← 4 Jan Sunday 5 January 2020 · to 23:59 UTC 6 Jan →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
12,285 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 Lamu, building collapse in Cambodia and the avalanche in Italy. Kenya's coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Across the world, the tone of the words was much harsher than usual.

Reports of abductions ran at about 6 times the usual rate, most often about Iran and Iraq → Help and hope: reports of people freed or reunited ran at about twice the usual rate →
Part of lifeConflict & violence 31 in 100 of the stories about harm · much more than usual Country that rose mostKenya 66 in 100 of its 440 stories, usually 27
RegionMiddle East & North Africa 51 in 100 of its stories, usually 35
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

Kenya

291 of its 440 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Lamu accounted for 141 of Kenya's 291 stories about harm, carried by 187 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (46 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Cambodia

74 of its 94 stories (79%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Reports of people injured ran at about 7 times the usual rate (52 stories). Building collapse was named in 48 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Deaths & injuries, cause not given

Italy

111 of its 326 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (87 stories). Avalanche was named in 16 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with road crashes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Health

China

230 of its 861 stories (27%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (28 stories). Respiratory illness was named in 66 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with outbreaks, flu and bird flu.

6 more places the news pointed at
Conflict & violence

Libya

139 of its 181 stories (77%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Tripoli accounted for 134 of Libya's 139 stories about harm, carried by 206 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (96 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Conflict & violence

Iran

1,524 of its 2,456 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 48%. Tehran accounted for 909 of Iran's 1,524 stories about harm, carried by 1,379 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (429 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Indonesia

81 of its 158 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Jakarta accounted for 61 of Indonesia's 81 stories about harm, carried by 129 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (39 stories). Heavy rain was named in 26 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with dengue.

Disasters & accidents

Australia

1,105 of its 2,158 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Reports of evacuations ran at about three times the usual rate (91 stories). Hunger was named in 20 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual, with power cuts.

Disasters & accidents

Nigeria

286 of its 869 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (22 stories). Gas explosion was named in 32 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with outbreaks.

Conflict & violence

Iraq

Baghdad accounted for 500 of Iraq's 569 stories about harm, carried by 737 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at about 7 times the usual rate (59 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: heavy rain in Indonesia (26 of its stories, about three times its usual); wildfires in Russia (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); wildfires in New Zealand (13 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); gas explosion in Nigeria (32 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); avalanche in Canada (24 of its stories, about 5 times its usual).

24 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 19; 23 the day before
24 in 10016 in 1007 Dec14 Dec21 Dec28 Dec5 Jan7 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 1004 Jan: 23 in 1005 Jan: 24 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 5 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 12,285 stories about harm among 51,224 counted on 5 Jan.

Read the day's briefing

The share of stories about people being harmed was the highest since 2 September 2019. Reports of abductions ran at about 6 times the usual rate, most often about Iran and Iraq. of the day's 51,224 news stories, 24 in every 100 were about people being harmed, above the usual 19. Reports of people freed or reunited, a sign of help, ran at about twice the usual rate. This week the news turned most often to Cyprus, on 4 of 7 days; help rose on 5 of them.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Vancouver, Canada -- accidents & disasters: 38 stories, carried by 118 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100Hyderabad, India -- protests & strikes: 34 stories, carried by 40 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Islamabad, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 43 stories, carried by 51 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Berlin, Germany -- protests & strikes: 8 stories, carried by 78 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tel Aviv, Israel -- attacks & violence: 49 stories, carried by 148 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Bolzano, Italy -- accidents & disasters: 45 stories, carried by 188 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Mogadishu, Somalia -- attacks & violence: 15 stories, carried by 81 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Paris, France -- attacks & violence: 52 stories, carried by 90 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100London, UK -- attacks & violence: 106 stories, carried by 284 outlets; harsh wording in 82 in 100Phnom Penh, Cambodia -- accidents & disasters: 40 stories, carried by 108 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Wuhan, China -- disease & outbreaks: 71 stories, carried by 95 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Beijing, China -- protests & strikes: 53 stories, carried by 167 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Jakarta, Indonesia -- accidents & disasters: 61 stories, carried by 129 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Luttach, Italy -- accidents & disasters: 39 stories, carried by 264 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Westmoreland County, US -- deaths, cause not given: 22 stories, carried by 321 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kangaroo Island, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 66 stories, carried by 233 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Tripoli, Libya -- attacks & violence: 134 stories, carried by 206 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Lamu, Kenya -- attacks & violence: 141 stories, carried by 187 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Ahvaz, Iran -- attacks & violence: 76 stories, carried by 196 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Washington, US -- attacks & violence: 316 stories, carried by 462 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Nairobi, Kenya -- attacks & violence: 68 stories, carried by 412 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 500 stories, carried by 737 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Sydney, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 250 stories, carried by 850 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 909 stories, carried by 1,379 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 one and a half times usual
● Warmthabout as usual
● Griefabout one and a half times usual
● Feara little more than 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.