← 27 Dec Saturday 28 December 2019 · to 23:59 UTC 29 Dec →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
11,441 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 →

Most of the day's attention went to violence in Mogadishu, the cyclone in Fiji and protests in Baghdad (Iraq). Somalia's coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Everywhere we counted, the words were much harsher than usual.

Help and hope: reports of volunteers ran at about one and a half times the usual rate →
Part of lifeRights & justice 27 in 100 of the stories about harm · less than usual Country that rose mostKazakhstan 84 in 100 of its 136 stories, usually 29
RegionCentral Asia 72 in 100 of its stories, usually 23
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 →
Conflict & violence

Somalia

414 of its 428 stories (97%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. Mogadishu accounted for 406 of Somalia's 414 stories about harm, carried by 1,083 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 6 times the usual rate (318 stories). Hunger was named in 39 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Fiji

93 of its 122 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Nadi accounted for 36 of Fiji's 93 stories about harm, carried by 42 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (42 stories). Cyclone was named in 77 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with heavy rain, flooding and storms.

Protests & strikes

Iraq

Baghdad accounted for 37 of Iraq's 104 stories about harm, carried by 81 outlets. 28 of Baghdad's 37 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of abductions ran at about three times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Deaths & injuries, cause not given

Egypt

43 of its 104 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. 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 grief-stricken as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Disasters & accidents

Kazakhstan

114 of its 136 stories (84%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Almaty accounted for 109 of Kazakhstan's 114 stories about harm, carried by 342 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (74 stories).

Health

Ecuador

14 of its 18 stories (78%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Food poisoning was named in 10 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with poisoning. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Rights & justice

Nigeria

274 of its 824 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (111 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Chile

32 of its 68 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Santiago accounted for 22 of Chile's 32 stories about harm, carried by 75 outlets. 19 of Santiago's 22 stories were about protests or strikes.

Conflict & violence

Afghanistan

103 of its 169 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. Reports of refugees ran at about 4 times the usual rate (8 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Syria

Idlib accounted for 70 of Syria's 95 stories about harm, carried by 111 outlets. Flooding was named in 11 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: drownings in Spain (39 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); food poisoning in Ecuador (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flooding in Syria (11 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); extreme cold in India (56 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); power cuts in Canada (13 of its stories, about 5 times its usual).

21 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 18; 20 the day before
21 in 10016 in 10029 Nov6 Dec13 Dec20 Dec28 Dec29 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 10019 Dec: 17 in 10020 Dec: 17 in 10021 Dec: 19 in 10022 Dec: 20 in 10023 Dec: 19 in 10024 Dec: 18 in 10025 Dec: 19 in 10026 Dec: 19 in 10027 Dec: 20 in 10028 Dec: 21 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 28 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 11,441 stories about harm among 53,383 counted on 28 Dec.

Read the day's briefing

It was the highest share of stories about people being harmed since 21 September 2019. On the side of help, reports of volunteers ran at about one and a half times the usual rate. Stories about people being harmed made up 21 in every 100 of the day's 53,383 stories, above the usual 18. Somalia's news was 97% about people being harmed, against a usual 54%.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Maiduguri, Nigeria -- attacks & violence: 19 stories, carried by 24 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tehran, Iran -- protests & strikes: 40 stories, carried by 54 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Tripoli, Libya -- attacks & violence: 22 stories, carried by 35 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Bristol, UK -- accidents & disasters: 19 stories, carried by 81 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- attacks & violence: 36 stories, carried by 88 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100Northern Ireland, UK -- attacks & violence: 35 stories, carried by 175 outlets; harsh wording in 66 in 100Meerut, India -- protests & strikes: 46 stories, carried by 37 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Shenzhen, China -- protests & strikes: 14 stories, carried by 46 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Nadi, Fiji -- accidents & disasters: 36 stories, carried by 42 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 32 stories, carried by 85 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Sangin, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 19 stories, carried by 61 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- protests & strikes: 37 stories, carried by 81 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Santiago, Chile -- protests & strikes: 22 stories, carried by 75 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kirkuk, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 29 stories, carried by 79 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Idlib, Syria -- attacks & violence: 70 stories, carried by 111 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Port Said, Egypt -- deaths, cause not given: 12 stories, carried by 82 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Delhi, India -- protests & strikes: 231 stories, carried by 154 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Gospers Mountain, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 8 stories, carried by 89 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Costa del Sol, Spain -- accidents & disasters: 41 stories, carried by 183 outlets; harsh wording in 83 in 100Almaty, Kazakhstan -- accidents & disasters: 109 stories, carried by 342 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100El Paso, US -- attacks & violence: 31 stories, carried by 337 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sydney, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 111 stories, carried by 402 outlets; harsh wording in 86 in 100Waimea Canyon, US -- accidents & disasters: 90 stories, carried by 595 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Mogadishu, Somalia -- attacks & violence: 406 stories, carried by 1,083 outlets; harsh wording in 100 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 as 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.