← 27 Mar Saturday 28 March 2020 · to 23:59 UTC 29 Mar →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
29,820 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 news turned to illness in Jerusalem, protests in Sao Paulo (Brazil) and people killed in Botswana. Botswana's coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's. Everywhere we counted, the words were softer than usual.

Part of lifeHealth 85 in 100 of the stories about harm · much more than usual Country that rose mostPanama 85 in 100 of its 95 stories, usually 34
RegionCentral Asia 59 in 100 of its stories, usually 30
Tone of the words Softer than usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Health

Israel

157 of its 264 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Jerusalem accounted for 86 of Israel's 157 stories about harm, carried by 59 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (25 stories). Flooding was named in 11 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

Protests & strikes

Brazil

88 of its 184 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. 19 of Sao Paulo's 32 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (47 stories). Flu was named in 35 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual.

Deaths & injuries, cause not given

Botswana

10 of its 18 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Health

Panama

81 of its 95 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. the Panama Canal accounted for 55 of Panama's 81 stories about harm, carried by 228 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about 7 times the usual rate (61 stories).

Health

US

11,278 of its 22,140 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (663 stories). Accidents were named in 22 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual.

Health

UK

1,997 of its 4,203 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (702 stories). Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Health

Sri Lanka

75 of its 150 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (24 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Health

Spain

267 of its 547 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (7 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Health

Iran

Reports of people falling ill ran at about 4 times the usual rate (6 stories). Poisoning was named in 18 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: covid in Syria (40 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); outbreaks in Iraq (27 of its stories, about three times its usual); covid in Somalia (15 of its stories, about three times its usual); earthquake in Indonesia (14 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); poisoning in Iran (18 of its stories, about 8 times its usual).

43 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 33; 41 the day before
43 in 10024 in 10028 Feb6 Mar13 Mar20 Mar28 Mar28 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 10016 Mar: 37 in 10017 Mar: 38 in 10018 Mar: 39 in 10019 Mar: 40 in 10020 Mar: 40 in 10021 Mar: 41 in 10022 Mar: 43 in 10023 Mar: 40 in 10024 Mar: 40 in 10025 Mar: 41 in 10026 Mar: 41 in 10027 Mar: 41 in 10028 Mar: 43 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 28 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 29,820 stories about harm among 69,051 counted on 28 Mar.

Read the day's briefing

Of the day's 69,051 news stories, 43 in every 100 were about people being harmed, above the usual 33. On 29 March 2019, a year earlier, the share was 19 in every 100, against 43 today. Israel's news was 59% about people being harmed, against a usual 44%.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Aongatete, New Zealand -- deaths, cause not given: 5 stories, carried by 4 outlets; harsh wording in 80 in 100Almaty, Kazakhstan -- people displaced: 7 stories, carried by 6 outlets; harsh wording in 86 in 100Mogadishu, Somalia -- disease & outbreaks: 12 stories, carried by 5 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Katsina, Nigeria -- protests & strikes: 6 stories, carried by 6 outlets; harsh wording in 83 in 100Donbas, Ukraine -- attacks & violence: 6 stories, carried by 5 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Beersheba, Israel -- protests & strikes: 11 stories, carried by 7 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Evros, Türkiye -- people displaced: 6 stories, carried by 5 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Gaborone, Botswana -- deaths, cause not given: 5 stories, carried by 7 outlets; harsh wording in 80 in 100Ahwaz, Iran -- disease & outbreaks: 5 stories, carried by 5 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Merapi, Indonesia -- accidents & disasters: 5 stories, carried by 5 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Conakry, Guinea -- accidents & disasters: 5 stories, carried by 38 outlets; harsh wording in 80 in 100Kerala, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 9 stories, carried by 11 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Akure, Nigeria -- attacks & violence: 34 stories, carried by 20 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Morrisville, US -- accidents & disasters: 17 stories, carried by 17 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Damascus, Syria -- disease & outbreaks: 20 stories, carried by 29 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Sao Paulo, Brazil -- protests & strikes: 32 stories, carried by 37 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Idlib, Syria -- disease & outbreaks: 23 stories, carried by 47 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 61 stories, carried by 67 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Barranquilla, Colombia -- attacks & violence: 10 stories, carried by 123 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Rio de Janeiro, Brazil -- disease & outbreaks: 14 stories, carried by 90 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- disease & outbreaks: 35 stories, carried by 132 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Tehran, Iran -- disease & outbreaks: 72 stories, carried by 228 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Methodist Church, US -- protests & strikes: 23 stories, carried by 400 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 softer than usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.

● Angera little less than usual
● Warmthabout as usual
● Griefa little more 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.