← 2 Jan Thursday 3 January 2019 · to 23:59 UTC 4 Jan →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
30,212 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 →

Protests in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), a disaster in Funen and violence in Tunis drew the news. Saudi Arabia's coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Over the whole world, the tone was softer than usual.

Part of lifeRights & justice 27 in 100 of the stories about harm · less than usual Country that rose mostMarshall Islands 90 in 100 of its 61 stories, usually 18
RegionOceania 25 in 100 of its stories, usually 20
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

Saudi Arabia

399 of its 888 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Riyadh accounted for 255 of Saudi Arabia's 399 stories about harm, carried by 412 outlets. 175 of Riyadh's 255 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (236 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Denmark

255 of its 398 stories (64%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Funen accounted for 147 of Denmark's 255 stories about harm, carried by 252 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (190 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Tunisia

49 of its 66 stories (74%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Tunis accounted for 39 of Tunisia's 49 stories about harm, carried by 26 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about 8 times the usual rate (32 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's. Warmth in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Displacement

Algeria

44 of its 56 stories (79%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Reports of people affected ran at about 9 times the usual rate (27 stories). Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

6 more places the news pointed at
Disasters & accidents

Fiji

55 of its 96 stories (57%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (13 stories). Cyclone was named in 37 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Niger

33 of its 38 stories (87%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Diffa accounted for 23 of Niger's 33 stories about harm, carried by 18 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (30 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Nigeria

482 of its 1,558 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (71 stories). Helicopter crash was named in 73 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Norway

63 of its 391 stories (16%) were about people being harmed, usually 9%. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (8 stories). Avalanche was named in 49 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with snowstorms and storms. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Marshall Islands

55 of its 61 stories (90%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Taka Atoll accounted for 55 of the Marshall Islands' 55 stories about harm, carried by 53 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at more than ten times the usual rate (19 stories).

Disasters & accidents

Thailand

343 of its 561 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (6 stories). Tropical storm was named in 276 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with storms, typhoon and drownings.

Also named far more than usual: tropical storm in Thailand (276 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); avalanche in Norway (49 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); cyclone in Fiji (37 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); volcanic eruption in Jamaica (39 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hypothermia in Russia (182 of its stories, about 8 times its usual).

18 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 19; 18 the day before
23 in 10017 in 1005 Dec12 Dec19 Dec26 Dec3 Jan5 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 1001 Jan: 20 in 1002 Jan: 18 in 1003 Jan: 18 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 3 Jan. 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 30,212 stories about harm among 171,138 counted on 3 Jan.

Read the day's briefing

For the second day running, the news turned to Saudi Arabia. On 3 January 2018, a year earlier, the share was 22 in every 100, against 18 today. Saudi Arabia's news was 45% about people being harmed, against a usual 32%. of the day's 171,138 news stories, 18 in every 100 were about people being harmed, below the usual 19.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Tehran, Iran -- protests & strikes: 57 stories, carried by 63 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Damascus, Syria -- attacks & violence: 61 stories, carried by 50 outlets; harsh wording in 79 in 100Tokyo, Japan -- accidents & disasters: 84 stories, carried by 68 outlets; harsh wording in 85 in 100Darfur, Sudan -- protests & strikes: 42 stories, carried by 55 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Paris, France -- protests & strikes: 179 stories, carried by 132 outlets; harsh wording in 73 in 100Dhaka, Bangladesh -- protests & strikes: 104 stories, carried by 82 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Xichang, China -- accidents & disasters: 61 stories, carried by 61 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Jakarta, Indonesia -- accidents & disasters: 71 stories, carried by 86 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Copenhagen, Denmark -- accidents & disasters: 79 stories, carried by 69 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Mopti, Mali -- attacks & violence: 17 stories, carried by 69 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Dheerow Sanle, Somalia -- attacks & violence: 50 stories, carried by 65 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- protests & strikes: 192 stories, carried by 120 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100Bangkok, Thailand -- accidents & disasters: 100 stories, carried by 99 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Maiduguri, Nigeria -- attacks & violence: 125 stories, carried by 94 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kerala, India -- protests & strikes: 51 stories, carried by 114 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Tijuana, Mexico -- protests & strikes: 119 stories, carried by 131 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Sabarimala, India -- protests & strikes: 134 stories, carried by 117 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand -- accidents & disasters: 110 stories, carried by 123 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kangaroo Island, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 16 stories, carried by 166 outlets; harsh wording in 81 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 149 stories, carried by 163 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Houston, US -- protests & strikes: 293 stories, carried by 340 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Boston, US -- deaths, cause not given: 429 stories, carried by 440 outlets; harsh wording in 85 in 100Funen, Denmark -- accidents & disasters: 147 stories, carried by 252 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- protests & strikes: 255 stories, carried by 412 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.