← 6 Dec Saturday 7 December 2019 · to 23:59 UTC 8 Dec →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
12,837 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 gas explosion in Slovakia, protests in Baghdad (Iraq) and abductions in India. India's coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Everywhere we counted, the words were much harsher than usual.

Part of lifeRights & justice 35 in 100 of the stories about harm · more than usual Country that rose mostSaudi Arabia 51 in 100 of its 512 stories, usually 17
RegionSouth Asia 32 in 100 of its stories, usually 21
Tone of the words Much harsher than usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Disasters & accidents

Slovakia

19 of its 27 stories (70%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Presov accounted for 15 of Slovakia's 19 stories about harm, carried by 52 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about 6 times the usual rate (7 stories). Gas explosion was named in 17 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual.

Protests & strikes

Iraq

185 of its 218 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 65%. Baghdad accounted for 131 of Iraq's 185 stories about harm, carried by 319 outlets. 125 of Baghdad's 131 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Rights & justice

India

1,386 of its 4,313 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of abductions ran at about 4 times the usual rate (59 stories). Tsunami was named in 26 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual, with poisoning. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Saudi Arabia

263 of its 512 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (159 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Disasters & accidents

Kenya

105 of its 251 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (66 stories). Building collapse was named in 11 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with drownings. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Disasters & accidents

New Zealand

90 of its 331 stories (27%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (13 stories). Flooding was named in 21 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual, with heavy rain.

Rights & justice

Taiwan

30 of its 76 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (6 stories).

Conflict & violence

Ukraine

56 of its 348 stories (16%) were about people being harmed, usually 6%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (24 stories).

Conflict & violence

Myanmar

11 of its 17 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories).

Rights & justice

Kyrgyzstan

9 of its 22 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories).

Also named far more than usual: earthquake in Armenia (16 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flooding in New Zealand (21 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); road crashes in Thailand (13 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hypothermia in Spain (16 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); storms in Ireland (19 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

20 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 17; 18 the day before
21 in 10016 in 1008 Nov15 Nov22 Nov29 Nov7 Dec8 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 10021 Nov: 16 in 10022 Nov: 16 in 10023 Nov: 17 in 10024 Nov: 19 in 10025 Nov: 17 in 10026 Nov: 18 in 10027 Nov: 18 in 10028 Nov: 18 in 10029 Nov: 17 in 10030 Nov: 20 in 1001 Dec: 21 in 1002 Dec: 18 in 1003 Dec: 17 in 1004 Dec: 16 in 1005 Dec: 17 in 1006 Dec: 18 in 1007 Dec: 20 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 7 Dec. 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 12,837 stories about harm among 65,295 counted on 7 Dec.

Read the day's briefing

Slovakia's news was 70% about people being harmed, against a usual 23%. For the second day running, the news turned to Slovakia. Stories about people being harmed made up 20 in every 100 of the day's 65,295 stories, above the usual 17. On 7 December 2018, a year earlier, the share was 18 in every 100, against 20 today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Brisbane, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 26 stories, carried by 32 outlets; harsh wording in 85 in 100Abuja, Nigeria -- protests & strikes: 82 stories, carried by 32 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Barcelona, Spain -- accidents & disasters: 19 stories, carried by 44 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100Santiago, Chile -- protests & strikes: 22 stories, carried by 34 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Stockholm, Sweden -- protests & strikes: 11 stories, carried by 66 outlets; harsh wording in 73 in 100Amiens, France -- protests & strikes: 9 stories, carried by 37 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Madrid, Spain -- protests & strikes: 37 stories, carried by 54 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Presov, Slovakia -- accidents & disasters: 15 stories, carried by 52 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tripoli, Libya -- attacks & violence: 24 stories, carried by 45 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Montreal, Canada -- attacks & violence: 70 stories, carried by 86 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Paris, France -- protests & strikes: 57 stories, carried by 77 outlets; harsh wording in 82 in 100Tahrir, Iraq -- protests & strikes: 16 stories, carried by 44 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Algiers, Algeria -- protests & strikes: 9 stories, carried by 45 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Wajir, Kenya -- attacks & violence: 30 stories, carried by 53 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sydney, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 96 stories, carried by 149 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Beijing, China -- protests & strikes: 72 stories, carried by 186 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Beirut, Lebanon -- protests & strikes: 22 stories, carried by 123 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Malamocco, Italy -- accidents & disasters: 5 stories, carried by 97 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 67 stories, carried by 152 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- attacks & violence: 50 stories, carried by 197 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100San Francisco, US -- accidents & disasters: 114 stories, carried by 363 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Idlib, Syria -- attacks & violence: 30 stories, carried by 215 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- protests & strikes: 131 stories, carried by 319 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Pearl Harbor, US -- attacks & violence: 287 stories, carried by 671 outlets; harsh wording in 93 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 much harsher than usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.

● Angerabout one and a half times usual
● Warmthabout as usual
● Griefa little more than 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.