← 16 Jan Thursday 17 January 2019 · to 23:59 UTC 18 Jan →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
35,222 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.

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The news turned to protests in Harare (Zimbabwe), violence in Bogota and gas explosion in Georgia. Colombia's coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Over the whole world, the tone was softer than usual.

Part of lifeRights & justice 31 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostColombia 82 in 100 of its 401 stories, usually 28
RegionSub-Saharan Africa 38 in 100 of its stories, usually 30
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

Zimbabwe

522 of its 793 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Harare accounted for 405 of Zimbabwe's 522 stories about harm, carried by 240 outlets. 354 of Harare's 405 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (291 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Colombia

327 of its 401 stories (82%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Bogota accounted for 286 of Colombia's 327 stories about harm, carried by 279 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (304 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Deaths & injuries, cause not given

Georgia

25 of its 51 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of people injured ran at about 7 times the usual rate (17 stories). Gas explosion was named in 10 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Mozambique

30 of its 53 stories (57%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Reports of people affected ran at about 7 times the usual rate (16 stories). Drownings were named in 11 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

6 more places the news pointed at
Protests & strikes

Tunisia

93 of its 134 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. Tunis accounted for 82 of Tunisia's 93 stories about harm, carried by 69 outlets. 82 of Tunis' 82 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people affected ran at about 6 times the usual rate (24 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Kenya

911 of its 1,232 stories (74%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. Nairobi accounted for 815 of Kenya's 911 stories about harm, carried by 564 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (180 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Syria

505 of its 666 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 56%. Manbij accounted for 347 of Syria's 505 stories about harm, carried by 306 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (213 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Conflict & violence

Burkina Faso

186 of its 227 stories (82%) were about people being harmed, usually 72%. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (72 stories). Malaria was named in 16 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Sudan

Khartoum accounted for 124 of Sudan's 185 stories about harm, carried by 68 outlets. 117 of Khartoum's 124 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people displaced ran at about three times the usual rate (29 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Paraguay

22 of its 39 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. 3 of Asuncion's 4 stories were about protests or strikes. Wildfires were named in 19 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

Also named far more than usual: volcanic eruption in Japan (127 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); wildfires in Paraguay (19 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); ebola in Switzerland (34 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hypothermia in Spain (36 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); earthquake in Papua New Guinea (12 of its stories, about three times its usual).

18 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 19; 18 the day before
23 in 10017 in 10019 Dec26 Dec2 Jan9 Jan17 Jan19 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 10017 Jan: 18 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 17 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 35,222 stories about harm among 194,708 counted on 17 Jan.

Read the day's briefing

Mentions of volcanic eruption ran more than ten times their usual in Japan's news. of the day's 194,708 news stories, 18 in every 100 were about people being harmed, below the usual 19. the news turned to Zimbabwe for the third day running. On 17 January 2018, a year earlier, the share was 22 in every 100, against 18 today. In Zimbabwe, 66% of the news was about people being harmed, where 36% is usual.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Quebec, Canada -- accidents & disasters: 143 stories, carried by 122 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100Paris, France -- people displaced: 194 stories, carried by 158 outlets; harsh wording in 86 in 100Islamabad, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 104 stories, carried by 83 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100Bella Bella, Canada -- attacks & violence: 17 stories, carried by 51 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Jakarta, Indonesia -- protests & strikes: 120 stories, carried by 86 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Istanbul, Türkiye -- protests & strikes: 103 stories, carried by 82 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso -- attacks & violence: 80 stories, carried by 65 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Villeurbanne, France -- people displaced: 58 stories, carried by 58 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Pahlavi, Iran -- protests & strikes: 60 stories, carried by 63 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Khartoum, Sudan -- protests & strikes: 124 stories, carried by 68 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tunis, Tunisia -- protests & strikes: 82 stories, carried by 69 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Hodeida, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 110 stories, carried by 86 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Sandringham, UK -- accidents & disasters: 106 stories, carried by 135 outlets; harsh wording in 66 in 100Kuchinoerabu, Japan -- accidents & disasters: 90 stories, carried by 92 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tehran, Iran -- protests & strikes: 126 stories, carried by 135 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Salzburg, Austria -- accidents & disasters: 81 stories, carried by 121 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Sebba, Burkina Faso -- attacks & violence: 77 stories, carried by 126 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sierra Nevada, US -- accidents & disasters: 158 stories, carried by 137 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Edinburgh, UK -- accidents & disasters: 168 stories, carried by 203 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Harare, Zimbabwe -- protests & strikes: 405 stories, carried by 240 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100San Francisco, US -- accidents & disasters: 562 stories, carried by 380 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Bogota, Colombia -- attacks & violence: 286 stories, carried by 279 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Manbij, Syria -- attacks & violence: 347 stories, carried by 306 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Nairobi, Kenya -- attacks & violence: 815 stories, carried by 564 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 softer than usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.

● Angerabout as usual
● Warmthabout as usual
● Griefa little less 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.