← 19 Apr Monday 20 April 2020 · to 23:59 UTC 21 Apr →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
40,090 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 Canada, arrests in Burkina Faso and protests in Sarajevo (Bosnia). Burkina Faso's coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Worldwide, the words used were much harsher than usual.

Part of lifeHealth 79 in 100 of the stories about harm · less than usual Country that rose mostTanzania 63 in 100 of its 68 stories, usually 43
RegionEvery region about as usual
Tone of the words Much harsher than usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Health

Canada

1,563 of its 3,240 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (930 stories). Oil spill was named in 81 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Conflict & violence

Burkina Faso

27 of its 29 stories (93%) were about people being harmed, usually 68%. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (10 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Health

Poland

70 of its 143 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Reports of arrests ran at about 6 times the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Health

Bangladesh

179 of its 249 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 65%. Flooding was named in 12 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Health

France

Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (16 stories). Heatwave was named in 13 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Health

Senegal

21 of its 29 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Health

Ethiopia

33 of its 41 stories (80%) were about people being harmed, usually 55%. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (6 stories).

Health

Tanzania

43 of its 68 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (22 stories).

Also named far more than usual: flu in Switzerland (15 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); natural hazards in Malaysia (23 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); tsunami in Japan (30 of its stories, about three times its usual); flooding in Bangladesh (12 of its stories, about 8 times its usual); hunger in South Africa (26 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).

38 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 41; 42 the day before
44 in 10038 in 10022 Mar29 Mar5 Apr12 Apr20 Apr22 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 10031 Mar: 40 in 1001 Apr: 40 in 1002 Apr: 41 in 1003 Apr: 40 in 1004 Apr: 42 in 1005 Apr: 44 in 1006 Apr: 41 in 1007 Apr: 40 in 1008 Apr: 40 in 1009 Apr: 39 in 10010 Apr: 41 in 10011 Apr: 43 in 10012 Apr: 44 in 10013 Apr: 42 in 10014 Apr: 40 in 10015 Apr: 39 in 10016 Apr: 38 in 10017 Apr: 38 in 10018 Apr: 40 in 10019 Apr: 42 in 10020 Apr: 38 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 20 Apr. 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 40,090 stories about harm among 105,060 counted on 20 Apr.

Read the day's briefing

It was the lowest share of stories about people being harmed since 16 March 2020. In Switzerland's news, mentions of the flu ran about 5 times their usual. On 21 April 2019, a year earlier, the share was 23 in every 100, against 38 today. 38 in every 100 of the day's 105,060 news stories were about people being harmed, below the usual 41.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Ndjamena, Chad -- attacks & violence: 6 stories, carried by 6 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Luganville, Vanuatu -- accidents & disasters: 5 stories, carried by 5 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Najaf, Iraq -- protests & strikes: 7 stories, carried by 7 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Miranshah, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 7 stories, carried by 6 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Danmusa, Nigeria -- deaths, cause not given: 10 stories, carried by 10 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tripoli, Libya -- attacks & violence: 24 stories, carried by 20 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Rockhampton, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 5 stories, carried by 16 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100East London, South Africa -- protests & strikes: 6 stories, carried by 12 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Bamako, Mali -- attacks & violence: 9 stories, carried by 14 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Djibo, Burkina Faso -- attacks & violence: 14 stories, carried by 21 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Uruzgan, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 11 stories, carried by 19 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Zurich, Switzerland -- disease & outbreaks: 16 stories, carried by 36 outlets; harsh wording in 50 in 100Sao Paulo, Brazil -- protests & strikes: 21 stories, carried by 29 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Katsina, Nigeria -- attacks & violence: 43 stories, carried by 43 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 55 stories, carried by 52 outlets; harsh wording in 85 in 100North Waziristan, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 13 stories, carried by 30 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Damascus, Syria -- attacks & violence: 35 stories, carried by 101 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Tel Aviv, Israel -- protests & strikes: 32 stories, carried by 105 outlets; harsh wording in 84 in 100Brasilia, Brazil -- protests & strikes: 25 stories, carried by 74 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Geneva, Switzerland -- disease & outbreaks: 59 stories, carried by 120 outlets; harsh wording in 80 in 100Montreal, Canada -- attacks & violence: 68 stories, carried by 208 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Tuscaloosa, US -- accidents & disasters: 32 stories, carried by 189 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Gulf of Mexico, US -- accidents & disasters: 43 stories, carried by 204 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Portapique, Canada -- attacks & violence: 391 stories, carried by 898 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 harsher than usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.

● Angera little more 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.