← 17 Dec Wednesday 18 December 2019 · to 23:59 UTC 19 Dec →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
19,998 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 Lima (Peru), rights and justice in Panama City and people displaced in Türkiye. Türkiye's coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's. Language across the world's news ran much softer than usual.

Part of lifeRights & justice 32 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostPanama 53 in 100 of its 58 stories, usually 14
RegionCentral Asia 24 in 100 of its stories, usually 13
Tone of the words Much softer than usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Protests & strikes

Peru

41 of its 108 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Lima accounted for 32 of Peru's 41 stories about harm, carried by 83 outlets. 20 of Lima's 32 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about 6 times the usual rate (28 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Rights & justice

Panama

31 of its 58 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Panama City accounted for 28 of Panama's 31 stories about harm, carried by 166 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (23 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Türkiye

173 of its 423 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Reports of people displaced ran at about three times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Indonesia

95 of its 323 stories (29%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Flooding was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Protests & strikes

Lebanon

66 of its 164 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Beirut accounted for 47 of Lebanon's 66 stories about harm, carried by 85 outlets. 44 of Beirut's 47 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (28 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Protests & strikes

India

397 of Delhi's 636 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at about twice the usual rate (43 stories). Extreme cold was named in 11 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

Rights & justice

Thailand

81 of its 292 stories (28%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (24 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Rights & justice

Malaysia

151 of its 589 stories (26%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Reports of evacuations ran at about twice the usual rate (7 stories). Heavy rain was named in 18 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.

Conflict & violence

Chad

11 of its 30 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (8 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Syria

Idlib accounted for 41 of Syria's 123 stories about harm, carried by 50 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (17 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: heatwave in Australia (142 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); earthquake in Haiti (12 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); earthquake in Dominican Republic (10 of its stories, about three times its usual); natural hazards in Somalia (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); polio in Pakistan (38 of its stories, about three times its usual).

17 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 18; 17 the day before
21 in 10016 in 10019 Nov26 Nov3 Dec10 Dec18 Dec19 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 1008 Dec: 19 in 1009 Dec: 18 in 10010 Dec: 18 in 10011 Dec: 18 in 10012 Dec: 17 in 10013 Dec: 16 in 10014 Dec: 18 in 10015 Dec: 19 in 10016 Dec: 17 in 10017 Dec: 17 in 10018 Dec: 17 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 18 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 19,998 stories about harm among 120,009 counted on 18 Dec.

Read the day's briefing

Stories about people being harmed made up 17 in every 100 of the day's 120,009 stories, below the usual 18. A year earlier, on 18 December 2018, 18 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 17 today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Jakarta, Indonesia -- attacks & violence: 23 stories, carried by 46 outlets; harsh wording in 87 in 100Istanbul, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 39 stories, carried by 34 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Caracas, Venezuela -- protests & strikes: 20 stories, carried by 42 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Geneva, Switzerland -- people displaced: 32 stories, carried by 44 outlets; harsh wording in 72 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 45 stories, carried by 39 outlets; harsh wording in 87 in 100Xinjiang, China -- protests & strikes: 24 stories, carried by 52 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Whakatane, New Zealand -- accidents & disasters: 18 stories, carried by 41 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100Moscow, Russia -- attacks & violence: 49 stories, carried by 83 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Port Alberni, Canada -- deaths, cause not given: 10 stories, carried by 68 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Syltholm, Denmark -- disease & outbreaks: 26 stories, carried by 58 outlets; harsh wording in 65 in 100Aligarh, India -- protests & strikes: 55 stories, carried by 41 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Idlib, Syria -- attacks & violence: 41 stories, carried by 50 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Islamabad, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 90 stories, carried by 128 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Lima, Peru -- protests & strikes: 32 stories, carried by 83 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Ngandong, Indonesia -- accidents & disasters: 9 stories, carried by 55 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Paris, France -- protests & strikes: 84 stories, carried by 106 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Beirut, Lebanon -- protests & strikes: 47 stories, carried by 85 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Oakland, US -- accidents & disasters: 61 stories, carried by 317 outlets; harsh wording in 82 in 100Oodnadatta, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 28 stories, carried by 135 outlets; harsh wording in 68 in 100White Island, New Zealand -- accidents & disasters: 71 stories, carried by 113 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Tulsa, US -- protests & strikes: 37 stories, carried by 201 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Lower Dir, Pakistan -- disease & outbreaks: 22 stories, carried by 155 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sydney, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 218 stories, carried by 286 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Delhi, India -- protests & strikes: 636 stories, carried by 419 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 much 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.