← 28 Jan Wednesday 29 January 2020 · to 23:59 UTC 30 Jan →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
24,412 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 protests in Sanaa (Yemen), illness in Wuhan and the earthquake in Cuba. Afghanistan's coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Language across the world's news ran much softer than usual.

Reports of evacuations ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about China and the US → Help and hope: reports of vaccination ran at about twice the usual rate →
Part of lifeHealth 44 in 100 of the stories about harm · much more than usual Country that rose mostCayman Islands 97 in 100 of its 63 stories, usually 31
RegionEast Asia 60 in 100 of its stories, usually 30
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

Yemen

56 of its 70 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 64%. Sanaa accounted for 43 of Yemen's 56 stories about harm, carried by 29 outlets. 28 of Sanaa's 43 stories were about protests or strikes. Heavy rain was named in 29 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.

Health

China

4,661 of its 6,635 stories (70%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Wuhan accounted for 2,875 of China's 4,661 stories about harm, carried by 2,111 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about 10 times the usual rate (305 stories). Norovirus was named in 12 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.

Disasters & accidents

Cuba

40 of its 75 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Havana accounted for 29 of Cuba's 40 stories about harm, carried by 78 outlets. Earthquake was named in 34 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Afghanistan

174 of its 274 stories (64%) were about people being harmed, usually 51%. Plane crash was named in 25 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Health

Iraq

142 of its 206 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 60%. Baghdad accounted for 80 of Iraq's 142 stories about harm, carried by 254 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (10 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Jamaica

123 of its 278 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Earthquake was named in 93 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Madagascar

19 of its 32 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 4 times the usual rate (6 stories). Cyclone was named in 12 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.

Protests & strikes

Tunisia

17 of its 57 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. 6 of Tunis' 12 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Cayman Islands

61 of its 63 stories (97%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Cayman accounted for 44 of the Cayman Islands' 61 stories about harm, carried by 112 outlets.

Deaths & injuries, cause not given

Ethiopia

54 of its 94 stories (57%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. Reports of abductions ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories).

Also named far more than usual: earthquake in Jamaica (93 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); flooding in Brazil (20 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); cyclone in Madagascar (12 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); flooding in Kenya (15 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); road crashes in South Africa (10 of its stories, about 6 times its usual).

20 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 20; 20 the day before
24 in 10017 in 10031 Dec7 Jan14 Jan21 Jan29 Jan31 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 10016 Jan: 17 in 10017 Jan: 18 in 10018 Jan: 20 in 10019 Jan: 20 in 10020 Jan: 18 in 10021 Jan: 19 in 10022 Jan: 18 in 10023 Jan: 19 in 10024 Jan: 20 in 10025 Jan: 21 in 10026 Jan: 22 in 10027 Jan: 20 in 10028 Jan: 20 in 10029 Jan: 20 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 29 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 24,412 stories about harm among 121,131 counted on 29 Jan.

Read the day's briefing

Reports of vaccination, a sign of help, ran at about twice the usual rate. 20 in every 100 of the day's 121,131 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. Evacuations were reported at about twice the usual rate, most often about China and the US. the news turned to Yemen for the second day running. Mentions of the earthquake ran about 7 times their usual in Jamaica's news.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Balakot, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 13 stories, carried by 18 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Jizan, Saudi Arabia -- attacks & violence: 16 stories, carried by 19 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Ankara, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 20 stories, carried by 37 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Xinjiang, China -- protests & strikes: 7 stories, carried by 38 outlets; harsh wording in 86 in 100Khartoum, Sudan -- protests & strikes: 10 stories, carried by 43 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 43 stories, carried by 47 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Silgadji, Burkina Faso -- attacks & violence: 8 stories, carried by 25 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Minas Gerais, Brazil -- accidents & disasters: 24 stories, carried by 32 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tapachula, Mexico -- protests & strikes: 6 stories, carried by 64 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100White Island, New Zealand -- accidents & disasters: 15 stories, carried by 43 outlets; harsh wording in 87 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 29 stories, carried by 58 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Ramallah, Palestine -- attacks & violence: 33 stories, carried by 51 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Tripoli, Libya -- attacks & violence: 26 stories, carried by 52 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Berlin, Germany -- attacks & violence: 34 stories, carried by 87 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Canberra, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 52 stories, carried by 53 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Ghazni, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 46 stories, carried by 70 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Sydney, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 119 stories, carried by 148 outlets; harsh wording in 82 in 100Havana, Cuba -- accidents & disasters: 29 stories, carried by 78 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Cayman, Cayman Islands -- accidents & disasters: 44 stories, carried by 112 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Idlib, Syria -- attacks & violence: 69 stories, carried by 146 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Jackson County, US -- accidents & disasters: 31 stories, carried by 159 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Miami, US -- accidents & disasters: 164 stories, carried by 492 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- attacks & violence: 273 stories, carried by 371 outlets; harsh wording in 82 in 100Lucea, Jamaica -- accidents & disasters: 67 stories, carried by 186 outlets; harsh wording in 97 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 two-thirds of 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?

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.