← 14 Mar Sunday 15 March 2020 · to 23:59 UTC 16 Mar →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
22,167 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 people killed in Spain, violence in Baghdad and a disaster in Puerto Rico. Iraq's coverage was about 4 times as angry as the world's. Across the world, the tone of the words was much softer than usual.

Part of lifeHealth 82 in 100 of the stories about harm · much more than usual Country that rose mostSpain 49 in 100 of its 617 stories, usually 19
RegionCentral Asia 54 in 100 of its stories, usually 22
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 →
Health

Spain

304 of its 617 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Reports of people killed ran at about 5 times the usual rate (203 stories). Respiratory illness was named in 32 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Health

Italy

526 of its 846 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (12 stories). Plague was named in 33 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with tsunami. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Health

Philippines

417 of its 627 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. Manila accounted for 219 of the Philippines' 417 stories about harm, carried by 74 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (191 stories).

Health

US

7,666 of its 17,768 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of people falling ill ran at about twice the usual rate (89 stories). Dengue was named in 51 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual.

Health

Zimbabwe

75 of its 196 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (34 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Health

China

Wuhan accounted for 409 of China's 1,051 stories about harm, carried by 406 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (26 stories). Tuberculosis was named in 29 of its stories about harm, about 10 times usual, with measles.

Health

Iran

Tehran accounted for 113 of Iran's 224 stories about harm, carried by 265 outlets. Respiratory illness was named in 34 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Syria

Idlib accounted for 60 of Syria's 100 stories about harm, carried by 117 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about 4 times as angry as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Also named far more than usual: respiratory illness in Iran (34 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); malaria in Germany (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); gas explosion in Nigeria (13 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); tuberculosis in China (29 of its stories, about 10 times its usual); dengue in US (51 of its stories, about 9 times its usual).

37 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 25; 36 the day before
37 in 10020 in 10015 Feb22 Feb29 Feb7 Mar15 Mar15 Feb: 22 in 10016 Feb: 23 in 10017 Feb: 21 in 10018 Feb: 20 in 10019 Feb: 20 in 10020 Feb: 20 in 10021 Feb: 20 in 10022 Feb: 21 in 10023 Feb: 21 in 10024 Feb: 21 in 10025 Feb: 22 in 10026 Feb: 22 in 10027 Feb: 23 in 10028 Feb: 24 in 10029 Feb: 26 in 1001 Mar: 25 in 1002 Mar: 24 in 1003 Mar: 25 in 1004 Mar: 25 in 1005 Mar: 25 in 1006 Mar: 26 in 1007 Mar: 27 in 1008 Mar: 28 in 1009 Mar: 27 in 10010 Mar: 28 in 10011 Mar: 29 in 10012 Mar: 31 in 10013 Mar: 33 in 10014 Mar: 36 in 10015 Mar: 37 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 15 Mar. 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 22,167 stories about harm among 59,809 counted on 15 Mar.

Read the day's briefing

37 in every 100 of the day's 59,809 news stories were about people being harmed, above the usual 25. No day had a higher share of stories about people being harmed in all 1536 days held. Spain stood out: 49% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 19%. Mentions of respiratory illness ran about 7 times their usual in Iran's news. This week the news turned most often to Iraq, on 5 of 7 days; help rose on 2 of them.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Darbar, Pakistan -- deaths, cause not given: 6 stories, carried by 3 outlets; harsh wording in 83 in 100Nablus, Palestine -- attacks & violence: 8 stories, carried by 4 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Lake District, UK -- accidents & disasters: 10 stories, carried by 8 outlets; harsh wording in 70 in 100Garissa, Kenya -- attacks & violence: 8 stories, carried by 6 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Benue, Nigeria -- attacks & violence: 10 stories, carried by 8 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Bamako, Mali -- attacks & violence: 12 stories, carried by 15 outlets; harsh wording in 58 in 100Rio de Janeiro, Brazil -- protests & strikes: 7 stories, carried by 7 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Bhopal, India -- attacks & violence: 17 stories, carried by 17 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Baramulla, Kashmir -- attacks & violence: 8 stories, carried by 12 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100San Bernardino, US -- accidents & disasters: 15 stories, carried by 44 outlets; harsh wording in 60 in 100Mashhad, Iran -- disease & outbreaks: 9 stories, carried by 11 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Jaisalmer, India -- people displaced: 23 stories, carried by 18 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Tripoli, Libya -- attacks & violence: 11 stories, carried by 43 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 29 stories, carried by 45 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Anantnag, Kashmir -- attacks & violence: 30 stories, carried by 24 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Lagos, Nigeria -- accidents & disasters: 107 stories, carried by 70 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 66 stories, carried by 73 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Berlin, Germany -- disease & outbreaks: 56 stories, carried by 74 outlets; harsh wording in 70 in 100Grangeville, US -- protests & strikes: 7 stories, carried by 51 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Munich, Germany -- disease & outbreaks: 5 stories, carried by 89 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Idlib, Syria -- attacks & violence: 60 stories, carried by 117 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Tehran, Iran -- disease & outbreaks: 113 stories, carried by 265 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Barcelona, Spain -- disease & outbreaks: 30 stories, carried by 314 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Madrid, Spain -- disease & outbreaks: 135 stories, carried by 417 outlets; harsh wording in 93 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
● Griefabout two-thirds of 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.