← 17 Sep Wednesday 18 September 2019 · to 23:59 UTC 19 Sep →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
35,228 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 Harare (Zimbabwe), a disaster in Monrovia and illness in Seoul. Liberia's coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Language across the world's news ran softer than usual.

Part of lifeRights & justice 30 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostLiberia 71 in 100 of its 221 stories, usually 25
RegionSoutheast Asia 28 in 100 of its stories, usually 25
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 →
Protests & strikes

Zimbabwe

295 of its 621 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Harare accounted for 205 of Zimbabwe's 295 stories about harm, carried by 131 outlets. 122 of Harare's 205 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of abductions ran at about three times the usual rate (25 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Liberia

157 of its 221 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Monrovia accounted for 146 of Liberia's 157 stories about harm, carried by 138 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at more than ten times the usual rate (141 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Rwanda

41 of its 75 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (23 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

6 more places the news pointed at
Protests & strikes

DR Congo

36 of its 39 stories (92%) were about people being harmed, usually 68%. 3 of Lusenda's 3 stories were about protests or strikes. Dengue was named in 20 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Protests & strikes

Nicaragua

18 of its 30 stories (60%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. 14 of Managua's 15 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (11 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Bermuda

97 of its 150 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (8 stories). Storm surge was named in 35 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

Protests & strikes

Algeria

61 of its 94 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. Algiers accounted for 52 of Algeria's 61 stories about harm, carried by 46 outlets. 51 of Algiers' 52 stories were about protests or strikes.

Conflict & violence

Iran

529 of its 1,461 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (233 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Rights & justice

Venezuela

115 of its 335 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (27 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: tropical storm in Mexico (268 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); malaria in Burkina Faso (19 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); storm surge in Bermuda (35 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); ebola in Spain (55 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); dengue in DR Congo (20 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

20 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 22; 19 the day before
27 in 10019 in 10020 Aug27 Aug3 Sep10 Sep18 Sep20 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 10018 Sep: 20 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 18 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 35,228 stories about harm among 175,112 counted on 18 Sep.

Read the day's briefing

In Mexico's news, mentions of tropical storm ran about 5 times their usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 20 in every 100 of the day's 175,112 stories, below the usual 22. Zimbabwe's news was 48% about people being harmed, against a usual 37%. On 18 September 2018, a year earlier, the share was 20 in every 100, the same as today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Geneva, Switzerland -- accidents & disasters: 73 stories, carried by 90 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Islamabad, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 132 stories, carried by 80 outlets; harsh wording in 86 in 100Kathmandu, Nepal -- protests & strikes: 55 stories, carried by 50 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Tokyo, Japan -- accidents & disasters: 111 stories, carried by 96 outlets; harsh wording in 86 in 100Alicante, Spain -- accidents & disasters: 45 stories, carried by 44 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Algiers, Algeria -- protests & strikes: 52 stories, carried by 46 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Jalalabad, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 60 stories, carried by 51 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Moscow, Russia -- protests & strikes: 146 stories, carried by 118 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Idlib, Syria -- attacks & violence: 88 stories, carried by 149 outlets; harsh wording in 83 in 100Monte Carlo, Italy -- accidents & disasters: 63 stories, carried by 63 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Mount Tambora, Indonesia -- accidents & disasters: 24 stories, carried by 62 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Mongkok, Hong Kong -- protests & strikes: 68 stories, carried by 80 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tarija, Bolivia -- accidents & disasters: 10 stories, carried by 74 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Harare, Zimbabwe -- protests & strikes: 205 stories, carried by 131 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Sinaloa, Mexico -- attacks & violence: 37 stories, carried by 96 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Monrovia, Liberia -- accidents & disasters: 146 stories, carried by 138 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Abaco, Bahamas -- accidents & disasters: 189 stories, carried by 167 outlets; harsh wording in 86 in 100Zihuatanejo, Mexico -- accidents & disasters: 142 stories, carried by 141 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Pittsburg County, US -- attacks & violence: 57 stories, carried by 182 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 225 stories, carried by 191 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia -- attacks & violence: 329 stories, carried by 293 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- attacks & violence: 303 stories, carried by 302 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 452 stories, carried by 566 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Houston, US -- accidents & disasters: 814 stories, carried by 853 outlets; harsh wording in 96 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

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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.