← 18 Aug Monday 19 August 2019 · to 23:59 UTC 20 Aug →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
30,234 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 →

Protests in Harare (Zimbabwe), violence in Kabul and wildfires in Spain drew the news. Romania's coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Worldwide, the words used were about as usual.

Part of lifeRights & justice 32 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostIceland 60 in 100 of its 187 stories, usually 27
RegionSouth Asia 35 in 100 of its stories, usually 30
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

271 of its 568 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Harare accounted for 195 of Zimbabwe's 271 stories about harm, carried by 138 outlets. 162 of Harare's 195 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (51 stories).

Conflict & violence

Afghanistan

869 of its 983 stories (88%) were about people being harmed, usually 73%. Kabul accounted for 719 of Afghanistan's 869 stories about harm, carried by 609 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (76 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Disasters & accidents

Spain

312 of its 1,043 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 10%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (190 stories). Wildfires were named in 207 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual, with storms.

Deaths & injuries, cause not given

Romania

42 of its 118 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Reports of people injured ran at about 6 times the usual rate (15 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Conflict & violence

Syria

393 of its 473 stories (83%) were about people being harmed, usually 73%. Idlib accounted for 321 of Syria's 393 stories about harm, carried by 226 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (156 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.

Protests & strikes

France

361 of its 1,424 stories (25%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. 159 of Paris' 219 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (75 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.

Protests & strikes

China

333 of Beijing's 383 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of abductions ran at about twice the usual rate (10 stories). Hepatitis was named in 11 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Türkiye

216 of its 391 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Reports of arrests ran at about 7 times the usual rate (104 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Dominican Republic

25 of its 49 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (18 stories). Plane crash was named in 17 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

Disasters & accidents

Uganda

156 of its 311 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (40 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: hurricane in Mexico (55 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); outbreaks in Brazil (40 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); plane crash in Dominican Republic (17 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); extreme cold in Venezuela (22 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); haemorrhagic fever in DR Congo (15 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

20 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 22; 25 the day before
31 in 10019 in 10021 Jul28 Jul4 Aug11 Aug19 Aug21 Jul: 21 in 10022 Jul: 21 in 10023 Jul: 20 in 10024 Jul: 19 in 10025 Jul: 19 in 10026 Jul: 19 in 10027 Jul: 22 in 10028 Jul: 23 in 10029 Jul: 22 in 10030 Jul: 21 in 10031 Jul: 20 in 1001 Aug: 20 in 1002 Aug: 21 in 1003 Aug: 25 in 1004 Aug: 31 in 1005 Aug: 24 in 1006 Aug: 22 in 1007 Aug: 23 in 1008 Aug: 22 in 1009 Aug: 22 in 10010 Aug: 26 in 10011 Aug: 26 in 10012 Aug: 22 in 10013 Aug: 21 in 10014 Aug: 20 in 10015 Aug: 21 in 10016 Aug: 21 in 10017 Aug: 24 in 10018 Aug: 25 in 10019 Aug: 20 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 19 Aug. 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 30,234 stories about harm among 149,488 counted on 19 Aug.

Read the day's briefing

Of the day's 149,488 news stories, 20 in every 100 were about people being harmed, below the usual 22. On 19 August 2018, a year earlier, the share was 23 in every 100, against 20 today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Lampedusa, Italy -- accidents & disasters: 87 stories, carried by 75 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Northumbria, UK -- accidents & disasters: 19 stories, carried by 68 outlets; harsh wording in 84 in 100Khartoum, Sudan -- protests & strikes: 64 stories, carried by 58 outlets; harsh wording in 83 in 100Diyarbakir, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 64 stories, carried by 52 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Jalalabad, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 48 stories, carried by 48 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kampala, Uganda -- accidents & disasters: 75 stories, carried by 70 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Islamabad, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 192 stories, carried by 120 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Darfur, Sudan -- protests & strikes: 89 stories, carried by 75 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Bregancon, France -- protests & strikes: 67 stories, carried by 81 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Moscow, Russia -- protests & strikes: 189 stories, carried by 165 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Gulf of Mexico, Mexico -- accidents & disasters: 51 stories, carried by 86 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong -- protests & strikes: 115 stories, carried by 90 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Manokwari, Indonesia -- protests & strikes: 96 stories, carried by 108 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Harare, Zimbabwe -- protests & strikes: 195 stories, carried by 138 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Northern Ireland, UK -- attacks & violence: 161 stories, carried by 221 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Portland, US -- protests & strikes: 189 stories, carried by 175 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Paris, France -- protests & strikes: 219 stories, carried by 242 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- protests & strikes: 403 stories, carried by 263 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Canary Islands, Spain -- accidents & disasters: 199 stories, carried by 195 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Idlib, Syria -- attacks & violence: 321 stories, carried by 226 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100New Orleans, US -- accidents & disasters: 304 stories, carried by 331 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Beijing, China -- protests & strikes: 383 stories, carried by 431 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 295 stories, carried by 559 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 719 stories, carried by 609 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
● 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.