← 2 Jan Friday 3 January 2020 · to 23:59 UTC 4 Jan →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
20,468 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 flooding in Indonesia, violence in Tehran and rights and justice in Ayia Napa. Iran's coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. In the world's news as a whole, the wording was much harsher than usual.

Reports of evacuations ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about Australia and Indonesia →
Part of lifeConflict & violence 25 in 100 of the stories about harm · much more than usual Country that rose mostIndonesia 65 in 100 of its 334 stories, usually 32
RegionMiddle East & North Africa 49 in 100 of its stories, usually 33
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

Indonesia

216 of its 334 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Jakarta accounted for 182 of Indonesia's 216 stories about harm, carried by 423 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about 9 times the usual rate (48 stories). Flooding was named in 154 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with landslides, heavy rain and hypothermia.

Conflict & violence

Iran

1,714 of its 3,085 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Tehran accounted for 858 of Iran's 1,714 stories about harm, carried by 1,390 outlets. Accidents were named in 39 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Deaths & injuries, cause not given

Cambodia

34 of its 67 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (23 stories).

6 more places the news pointed at
Disasters & accidents

Taiwan

81 of its 217 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Taipei accounted for 63 of Taiwan's 81 stories about harm, carried by 105 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (60 stories). Helicopter crash was named in 38 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.

Disasters & accidents

Australia

1,125 of its 2,378 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 10 times the usual rate (193 stories). Cyclone was named in 35 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.

Disasters & accidents

Puerto Rico

27 of its 43 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (6 stories). Tsunami was named in 12 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual.

Rights & justice

Lebanon

106 of its 227 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Beirut accounted for 92 of Lebanon's 106 stories about harm, carried by 419 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (63 stories).

Conflict & violence

Iraq

Baghdad accounted for 1,019 of Iraq's 1,106 stories about harm, carried by 1,135 outlets. Accidents were named in 12 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Disasters & accidents

Panama

17 of its 36 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of people affected ran at about 7 times the usual rate (6 stories).

Also named far more than usual: helicopter crash in Taiwan (38 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); outbreaks in China (64 of its stories, about three times its usual); tsunami in Puerto Rico (12 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); bird flu in Poland (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); plane crash in Sudan (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

21 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 19; 19 the day before
22 in 10016 in 1005 Dec12 Dec19 Dec26 Dec3 Jan5 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 10029 Dec: 22 in 10030 Dec: 21 in 10031 Dec: 20 in 1001 Jan: 21 in 1002 Jan: 19 in 1003 Jan: 21 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 3 Jan. 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 20,468 stories about harm among 98,969 counted on 3 Jan.

Read the day's briefing

It was the third day running that the news turned to Indonesia. of the day's 98,969 news stories, 21 in every 100 were about people being harmed, above the usual 19. Evacuations were reported at about twice the usual rate, most often about Australia and Indonesia. Mentions of flooding ran about 4 times their usual in Indonesia's news. In Indonesia, 65% of the news was about people being harmed, where 32% is usual.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Shiv, India -- attacks & violence: 70 stories, carried by 41 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Balakot, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 32 stories, carried by 30 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Ankara, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 29 stories, carried by 46 outlets; harsh wording in 86 in 100Moscow, Russia -- attacks & violence: 38 stories, carried by 52 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Taipei, Taiwan -- accidents & disasters: 63 stories, carried by 105 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Darfur, Sudan -- attacks & violence: 33 stories, carried by 54 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Idlib, Syria -- attacks & violence: 36 stories, carried by 68 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Krefeld, Germany -- accidents & disasters: 28 stories, carried by 56 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Vancouver, Canada -- accidents & disasters: 54 stories, carried by 82 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Longford, UK -- accidents & disasters: 13 stories, carried by 122 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- attacks & violence: 48 stories, carried by 114 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Kitimat, Canada -- protests & strikes: 16 stories, carried by 89 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100El Geneina, Sudan -- attacks & violence: 15 stories, carried by 114 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Wuhan, China -- disease & outbreaks: 56 stories, carried by 77 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Nuevo Laredo, Mexico -- attacks & violence: 6 stories, carried by 73 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Pahlavi, Iran -- attacks & violence: 17 stories, carried by 115 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Paris, France -- deaths, cause not given: 102 stories, carried by 451 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Anchorage, US -- accidents & disasters: 35 stories, carried by 380 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Jakarta, Indonesia -- accidents & disasters: 182 stories, carried by 423 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Sydney, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 235 stories, carried by 487 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Washington, US -- attacks & violence: 602 stories, carried by 896 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Cobargo, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 159 stories, carried by 488 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 1,019 stories, carried by 1,135 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 858 stories, carried by 1,390 outlets; harsh wording in 99 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.

● Angera little more than usual
● Warmthabout as usual
● Griefabout one and a half times 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?

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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.