← 16 Sep Tuesday 17 September 2019 · to 23:59 UTC 18 Sep →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
32,202 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 a disaster in Dakar, illness in Paju and protests in Tunis (Tunisia). Senegal's coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Taken together, the world's news read softer than usual.

Part of lifeHealth 28 in 100 of the stories about harm · much more than usual Country that rose mostBermuda 65 in 100 of its 116 stories, usually 19
RegionCentral Asia 26 in 100 of its stories, usually 12
Tone of the words Softer than usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Disasters & accidents

Senegal

45 of its 63 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Dakar accounted for 43 of Senegal's 45 stories about harm, carried by 41 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at more than ten times the usual rate (25 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Health

South Korea

258 of its 666 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Paju accounted for 232 of South Korea's 258 stories about harm, carried by 230 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about 5 times the usual rate (146 stories). Outbreaks were named in 191 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with bird flu and flu.

Protests & strikes

Tunisia

181 of its 330 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Tunis accounted for 98 of Tunisia's 181 stories about harm, carried by 75 outlets. 59 of Tunis' 98 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (50 stories).

Conflict & violence

Kyrgyzstan

42 of its 80 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (33 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

6 more places the news pointed at
Shelter & services

Honduras

33 of its 49 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (15 stories). Power cuts were named in 22 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual.

Rights & justice

Mexico

364 of its 854 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (137 stories). Flooding was named in 31 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with heavy rain.

Conflict & violence

Afghanistan

856 of its 1,009 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 75%. Kabul accounted for 529 of Afghanistan's 856 stories about harm, carried by 609 outlets. Its coverage was about 4 times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Tajikistan

7 of its 11 stories (64%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. 5 of Vorukh's 5 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (7 stories).

Conflict & violence

Iran

390 of its 1,147 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Tehran accounted for 281 of Iran's 390 stories about harm, carried by 318 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Health

Thailand

162 of its 536 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (66 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: wildfires in Indonesia (128 of its stories, about three times its usual); tropical storm in Bermuda (58 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); train derailment in Hong Kong (93 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flooding in Venezuela (31 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); power cuts in Honduras (22 of its stories, about 8 times its usual).

19 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 22; 20 the day before
27 in 10019 in 10019 Aug26 Aug2 Sep9 Sep17 Sep19 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 10015 Sep: 22 in 10016 Sep: 20 in 10017 Sep: 19 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 17 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 32,202 stories about harm among 166,722 counted on 17 Sep.

Read the day's briefing

Senegal's news was 71% about people being harmed, against a usual 15%. In South Korea's news, mentions of outbreaks ran more than ten times their usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 19 in every 100 of the day's 166,722 stories, below the usual 22. A year earlier, on 17 September 2018, 21 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 19 today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Jakarta, Indonesia -- accidents & disasters: 72 stories, carried by 61 outlets; harsh wording in 83 in 100Dakar, Senegal -- accidents & disasters: 43 stories, carried by 41 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Novosibirsk, Russia -- disease & outbreaks: 31 stories, carried by 39 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sydney, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 121 stories, carried by 116 outlets; harsh wording in 81 in 100Port Alberni, Canada -- protests & strikes: 17 stories, carried by 65 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Tunis, Tunisia -- protests & strikes: 98 stories, carried by 75 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Sambir, Ukraine -- attacks & violence: 8 stories, carried by 46 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Northern Ireland, UK -- attacks & violence: 108 stories, carried by 159 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Paris, France -- accidents & disasters: 160 stories, carried by 215 outlets; harsh wording in 65 in 100Abaco, Bahamas -- accidents & disasters: 75 stories, carried by 62 outlets; harsh wording in 85 in 100Gulf of Oman, Iran -- protests & strikes: 13 stories, carried by 56 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Koltsovo, Russia -- disease & outbreaks: 43 stories, carried by 54 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sfax, Tunisia -- protests & strikes: 71 stories, carried by 124 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Idlib, Syria -- attacks & violence: 46 stories, carried by 128 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Parwan, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 145 stories, carried by 137 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Beijing, China -- protests & strikes: 292 stories, carried by 223 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Rockdale County, US -- attacks & violence: 131 stories, carried by 269 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Houston, US -- accidents & disasters: 321 stories, carried by 306 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- attacks & violence: 175 stories, carried by 197 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Paju, South Korea -- disease & outbreaks: 232 stories, carried by 230 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Nuevo Laredo, Mexico -- people displaced: 88 stories, carried by 203 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 281 stories, carried by 318 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia -- attacks & violence: 309 stories, carried by 323 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 529 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 softer than 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.