← 13 Sep Saturday 14 September 2019 · to 23:59 UTC 15 Sep →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
20,678 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 the hunger in Saudi Arabia, protests in Islamabad (Pakistan) and a disaster in Lampedusa. Saudi Arabia's coverage was about three times as angry as the world's. Everywhere we counted, the words were harsher than usual.

Help and hope: reports of people freed or reunited ran at about one and a half times the usual rate →
Part of lifeRights & justice 28 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostSaudi Arabia 66 in 100 of its 1,398 stories, usually 23
RegionMiddle East & North Africa 48 in 100 of its stories, usually 36
Tone of the words Harsher than usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Conflict & violence

Saudi Arabia

921 of its 1,398 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (482 stories). Hunger was named in 409 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Pakistan

720 of its 1,352 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. 133 of Islamabad's 206 stories were about protests or strikes. Hurricane was named in 26 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Italy

359 of its 712 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Lampedusa accounted for 283 of Italy's 359 stories about harm, carried by 416 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about 7 times the usual rate (297 stories).

Rights & justice

North Korea

66 of its 151 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 12%. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (12 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Protests & strikes

Egypt

137 of its 311 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. 74 of Cairo's 86 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 9 times the usual rate (18 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Conflict & violence

Burkina Faso

69 of its 71 stories (97%) were about people being harmed, usually 72%. Ouagadougou accounted for 63 of Burkina Faso's 69 stories about harm, carried by 55 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about twice the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.

Protests & strikes

China

406 of its 1,413 stories (29%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. 211 of Beijing's 268 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (22 stories). Outbreaks were named in 32 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with storms and tsunami.

Conflict & violence

Jordan

30 of its 116 stories (26%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Reports of people killed ran at about 5 times the usual rate (22 stories). Heatstroke was named in 16 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

Health

Sudan

55 of its 66 stories (83%) were about people being harmed, usually 57%. Khartoum accounted for 34 of Sudan's 55 stories about harm, carried by 26 outlets. Cholera was named in 24 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

Disasters & accidents

Spain

205 of its 602 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Reports of people killed ran at about 6 times the usual rate (178 stories). Heavy rain was named in 53 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual, with drownings.

Also named far more than usual: tropical storm in Bahamas (736 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); wildfires in Indonesia (67 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); cholera in Sudan (24 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); heavy rain in Spain (53 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); heatstroke in Jordan (16 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

23 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 22; 20 the day before
27 in 10019 in 10016 Aug23 Aug30 Aug6 Sep14 Sep16 Aug: 21 in 10017 Aug: 24 in 10018 Aug: 25 in 10019 Aug: 20 in 10020 Aug: 20 in 10021 Aug: 19 in 10022 Aug: 19 in 10023 Aug: 21 in 10024 Aug: 21 in 10025 Aug: 21 in 10026 Aug: 21 in 10027 Aug: 20 in 10028 Aug: 20 in 10029 Aug: 20 in 10030 Aug: 21 in 10031 Aug: 24 in 1001 Sep: 27 in 1002 Sep: 25 in 1003 Sep: 24 in 1004 Sep: 23 in 1005 Sep: 22 in 1006 Sep: 22 in 1007 Sep: 24 in 1008 Sep: 24 in 1009 Sep: 21 in 10010 Sep: 20 in 10011 Sep: 21 in 10012 Sep: 20 in 10013 Sep: 20 in 10014 Sep: 23 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 14 Sep. 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 20,678 stories about harm among 91,889 counted on 14 Sep.

Read the day's briefing

Saudi Arabia's news was 66% about people being harmed, against a usual 23%. of the day's 91,889 news stories, 23 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. Reports of people freed or reunited, a sign of help, ran at about one and a half times the usual rate. On 14 September 2018, a year earlier, the share was 24 in every 100, against 23 today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Leningrad, Russia -- attacks & violence: 44 stories, carried by 49 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Sunshine Coast, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 22 stories, carried by 37 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Kalimantan, Indonesia -- accidents & disasters: 34 stories, carried by 32 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100South Yorkshire, UK -- accidents & disasters: 18 stories, carried by 125 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Paris, France -- protests & strikes: 83 stories, carried by 79 outlets; harsh wording in 71 in 100Sanaa, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 47 stories, carried by 46 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso -- attacks & violence: 63 stories, carried by 55 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Idlib, Syria -- attacks & violence: 69 stories, carried by 59 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Cairo, Egypt -- protests & strikes: 86 stories, carried by 78 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Port Alberni, Canada -- deaths, cause not given: 38 stories, carried by 78 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 109 stories, carried by 84 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 72 stories, carried by 193 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Moscow, Russia -- attacks & violence: 123 stories, carried by 135 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Islamabad, Pakistan -- protests & strikes: 206 stories, carried by 181 outlets; harsh wording in 83 in 100Alicante, Spain -- accidents & disasters: 97 stories, carried by 162 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Lampedusa, Italy -- accidents & disasters: 283 stories, carried by 416 outlets; harsh wording in 47 in 100Scripps Clinic, US -- protests & strikes: 57 stories, carried by 219 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Beijing, China -- protests & strikes: 268 stories, carried by 246 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Andros Island, Bahamas -- accidents & disasters: 134 stories, carried by 254 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Abbottabad, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 198 stories, carried by 322 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia -- attacks & violence: 330 stories, carried by 487 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Washington, US -- attacks & violence: 1,065 stories, carried by 1,093 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Abaco, Bahamas -- accidents & disasters: 543 stories, carried by 718 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Khurais, Saudi Arabia -- attacks & violence: 407 stories, carried by 712 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 harsher than usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.

● Angera little more than 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.