← 1 Feb Saturday 2 February 2019 · to 23:59 UTC 3 Feb →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
23,896 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 Kassala (Sudan), a disaster in Minas Gerais and violence in Balaka. Sudan's coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Everywhere we counted, the words were about as usual.

Reports of people falling ill ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about the US and North Macedonia → Help and hope: reports of volunteers ran at about one and a half times the usual rate →
Part of lifeRights & justice 40 in 100 of the stories about harm · much more than usual Country that rose mostCentral African Republic 84 in 100 of its 117 stories, usually 48
RegionOceania 28 in 100 of its stories, usually 19
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

Sudan

135 of its 163 stories (83%) were about people being harmed, usually 72%. Kassala accounted for 66 of Sudan's 135 stories about harm, carried by 64 outlets. 66 of Kassala's 66 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people displaced ran at about twice the usual rate (24 stories). Poisoning was named in 15 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Sudan over 30 days → its stories → Kassala stories →
Disasters & accidents

Brazil

371 of its 645 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Minas Gerais accounted for 204 of Brazil's 371 stories about harm, carried by 222 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (169 stories). Extreme cold was named in 14 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with tornadoes. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Brazil over 30 days → its stories → Minas Gerais stories →
Conflict & violence

Central African Republic

98 of its 117 stories (84%) were about people being harmed, usually 48%. Balaka accounted for 61 of the Central African Republic's 98 stories about harm, carried by 165 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (60 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Central African Republic over 30 days → its stories → Balaka stories →
6 more places the news pointed at
Conflict & violence

Syria

200 of its 238 stories (84%) were about people being harmed, usually 66%. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (30 stories). Building collapse was named in 56 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

its stories →
Disasters & accidents

Indonesia

134 of its 251 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (31 stories). Tsunami was named in 84 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

its stories →
Protests & strikes

France

425 of its 1,301 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. 254 of Paris' 348 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (250 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

its stories →
Conflict & violence

Türkiye

162 of its 292 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (40 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.

its stories →
Disasters & accidents

Australia

595 of its 1,986 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 8 times the usual rate (53 stories). Heavy rain was named in 150 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual, with power cuts.

its stories →
Conflict & violence

Somalia

57 of its 68 stories (84%) were about people being harmed, usually 69%. Gandarshe accounted for 43 of Somalia's 57 stories about harm, carried by 39 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

its stories →

Also named far more than usual: tsunami in Indonesia (84 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); plane crash in Poland (43 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); heavy rain in Australia (150 of its stories, about 9 times its usual); building collapse in Syria (56 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hurricane in US (987 of its stories, about 5 times its usual).

21 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 19; 18 the day before
21 in 10017 in 1004 Jan11 Jan18 Jan25 Jan2 Feb4 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 10022 Jan: 19 in 10023 Jan: 18 in 10024 Jan: 18 in 10025 Jan: 19 in 10026 Jan: 20 in 10027 Jan: 21 in 10028 Jan: 20 in 10029 Jan: 21 in 10030 Jan: 20 in 10031 Jan: 19 in 1001 Feb: 18 in 1002 Feb: 21 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 2 Feb. 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 23,896 stories about harm among 115,463 counted on 2 Feb.

Read the day's briefing

On the side of help, reports of volunteers ran at about one and a half times the usual rate. Stories about people being harmed made up 21 in every 100 of the day's 115,463 stories, above the usual 19. Reports of people falling ill ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about the US and North Macedonia. In Indonesia's news, mentions of the tsunami ran about 4 times their usual. A year earlier, on 2 February 2018, 20 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 21 today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where harm was most of the news all →

Syria84 in 100 of its 238 stories · usually 66 · mostly conflict & violence Somalia84 in 100 of its 68 stories · usually 69 · mostly conflict & violence Central African Republic84 in 100 of its 117 stories · usually 48 · mostly conflict & violence Sudan83 in 100 of its 163 stories · usually 72 · mostly rights & justice Yemen77 in 100 of its 103 stories · usually 68 · mostly conflict & violence

Countries with at least 50 stories that day.

Where people protested

Paris France254 stories about protests or strikes, of its 348 Caracas Venezuela246 stories about protests or strikes, of its 314 Norfolk US224 stories about protests or strikes, of its 1356 Chicago US173 stories about protests or strikes, of its 552 Brooklyn US115 stories about protests or strikes, of its 234

Stories, not people.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Sanaa, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 31 stories, carried by 35 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Khartoum, Sudan -- attacks & violence: 42 stories, carried by 67 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Basij, Iran -- attacks & violence: 58 stories, carried by 60 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Gandarshe, Somalia -- attacks & violence: 43 stories, carried by 39 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Beirut, Lebanon -- attacks & violence: 46 stories, carried by 44 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Evros, Türkiye -- accidents & disasters: 35 stories, carried by 37 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Pune, India -- protests & strikes: 84 stories, carried by 48 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 61 stories, carried by 66 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Brenner Pass, Austria -- accidents & disasters: 37 stories, carried by 39 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Brumadinho, Brazil -- accidents & disasters: 126 stories, carried by 113 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Warsaw, Poland -- protests & strikes: 48 stories, carried by 51 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Madrid, Spain -- protests & strikes: 64 stories, carried by 64 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kassala, Sudan -- protests & strikes: 66 stories, carried by 64 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Brisbane, Australia -- people displaced: 86 stories, carried by 95 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Shap, UK -- accidents & disasters: 19 stories, carried by 126 outlets; harsh wording in 84 in 100Townsville, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 150 stories, carried by 80 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Aleppo, Syria -- attacks & violence: 69 stories, carried by 108 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Bristol, UK -- accidents & disasters: 42 stories, carried by 160 outlets; harsh wording in 86 in 100Balaka, Central African Republic -- attacks & violence: 61 stories, carried by 165 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Paris, France -- protests & strikes: 348 stories, carried by 277 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Minas Gerais, Brazil -- accidents & disasters: 204 stories, carried by 222 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sierra Nevada, US -- accidents & disasters: 206 stories, carried by 262 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Chicago, US -- accidents & disasters: 552 stories, carried by 628 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Caracas, Venezuela -- protests & strikes: 314 stories, carried by 417 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.

Biggest events

● Caracas Venezuela protests & strikes · 314 stories, 417 outlets ● Chicago US accidents & disasters · 552 stories, 628 outlets ● Sierra Nevada US accidents & disasters · 206 stories, 262 outlets ● Minas Gerais Brazil accidents & disasters · 204 stories, 222 outlets ● Paris France protests & strikes · 348 stories, 277 outlets ● Balaka Central African Republic attacks & violence · 61 stories, 165 outlets ● Bristol UK accidents & disasters · 42 stories, 160 outlets ● Aleppo Syria attacks & violence · 69 stories, 108 outlets

The day in three measures

Parts of life 30 days →

Rights & justice40% 9,295 stories · much more than usual (usually 31%) Disasters & accidents20% 4,605 stories · about as usual Health16% 3,736 stories · less than usual (usually 20%) Conflict & violence12% 2,860 stories · less than usual (usually 16%) Deaths & injuries, cause not given6% 1,338 stories · about as usual Shelter & services3% 652 stories · about as usual Displacement2% 546 stories · about as usual Food & livelihood2% 453 stories · about as usual

Of the stories about people being harmed, what part of life each was about. The mark is usual.

Harm reported 30 days →

Stories reporting people killed6,432 at about the usual rate Stories reporting arrests3,018 at about the usual rate Stories reporting people affected2,271 at about the usual rate Stories reporting people injured1,497 at about the usual rate Stories reporting refugees278 at about the usual rate Stories reporting people displaced172 at about the usual rate Stories reporting evacuations149 at about the usual rate Stories reporting abductions134 at about half the usual rate · most about the US and Nigeria Stories reporting people falling ill78 at about twice the usual rate · most about the US and North Macedonia

Stories that report it, not people: we count what reporters wrote, not what happened.

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
● 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.