← 20 Jan Monday 21 January 2019 · to 23:59 UTC 22 Jan →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
29,169 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 news turned to protests in Caracas (Venezuela), train derailment in Colombia and power cuts in Chile. Colombia's coverage was about three times as angry as the world's. Worldwide, the words used were much softer than usual.

Part of lifeRights & justice 31 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostVenezuela 80 in 100 of its 416 stories, usually 34
RegionLatin America & Caribbean 39 in 100 of its stories, usually 26
Tone of the words Much softer than usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Protests & strikes

Venezuela

334 of its 416 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Caracas accounted for 240 of Venezuela's 334 stories about harm, carried by 292 outlets. 186 of Caracas' 240 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (78 stories). Avalanche was named in 18 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Conflict & violence

Colombia

182 of its 215 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 51%. Bogota accounted for 140 of Colombia's 182 stories about harm, carried by 115 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (98 stories). Train derailment was named in 28 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Chile

34 of its 106 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (25 stories). Power cuts were named in 18 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

Food & livelihood

Switzerland

Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (95 stories). Flu was named in 11 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

6 more places the news pointed at
Conflict & violence

Afghanistan

480 of its 567 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 56%. Kabul accounted for 331 of Afghanistan's 480 stories about harm, carried by 262 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (273 stories). Polio was named in 12 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about 4 times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Mali

195 of its 219 stories (89%) were about people being harmed, usually 60%. Aguelhok accounted for 115 of Mali's 195 stories about harm, carried by 117 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 7 times the usual rate (170 stories). Its coverage was about twice as warm as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Zimbabwe

585 of its 861 stories (68%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Harare accounted for 406 of Zimbabwe's 585 stories about harm, carried by 230 outlets. 342 of Harare's 406 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (155 stories).

Protests & strikes

Netherlands

71 of its 337 stories (21%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. 10 of Amsterdam's 19 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (37 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Iraq

148 of its 221 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 49%. Baghdad accounted for 119 of Iraq's 148 stories about harm, carried by 119 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Syria

803 of its 1,116 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 59%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (612 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Also named far more than usual: heavy rain in Rwanda (16 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); polio in Pakistan (62 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); accidents in Libya (17 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); snowstorms in US (864 of its stories, about three times its usual); poisoning in Russia (37 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).

20 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 19; 21 the day before
23 in 10017 in 10023 Dec30 Dec6 Jan13 Jan21 Jan23 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 10018 Jan: 18 in 10019 Jan: 21 in 10020 Jan: 21 in 10021 Jan: 20 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 21 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 29,169 stories about harm among 148,352 counted on 21 Jan.

Read the day's briefing

In Chile's news, mentions of power cuts ran more than ten times their usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 20 in every 100 of the day's 148,352 stories, as usual. Venezuela's news was 80% about people being harmed, against a usual 34%. On 21 January 2018, a year earlier, the share was 25 in every 100, against 20 today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Maidan, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 45 stories, carried by 59 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Goose Bay, Canada -- accidents & disasters: 51 stories, carried by 63 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 119 stories, carried by 119 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- attacks & violence: 465 stories, carried by 167 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Khartoum, Sudan -- protests & strikes: 94 stories, carried by 78 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Toronto, Canada -- accidents & disasters: 126 stories, carried by 193 outlets; harsh wording in 86 in 100Philippine, Philippines -- attacks & violence: 194 stories, carried by 122 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 137 stories, carried by 121 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Berlin, Germany -- attacks & violence: 125 stories, carried by 116 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Athens, Greece -- protests & strikes: 130 stories, carried by 125 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100Tlahuelilpan, Mexico -- accidents & disasters: 217 stories, carried by 167 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Nairobi, Kenya -- attacks & violence: 181 stories, carried by 119 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Bogota, Colombia -- attacks & violence: 140 stories, carried by 115 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Moscow, Russia -- accidents & disasters: 223 stories, carried by 202 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Edinburgh, UK -- accidents & disasters: 115 stories, carried by 220 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Kidal, Mali -- attacks & violence: 46 stories, carried by 132 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Harare, Zimbabwe -- protests & strikes: 406 stories, carried by 230 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Northern Ireland, UK -- attacks & violence: 275 stories, carried by 286 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Manbij, Syria -- attacks & violence: 236 stories, carried by 213 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Caracas, Venezuela -- protests & strikes: 240 stories, carried by 292 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 331 stories, carried by 262 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Damascus, Syria -- attacks & violence: 393 stories, carried by 337 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Boston, US -- accidents & disasters: 535 stories, carried by 477 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Oakland, US -- protests & strikes: 690 stories, carried by 826 outlets; harsh wording in 81 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 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?

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.