← 24 Dec Tuesday 25 December 2018 · to 23:59 UTC 26 Dec →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
17,479 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 Tunis (Tunisia), people displaced in Indonesia and violence in Tripoli. Libya's coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Taken together, the world's news read much harsher than usual.

Reports of evacuations ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about Afghanistan and Australia → Help and hope: reports of volunteers ran at about 4 times the usual rate →
Part of lifeRights & justice 27 in 100 of the stories about harm · less than usual Country that rose mostNorth Korea 87 in 100 of its 316 stories, usually 25
RegionSoutheast Asia 59 in 100 of its stories, usually 29
Tone of the words Much harsher than usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Protests & strikes

Tunisia

120 of its 149 stories (81%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Tunis accounted for 101 of Tunisia's 120 stories about harm, carried by 99 outlets. 94 of Tunis' 101 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (58 stories). Its coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Indonesia

1,329 of its 1,483 stories (90%) were about people being harmed, usually 55%. Reports of people displaced ran at about 5 times the usual rate (77 stories). Heavy rain was named in 38 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with drownings. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Libya

323 of its 351 stories (92%) were about people being harmed, usually 58%. Tripoli accounted for 298 of Libya's 323 stories about harm, carried by 267 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (217 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Rights & justice

North Korea

274 of its 316 stories (87%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Food poisoning was named in 172 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with poisoning. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Protests & strikes

Cameroon

60 of its 68 stories (88%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Yaounde accounted for 43 of Cameroon's 60 stories about harm, carried by 51 outlets. 43 of Yaounde's 43 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (51 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Bosnia

66 of its 96 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Banja Luka accounted for 64 of Bosnia's 66 stories about harm, carried by 67 outlets. 35 of Banja Luka's 64 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (50 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Sudan

270 of its 359 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 63%. Khartoum accounted for 241 of Sudan's 270 stories about harm, carried by 224 outlets. 241 of Khartoum's 241 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (113 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Italy

228 of its 529 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Reports of refugees ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories). Volcanic eruption was named in 192 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Bangladesh

144 of its 277 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. 50 of Dhaka's 69 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (76 stories). Landslides were named in 27 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

Conflict & violence

Afghanistan

563 of its 708 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 64%. Kabul accounted for 505 of Afghanistan's 563 stories about harm, carried by 596 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (220 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: volcanic eruption in Italy (192 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hiv in Jersey (79 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); helicopter crash in Mexico (35 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); storms in Canada (49 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hiv in South Africa (19 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).

20 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 19; 20 the day before
23 in 10017 in 10026 Nov3 Dec10 Dec17 Dec25 Dec26 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 10018 Dec: 18 in 10019 Dec: 17 in 10020 Dec: 18 in 10021 Dec: 19 in 10022 Dec: 21 in 10023 Dec: 21 in 10024 Dec: 20 in 10025 Dec: 20 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 25 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 17,479 stories about harm among 86,481 counted on 25 Dec.

Read the day's briefing

On the side of help, reports of volunteers ran at about 4 times the usual rate. Stories about people being harmed made up 20 in every 100 of the day's 86,481 stories, above the usual 19. Mentions of volcanic eruption ran more than ten times their usual in Italy's news. In Tunisia, 81% of the news was about people being harmed, where 28% is usual. Evacuations were reported at about twice the usual rate, most often about Afghanistan and Australia.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Wellington, New Zealand -- attacks & violence: 59 stories, carried by 88 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Istanbul, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 60 stories, carried by 55 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Paris, France -- accidents & disasters: 102 stories, carried by 76 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Cairo, Egypt -- protests & strikes: 66 stories, carried by 67 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Yaounde, Cameroon -- protests & strikes: 43 stories, carried by 51 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- attacks & violence: 282 stories, carried by 177 outlets; harsh wording in 67 in 100Sydney, Australia -- people displaced: 143 stories, carried by 110 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Manbij, Syria -- attacks & violence: 87 stories, carried by 63 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Tal Afar, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 68 stories, carried by 61 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Damascus, Syria -- attacks & violence: 87 stories, carried by 85 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Perth, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 23 stories, carried by 170 outlets; harsh wording in 87 in 100Tunis, Tunisia -- protests & strikes: 101 stories, carried by 99 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Moscow, Russia -- attacks & violence: 134 stories, carried by 122 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Nebraska, US -- accidents & disasters: 30 stories, carried by 106 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sandringham, UK -- protests & strikes: 46 stories, carried by 164 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100El Paso, US -- people displaced: 137 stories, carried by 141 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Folkestone, UK -- accidents & disasters: 18 stories, carried by 144 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Ankara, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 209 stories, carried by 184 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Pfronten, Germany -- deaths, cause not given: 75 stories, carried by 174 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Khartoum, Sudan -- protests & strikes: 241 stories, carried by 224 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tripoli, Libya -- attacks & violence: 298 stories, carried by 267 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sunda Strait, Indonesia -- accidents & disasters: 490 stories, carried by 382 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Sumur, Indonesia -- accidents & disasters: 469 stories, carried by 504 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 505 stories, carried by 596 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 much harsher than usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.

● Angerabout as usual
● Warmthabout as usual
● Griefa little more than 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.