← 14 Jan Wednesday 15 January 2020 · to 23:59 UTC 16 Jan →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
20,067 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 Beirut (Lebanon), volcanic eruption in the Philippines and violence in Jammu. Kashmir's coverage was about three times as fearful as the world's. Language across the world's news ran much softer than usual.

Part of lifeRights & justice 28 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostGambia 59 in 100 of its 56 stories, usually 24
RegionSoutheast Asia 32 in 100 of its stories, usually 27
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

Lebanon

94 of its 237 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Beirut accounted for 72 of Lebanon's 94 stories about harm, carried by 110 outlets. 48 of Beirut's 72 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Protests & strikes

Sudan

Khartoum accounted for 54 of Sudan's 65 stories about harm, carried by 135 outlets. 39 of Khartoum's 54 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (28 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Iran

Tehran accounted for 574 of Iran's 807 stories about harm, carried by 885 outlets. 316 of Tehran's 574 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (106 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Switzerland

90 of its 300 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 18%. Storms were named in 38 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with earthquake and wildfires. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Pakistan

Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (54 stories). Avalanche was named in 70 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with heavy rain, storms and extreme cold. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Iraq

Baghdad accounted for 78 of Iraq's 127 stories about harm, carried by 137 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (9 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Gambia

33 of its 56 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: avalanche in Pakistan (70 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); storms in Switzerland (38 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); covid in China (111 of its stories, about three times its usual); illness in Fiji (10 of its stories, about three times its usual); extreme cold in Canada (80 of its stories, about 7 times its usual).

18 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 20; 19 the day before
24 in 10017 in 10017 Dec24 Dec31 Dec7 Jan15 Jan17 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 1006 Jan: 20 in 1007 Jan: 20 in 1008 Jan: 21 in 1009 Jan: 20 in 10010 Jan: 21 in 10011 Jan: 23 in 10012 Jan: 22 in 10013 Jan: 19 in 10014 Jan: 19 in 10015 Jan: 18 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 15 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 20,067 stories about harm among 114,113 counted on 15 Jan.

Read the day's briefing

18 in every 100 of the day's 114,113 news stories were about people being harmed, below the usual 20. A year earlier, on 15 January 2019, 18 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, the same as today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Damascus, Syria -- attacks & violence: 18 stories, carried by 31 outlets; harsh wording in 78 in 100Jakarta, Indonesia -- accidents & disasters: 47 stories, carried by 41 outlets; harsh wording in 85 in 100Maputo, Mozambique -- attacks & violence: 9 stories, carried by 58 outlets; harsh wording in 78 in 100Jammu, Kashmir -- attacks & violence: 83 stories, carried by 46 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Islamabad, Pakistan -- accidents & disasters: 53 stories, carried by 87 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100Shanghai, China -- accidents & disasters: 26 stories, carried by 158 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Vancouver, Canada -- accidents & disasters: 95 stories, carried by 83 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100Idlib, Syria -- attacks & violence: 49 stories, carried by 75 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tarragona, Spain -- accidents & disasters: 44 stories, carried by 135 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Berkshire, UK -- accidents & disasters: 41 stories, carried by 163 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Tagaytay, Philippines -- accidents & disasters: 7 stories, carried by 67 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Melbourne, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 82 stories, carried by 134 outlets; harsh wording in 82 in 100Beirut, Lebanon -- protests & strikes: 72 stories, carried by 110 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- attacks & violence: 67 stories, carried by 122 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Davos, Switzerland -- accidents & disasters: 35 stories, carried by 112 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Muzaffarabad, Pakistan -- accidents & disasters: 27 stories, carried by 98 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Khartoum, Sudan -- protests & strikes: 54 stories, carried by 135 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 78 stories, carried by 137 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Boston, US -- accidents & disasters: 176 stories, carried by 464 outlets; harsh wording in 81 in 100Los Angeles, US -- accidents & disasters: 234 stories, carried by 621 outlets; harsh wording in 85 in 100Sydney, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 164 stories, carried by 289 outlets; harsh wording in 80 in 100Philippine, Philippines -- accidents & disasters: 211 stories, carried by 268 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Wuhan, China -- disease & outbreaks: 115 stories, carried by 215 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Tehran, Iran -- protests & strikes: 574 stories, carried by 885 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 softer than usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.

● Angera little less than usual
● Warmthabout as usual
● Griefa little less 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?

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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.