacks & violence: 139 stories, carried by 226 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- protests & strikes: 283 stories, carried by 418 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Washington, US -- attacks & violence: 906 stories, carried by 974 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100Gandarshe, Somalia -- attacks & violence: 337 stories, carried by 604 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.

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?

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.