← 19 Nov Wednesday 20 November 2019 · to 23:59 UTC 21 Nov →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
20,703 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 la Paz (Bolivia), helicopter crash in Afghanistan and the hypothermia in the Netherlands. Afghanistan's coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Language across the world's news ran about as usual.

Part of lifeRights & justice 34 in 100 of the stories about harm · more than usual Country that rose mostMalta 62 in 100 of its 123 stories, usually 19
RegionEast Asia 18 in 100 of its stories, usually 15
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

Bolivia

99 of its 136 stories (73%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. la Paz accounted for 56 of Bolivia's 99 stories about harm, carried by 164 outlets. 54 of la Paz's 56 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (86 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Afghanistan

209 of its 295 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. Kabul accounted for 124 of Afghanistan's 209 stories about harm, carried by 235 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at about three times the usual rate (65 stories). Helicopter crash was named in 56 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Netherlands

84 of its 391 stories (21%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Reports of refugees ran at about 9 times the usual rate (10 stories). Hypothermia was named in 11 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

6 more places the news pointed at
Protests & strikes

Iran

284 of its 481 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Tehran accounted for 169 of Iran's 284 stories about harm, carried by 318 outlets. 131 of Tehran's 169 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (208 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Malta

76 of its 123 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Valletta accounted for 40 of Malta's 76 stories about harm, carried by 111 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 6 times the usual rate (39 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Burkina Faso

21 of its 24 stories (88%) were about people being harmed, usually 69%. Reports of people displaced ran at about twice the usual rate (11 stories). Hunger was named in 12 of its stories about harm, about 10 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Nicaragua

23 of its 39 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. 15 of Managua's 17 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (14 stories).

Protests & strikes

Hong Kong

255 of its 538 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. 72 of Hong Kong Island's 73 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Latvia

12 of its 38 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. 8 of Riga's 9 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (9 stories).

Also named far more than usual: hunger in Burkina Faso (12 of its stories, about 10 times its usual); flooding in Ireland (25 of its stories, about three times its usual); polio in Pakistan (19 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); storms in Russia (13 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); heavy rain in Zimbabwe (11 of its stories, about 9 times its usual).

16 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 17; 17 the day before
20 in 10016 in 10022 Oct29 Oct5 Nov12 Nov20 Nov22 Oct: 16 in 10023 Oct: 17 in 10024 Oct: 16 in 10025 Oct: 17 in 10026 Oct: 19 in 10027 Oct: 20 in 10028 Oct: 18 in 10029 Oct: 18 in 10030 Oct: 17 in 10031 Oct: 17 in 1001 Nov: 17 in 1002 Nov: 18 in 1003 Nov: 18 in 1004 Nov: 16 in 1005 Nov: 16 in 1006 Nov: 16 in 1007 Nov: 16 in 1008 Nov: 16 in 1009 Nov: 17 in 10010 Nov: 18 in 10011 Nov: 17 in 10012 Nov: 17 in 10013 Nov: 17 in 10014 Nov: 17 in 10015 Nov: 17 in 10016 Nov: 18 in 10017 Nov: 18 in 10018 Nov: 17 in 10019 Nov: 17 in 10020 Nov: 16 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 20 Nov. 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 20,703 stories about harm among 127,351 counted on 20 Nov.

Read the day's briefing

In Afghanistan's news, mentions of helicopter crash ran more than ten times their usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 16 in every 100 of the day's 127,351 stories, as usual. On 20 November 2018, a year earlier, the share was 20 in every 100, against 16 today. In Bolivia, 73% of the news was about people being harmed, where 44% is usual.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Lashkar, India -- attacks & violence: 13 stories, carried by 23 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Ankara, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 44 stories, carried by 34 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Shabelle, Somalia -- attacks & violence: 10 stories, carried by 51 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Managua, Nicaragua -- protests & strikes: 17 stories, carried by 31 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Idlib, Syria -- attacks & violence: 26 stories, carried by 56 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Paris, France -- attacks & violence: 64 stories, carried by 123 outlets; harsh wording in 83 in 100Hawassa, Ethiopia -- protests & strikes: 19 stories, carried by 35 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100Shahryar, Iran -- protests & strikes: 12 stories, carried by 31 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Braunau Am Inn, Austria -- attacks & violence: 27 stories, carried by 98 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Santiago, Chile -- protests & strikes: 18 stories, carried by 67 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Vlaardingen, Netherlands -- accidents & disasters: 29 stories, carried by 98 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Valletta, Malta -- attacks & violence: 40 stories, carried by 111 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong -- protests & strikes: 73 stories, carried by 98 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100North Valley, US -- accidents & disasters: 10 stories, carried by 106 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sydney, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 146 stories, carried by 261 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Chatham County, US -- protests & strikes: 20 stories, carried by 190 outlets; harsh wording in 85 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 124 stories, carried by 235 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Port Macquarie, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 45 stories, carried by 172 outlets; harsh wording in 78 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- protests & strikes: 32 stories, carried by 154 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100La Paz, Bolivia -- protests & strikes: 56 stories, carried by 164 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Shenzhen, China -- protests & strikes: 42 stories, carried by 191 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Damascus, Syria -- attacks & violence: 118 stories, carried by 209 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Beijing, China -- protests & strikes: 239 stories, carried by 416 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Tehran, Iran -- protests & strikes: 169 stories, carried by 318 outlets; harsh wording in 98 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.