← 15 Jan Wednesday 16 January 2019 · to 23:59 UTC 17 Jan →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
34,730 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 Harare (Zimbabwe), violence in Manbij and the hiv in Lesotho. Syria's coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Language across the world's news ran about as usual.

Reports of evacuations ran at about three times the usual rate, most often about Kenya and the US → Help and hope: reports of people freed or reunited ran at about three times the usual rate →
Part of lifeRights & justice 31 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostKenya 88 in 100 of its 2,551 stories, usually 28
RegionSub-Saharan Africa 48 in 100 of its stories, usually 29
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

Zimbabwe

554 of its 766 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Harare accounted for 458 of Zimbabwe's 554 stories about harm, carried by 336 outlets. 414 of Harare's 458 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (266 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Syria

1,036 of its 1,259 stories (82%) were about people being harmed, usually 55%. Manbij accounted for 808 of Syria's 1,036 stories about harm, carried by 914 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 7 times the usual rate (443 stories). Extreme cold was named in 17 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual, with poisoning. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Health

Lesotho

28 of its 47 stories (60%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. HIV was named in 25 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

Rights & justice

Palestine

563 of its 1,072 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (56 stories). Warmth in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

6 more places the news pointed at
Conflict & violence

Kenya

2,250 of its 2,551 stories (88%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Nairobi accounted for 2,087 of Kenya's 2,250 stories about harm, carried by 1,135 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (667 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Conflict & violence

Libya

115 of its 139 stories (83%) were about people being harmed, usually 59%. Tripoli accounted for 99 of Libya's 115 stories about harm, carried by 75 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (81 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Mali

61 of its 81 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (11 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.

Health

Ethiopia

92 of its 196 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of people displaced ran at about twice the usual rate (17 stories). Malaria was named in 11 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual.

Conflict & violence

Burkina Faso

54 of its 61 stories (89%) were about people being harmed, usually 70%. Yagha accounted for 38 of Burkina Faso's 54 stories about harm, carried by 73 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (11 stories).

Protests & strikes

El Salvador

11 of its 16 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. 9 of San Salvador's 11 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (9 stories).

Also named far more than usual: heatwave in Bangladesh (41 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); wildfires in Switzerland (21 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); poisoning in Türkiye (24 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); power cuts in Israel (56 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); power cuts in Egypt (14 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

18 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 19; 18 the day before
23 in 10017 in 10018 Dec25 Dec1 Jan8 Jan16 Jan18 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 1004 Jan: 19 in 1005 Jan: 19 in 1006 Jan: 19 in 1007 Jan: 18 in 1008 Jan: 18 in 1009 Jan: 18 in 10010 Jan: 17 in 10011 Jan: 19 in 10012 Jan: 20 in 10013 Jan: 19 in 10014 Jan: 19 in 10015 Jan: 18 in 10016 Jan: 18 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 16 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 34,730 stories about harm among 194,477 counted on 16 Jan.

Read the day's briefing

Reports of people freed or reunited, a sign of help, ran at about three times the usual rate. 18 in every 100 of the day's 194,477 news stories were about people being harmed, below the usual 19. Evacuations were reported at about three times the usual rate, most often about Kenya and the US. the news turned to Zimbabwe for the second day running. Mentions of HIV ran about 6 times their usual in Lesotho's news.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Davos, Switzerland -- accidents & disasters: 35 stories, carried by 31 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Menaka, Mali -- attacks & violence: 28 stories, carried by 30 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Bella Bella, Canada -- attacks & violence: 11 stories, carried by 31 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Northern Ireland, UK -- accidents & disasters: 131 stories, carried by 114 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Islamabad, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 90 stories, carried by 63 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Berlin, Germany -- attacks & violence: 120 stories, carried by 92 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Idlib, Syria -- attacks & violence: 27 stories, carried by 40 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Warsaw, Poland -- protests & strikes: 72 stories, carried by 65 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100San Juan de Lurigancho, Peru -- accidents & disasters: 56 stories, carried by 55 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tokyo, Japan -- accidents & disasters: 89 stories, carried by 131 outlets; harsh wording in 82 in 100Ankara, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 60 stories, carried by 47 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Mogadishu, Somalia -- attacks & violence: 61 stories, carried by 58 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Megantic, Canada -- accidents & disasters: 27 stories, carried by 53 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Hodeida, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 55 stories, carried by 70 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Great Barrier Reef, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 20 stories, carried by 67 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tripoli, Libya -- attacks & violence: 99 stories, carried by 75 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Yagha, Burkina Faso -- attacks & violence: 38 stories, carried by 73 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tijuana, Mexico -- protests & strikes: 151 stories, carried by 163 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 82 stories, carried by 149 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Los Angeles, US -- accidents & disasters: 712 stories, carried by 441 outlets; harsh wording in 84 in 100Boston, US -- accidents & disasters: 385 stories, carried by 431 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Harare, Zimbabwe -- protests & strikes: 458 stories, carried by 336 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Manbij, Syria -- attacks & violence: 808 stories, carried by 914 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Nairobi, Kenya -- attacks & violence: 2,087 stories, carried by 1,135 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 about as 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?

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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.