← 30 Dec Monday 31 December 2018 · to 23:59 UTC 1 Jan →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
23,773 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 protests in Dhaka (Bangladesh), a disaster in Punta Cana and landslides in the Philippines. the Philippines' coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Worldwide, the words used were about as usual.

Reports of abductions ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about the US and Yemen →
Part of lifeRights & justice 29 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostBahrain 72 in 100 of its 137 stories, usually 20
RegionSouth Asia 29 in 100 of its stories, usually 23
Tone of the words About as usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Protests & strikes

Bangladesh

770 of its 1,154 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Dhaka accounted for 601 of Bangladesh's 770 stories about harm, carried by 510 outlets. 495 of Dhaka's 601 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (676 stories). Landslides were named in 76 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Philippines

527 of its 828 stories (64%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (144 stories). Landslides were named in 159 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual, with typhoon, cyclone and power cuts. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Rights & justice

South Africa

189 of its 625 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (22 stories). Drought was named in 18 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual.

6 more places the news pointed at
Protests & strikes

Bahrain

98 of its 137 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. 49 of Manama's 49 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 8 times the usual rate (30 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Russia

771 of its 1,642 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Moscow accounted for 566 of Russia's 771 stories about harm, carried by 688 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (245 stories). Gas explosion was named in 411 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with building collapse and hypothermia.

Protests & strikes

Sudan

186 of its 217 stories (86%) were about people being harmed, usually 66%. Khartoum accounted for 149 of Sudan's 186 stories about harm, carried by 112 outlets. 145 of Khartoum's 149 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Yemen

Sanaa accounted for 140 of Yemen's 243 stories about harm, carried by 132 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (79 stories). Drought was named in 108 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Burkina Faso

30 of its 30 stories (100%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (25 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Fiji

37 of its 80 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of people affected ran at about 6 times the usual rate (11 stories). Cyclone was named in 13 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.

Also named far more than usual: gas explosion in Russia (411 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); drought in Yemen (108 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); cyclone in Fiji (13 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); hiv in China (35 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); hunger in Australia (54 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

19 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 19; 23 the day before
23 in 10017 in 1002 Dec9 Dec16 Dec23 Dec31 Dec2 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 10026 Dec: 22 in 10027 Dec: 20 in 10028 Dec: 19 in 10029 Dec: 22 in 10030 Dec: 23 in 10031 Dec: 19 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 31 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 23,773 stories about harm among 123,006 counted on 31 Dec.

Read the day's briefing

In Russia's news, mentions of gas explosion ran more than ten times their usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 19 in every 100 of the day's 123,006 stories, as usual. Abductions were reported at about twice the usual rate, most often about the US and Yemen. For the second day running, the news turned to Bangladesh. On 31 December 2017, a year earlier, the share was 27 in every 100, against 19 today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Hodeida, Yemen -- protests & strikes: 62 stories, carried by 57 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Milan, Italy -- accidents & disasters: 49 stories, carried by 55 outlets; harsh wording in 86 in 100Bicol, Philippines -- accidents & disasters: 63 stories, carried by 53 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- attacks & violence: 45 stories, carried by 130 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Bangkok, Thailand -- accidents & disasters: 13 stories, carried by 139 outlets; harsh wording in 77 in 100Tehran, Iran -- protests & strikes: 191 stories, carried by 120 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Berlin, Germany -- attacks & violence: 78 stories, carried by 77 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 76 stories, carried by 68 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Muzaffarabad, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 46 stories, carried by 65 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Bhachau, India -- accidents & disasters: 9 stories, carried by 97 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Ural Mountains, Russia -- accidents & disasters: 25 stories, carried by 96 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Cairo, Egypt -- attacks & violence: 58 stories, carried by 105 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100San Francisco, US -- accidents & disasters: 230 stories, carried by 184 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Atbara, Sudan -- protests & strikes: 7 stories, carried by 82 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Paris, France -- protests & strikes: 145 stories, carried by 133 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Piazza San Marco, Italy -- accidents & disasters: 10 stories, carried by 101 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Punta Cana, Dominican Republic -- accidents & disasters: 92 stories, carried by 108 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Khartoum, Sudan -- protests & strikes: 149 stories, carried by 112 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sanaa, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 140 stories, carried by 132 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100New York, US -- accidents & disasters: 346 stories, carried by 416 outlets; harsh wording in 73 in 100Cotabato, Philippines -- attacks & violence: 172 stories, carried by 164 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Damascus, Syria -- attacks & violence: 115 stories, carried by 176 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Moscow, Russia -- accidents & disasters: 566 stories, carried by 688 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Dhaka, Bangladesh -- protests & strikes: 601 stories, carried by 510 outlets; harsh wording in 97 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 about as 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.