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What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
23,308 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 affected in Hong Kong, violence in Tripoli and protests in Oslo (Norway) drew the news. Libya's coverage was about three times as angry as the world's. Everywhere we counted, the words were harsher than usual.

Part of lifeHealth 74 in 100 of the stories about harm · much less than usual Country that rose mostHong Kong 70 in 100 of its 94 stories, usually 45
RegionLatin America & Caribbean 46 in 100 of its stories, usually 41
Tone of the words Harsher than usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
6 more places the news pointed at
Health

Iran

Tehran accounted for 72 of Iran's 121 stories about harm, carried by 60 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (12 stories). Earthquake was named in 12 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Health

Afghanistan

119 of its 151 stories (79%) were about people being harmed, usually 71%. Kabul accounted for 52 of Afghanistan's 119 stories about harm, carried by 49 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Health

South Korea

Seoul accounted for 80 of South Korea's 98 stories about harm, carried by 343 outlets. Hunger was named in 11 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Health

North Korea

30 of its 46 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Respiratory illness was named in 10 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

Health

Uruguay

15 of its 18 stories (83%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Health

Portugal

22 of its 48 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Also named far more than usual: respiratory illness in North Korea (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hunger in South Korea (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); earthquake in Iran (12 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); flu in Japan (15 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); flu in South Africa (15 of its stories, about three times its usual).

36 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 38; 33 the day before
44 in 10033 in 10010 Apr17 Apr24 Apr1 May9 May10 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 10021 Apr: 37 in 10022 Apr: 37 in 10023 Apr: 37 in 10024 Apr: 36 in 10025 Apr: 37 in 10026 Apr: 39 in 10027 Apr: 37 in 10028 Apr: 37 in 10029 Apr: 36 in 10030 Apr: 35 in 1001 May: 35 in 1002 May: 37 in 1003 May: 38 in 1004 May: 36 in 1005 May: 35 in 1006 May: 35 in 1007 May: 34 in 1008 May: 33 in 1009 May: 36 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 9 May. 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 23,308 stories about harm among 64,188 counted on 9 May.

Read the day's briefing

In Hong Kong's news, mentions of hepatitis ran more than ten times their usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 36 in every 100 of the day's 64,188 stories, below the usual 38. A year earlier, on 10 May 2019, 18 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 36 today. In Hong Kong, 70% of the news was about people being harmed, where 45% is usual.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Balakot, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 6 stories, carried by 5 outlets; harsh wording in 83 in 100Towa, Japan -- accidents & disasters: 7 stories, carried by 6 outlets; harsh wording in 57 in 100Tambisan, Philippines -- attacks & violence: 6 stories, carried by 5 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Idlib, Syria -- attacks & violence: 7 stories, carried by 6 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Shenzhen, China -- protests & strikes: 6 stories, carried by 11 outlets; harsh wording in 67 in 100Fort Mcmurray, Canada -- accidents & disasters: 9 stories, carried by 10 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100Ljubljana, Slovenia -- protests & strikes: 5 stories, carried by 8 outlets; harsh wording in 80 in 100Pyongyang, North Korea -- disease & outbreaks: 10 stories, carried by 9 outlets; harsh wording in 80 in 100Pulwama, Kashmir -- attacks & violence: 10 stories, carried by 10 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kathmandu, Nepal -- protests & strikes: 8 stories, carried by 19 outlets; harsh wording in 62 in 100Buleda, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 7 stories, carried by 9 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 22 stories, carried by 30 outlets; harsh wording in 77 in 100Firozkoh, Afghanistan -- protests & strikes: 8 stories, carried by 12 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Surat, India -- protests & strikes: 29 stories, carried by 26 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Aurangabad, India -- accidents & disasters: 51 stories, carried by 31 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Apache County, US -- protests & strikes: 7 stories, carried by 25 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Caracas, Venezuela -- attacks & violence: 35 stories, carried by 38 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Cariboo Regional District, Canada -- people displaced: 5 stories, carried by 21 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Ghor, Afghanistan -- protests & strikes: 10 stories, carried by 22 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Athens, Greece -- protests & strikes: 35 stories, carried by 55 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Tampa Bay, US -- accidents & disasters: 76 stories, carried by 72 outlets; harsh wording in 83 in 100Tripoli, Libya -- attacks & violence: 44 stories, carried by 73 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Hong Kong -- disease & outbreaks: 46 stories, carried by 68 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Seoul, South Korea -- disease & outbreaks: 80 stories, carried by 343 outlets; harsh wording in 94 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 harsher than usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.

● Angerabout as 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?

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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.