← 29 Mar Monday 30 March 2020 · to 23:59 UTC 31 Mar →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
45,503 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 →

People killed in Brazil, people displaced in Somalia and a disaster in Antarctica drew the news. Somalia's coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Worldwide, the words used were softer than usual.

Part of lifeHealth 85 in 100 of the stories about harm · much more than usual Country that rose mostNigeria 65 in 100 of its 1,578 stories, usually 41
RegionSub-Saharan Africa 55 in 100 of its stories, usually 41
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

Brazil

126 of its 267 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (60 stories). Flu was named in 35 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with malaria. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Conflict & violence

Somalia

32 of its 42 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 55%. Reports of people displaced ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Health

Indonesia

162 of its 270 stories (60%) were about people being harmed, usually 53%. Jakarta accounted for 88 of Indonesia's 162 stories about harm, carried by 45 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (15 stories). Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

6 more places the news pointed at
Health

Nigeria

1,025 of its 1,578 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Reports of evacuations ran at about twice the usual rate (12 stories). Tuberculosis was named in 26 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.

Health

Mali

32 of its 40 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Health

Sudan

38 of its 52 stories (73%) were about people being harmed, usually 52%. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (6 stories). Illness was named in 17 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.

Health

Egypt

108 of its 196 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (18 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Health

US

15,751 of its 32,724 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (1,013 stories). Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Health

Spain

417 of its 873 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Tsunami was named in 17 of its stories about harm, about 7 times usual. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: illness in Sudan (17 of its stories, about three times its usual); illness in Iraq (17 of its stories, about three times its usual); hunger in Zimbabwe (19 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); malaria in France (23 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); house fires in Israel (21 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

41 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 34; 44 the day before
44 in 10024 in 1001 Mar8 Mar15 Mar22 Mar30 Mar1 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 10029 Mar: 44 in 10030 Mar: 41 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 30 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 45,503 stories about harm among 111,294 counted on 30 Mar.

Read the day's briefing

41 in every 100 of the day's 111,294 news stories were about people being harmed, above the usual 34. On 31 March 2019, a year earlier, the share was 19 in every 100, against 41 today. Brazil stood out: 47% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 34%.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Jodhpur, India -- people displaced: 16 stories, carried by 11 outlets; harsh wording in 75 in 100Khartoum, Sudan -- disease & outbreaks: 17 stories, carried by 14 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Maiduguri, Nigeria -- attacks & violence: 8 stories, carried by 7 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kottayam, India -- protests & strikes: 14 stories, carried by 12 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Puntland, Somalia -- attacks & violence: 9 stories, carried by 7 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Darfur, Sudan -- disease & outbreaks: 9 stories, carried by 8 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kirkuk, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 5 stories, carried by 8 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Jazan, Saudi Arabia -- attacks & violence: 12 stories, carried by 12 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Baghlan, Afghanistan -- protests & strikes: 9 stories, carried by 13 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100Hasakeh, Syria -- protests & strikes: 7 stories, carried by 8 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Ningbo, China -- protests & strikes: 18 stories, carried by 17 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Switzerland County, US -- accidents & disasters: 14 stories, carried by 16 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Hunan, China -- accidents & disasters: 11 stories, carried by 19 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- disease & outbreaks: 27 stories, carried by 25 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Lukla, Nepal -- people displaced: 8 stories, carried by 31 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Buriram, Thailand -- protests & strikes: 12 stories, carried by 14 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Timika, Indonesia -- attacks & violence: 13 stories, carried by 33 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Panama Canal, Panama -- accidents & disasters: 28 stories, carried by 99 outlets; harsh wording in 82 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 73 stories, carried by 90 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Brasilia, Brazil -- disease & outbreaks: 45 stories, carried by 69 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Hamedan, Iran -- protests & strikes: 17 stories, carried by 84 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Harare, Zimbabwe -- disease & outbreaks: 79 stories, carried by 141 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Sao Paulo, Brazil -- disease & outbreaks: 12 stories, carried by 175 outlets; harsh wording in 67 in 100Jonesboro, US -- accidents & disasters: 60 stories, carried by 216 outlets; harsh wording in 95 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
● Feara little less than 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.