← 19 May Monday 20 May 2019 · to 23:59 UTC 21 May →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
30,951 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 Dushanbe (Tajikistan), violence in Tehran and a disaster in Roatan. Tajikistan's coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Worldwide, the words used were about as usual.

Part of lifeRights & justice 29 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostTajikistan 99 in 100 of its 147 stories, usually 33
RegionCentral Asia 48 in 100 of its stories, usually 13
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

Tajikistan

145 of its 147 stories (99%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Dushanbe accounted for 93 of Tajikistan's 145 stories about harm, carried by 76 outlets. 91 of Dushanbe's 93 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at more than ten times the usual rate (144 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Iran

968 of its 2,032 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Tehran accounted for 851 of Iran's 968 stories about harm, carried by 800 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about 6 times the usual rate (11 stories). Respiratory illness was named in 18 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Honduras

63 of its 69 stories (91%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Roatan accounted for 47 of Honduras' 63 stories about harm, carried by 70 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (59 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Rights & justice

Guatemala

81 of its 104 stories (78%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (52 stories). Earthquake was named in 12 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual, with volcanic eruption.

6 more places the news pointed at
Conflict & violence

Egypt

299 of its 525 stories (57%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Cairo accounted for 260 of Egypt's 299 stories about harm, carried by 207 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 8 times the usual rate (212 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Cambodia

36 of its 69 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Reports of people killed ran at about 5 times the usual rate (24 stories). Hunger was named in 18 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Syria

212 of its 273 stories (78%) were about people being harmed, usually 70%. Idlib accounted for 121 of Syria's 212 stories about harm, carried by 147 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at about 8 times the usual rate (20 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Brazil

332 of its 598 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (77 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Disasters & accidents

Bermuda

63 of its 106 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Hurricane was named in 48 of its stories about harm, about 10 times usual, with cyclone and tropical storm. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Oman

27 of its 103 stories (26%) were about people being harmed, usually 11%. Reports of people affected ran at about 6 times the usual rate (13 stories). Flooding was named in 11 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual, with heavy rain.

Also named far more than usual: hurricane in Bermuda (48 of its stories, about 10 times its usual); ebola in Switzerland (60 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); avalanche in Nepal (39 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); outbreaks in China (174 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); hunger in Cambodia (18 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

18 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 20; 18 the day before
23 in 10018 in 10021 Apr28 Apr5 May12 May20 May21 Apr: 23 in 10022 Apr: 21 in 10023 Apr: 20 in 10024 Apr: 20 in 10025 Apr: 20 in 10026 Apr: 19 in 10027 Apr: 20 in 10028 Apr: 23 in 10029 Apr: 21 in 10030 Apr: 20 in 1001 May: 20 in 1002 May: 19 in 1003 May: 21 in 1004 May: 21 in 1005 May: 21 in 1006 May: 20 in 1007 May: 19 in 1008 May: 19 in 1009 May: 18 in 10010 May: 18 in 10011 May: 19 in 10012 May: 20 in 10013 May: 18 in 10014 May: 19 in 10015 May: 18 in 10016 May: 19 in 10017 May: 19 in 10018 May: 18 in 10019 May: 18 in 10020 May: 18 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 20 May. 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 30,951 stories about harm among 168,870 counted on 20 May.

Read the day's briefing

Tajikistan's news was 99% about people being harmed, against a usual 33%. of the day's 168,870 news stories, 18 in every 100 were about people being harmed, below the usual 20. Bermuda's news mentioned the hurricane about 10 times as often as usual. A year earlier, on 20 May 2018, 23 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 18 today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 95 stories, carried by 77 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- attacks & violence: 115 stories, carried by 84 outlets; harsh wording in 86 in 100Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- attacks & violence: 75 stories, carried by 58 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Kiev, Ukraine -- attacks & violence: 44 stories, carried by 62 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Yerevan, Armenia -- protests & strikes: 62 stories, carried by 56 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Mecca, Saudi Arabia -- attacks & violence: 70 stories, carried by 54 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Colombo, Sri Lanka -- attacks & violence: 100 stories, carried by 68 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Bamako, Mali -- attacks & violence: 12 stories, carried by 98 outlets; harsh wording in 83 in 100Shanghai, China -- accidents & disasters: 81 stories, carried by 78 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Darfur, Sudan -- protests & strikes: 49 stories, carried by 63 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Roatan, Honduras -- accidents & disasters: 47 stories, carried by 70 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Dushanbe, Tajikistan -- protests & strikes: 93 stories, carried by 76 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 147 stories, carried by 130 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Lincolnshire, UK -- accidents & disasters: 25 stories, carried by 117 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Edinburgh, UK -- protests & strikes: 96 stories, carried by 124 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Rio de Janeiro, Brazil -- attacks & violence: 97 stories, carried by 116 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Idlib, Syria -- attacks & violence: 121 stories, carried by 147 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Paris, France -- people displaced: 309 stories, carried by 244 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Beijing, China -- disease & outbreaks: 316 stories, carried by 273 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Cairo, Egypt -- attacks & violence: 260 stories, carried by 207 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Oklahoma City, US -- accidents & disasters: 256 stories, carried by 244 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Belem, Brazil -- attacks & violence: 151 stories, carried by 305 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Alabama, US -- protests & strikes: 560 stories, carried by 457 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 851 stories, carried by 800 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 about as 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

The week in human impact

Read the week →

Unlock a year of trends, free. Follow up to 5 countries, with a bell when their news changes, and 👍 vote for Pro — ten years of the archive, any period, daily alerts.

Create a free account

Sign in · a username, an email and a password.

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.