Taiwan
60 of its 101 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Taipei accounted for 34 of Taiwan's 60 stories about harm, carried by 35 outlets.
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
The day's news pointed at illness in Taipei, violence in Burkina Faso and protests in Washington (US). Burkina Faso's coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Everywhere we counted, the words were much harsher than usual.
Part of lifeHealth
58 in 100 of the stories about harm · much less than usual
Country that rose mostTaiwan
59 in 100 of its 101 stories, usually 42
RegionNorth America
44 in 100 of its stories, usually 40
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 →Burkina Faso
14 of its 16 stories (88%) were about people being harmed, usually 61%. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
US
548 of Washington's 1,077 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (1,388 stories).
Bermuda
12 of its 28 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%.
6 more places the news pointed at
Mali
15 of its 22 stories (68%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
Denmark
18 of its 38 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Botswana
10 of its 18 stories (56%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories).
Malta
19 of its 44 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (9 stories).
Philippines
Manila accounted for 110 of the Philippines' 278 stories about harm, carried by 77 outlets. Earthquake was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.
India
Reports of people displaced ran at about twice the usual rate (8 stories). Natural hazards were named in 64 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.
Also named far more than usual: heavy rain in New Zealand (10 of its stories, about 9 times its usual); tuberculosis in Australia (14 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); natural hazards in India (64 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); heavy rain in Canada (19 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); earthquake in Philippines (10 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).
36 in 100 stories were about harm
usually 34; 32 the day beforeStories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 30 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 22,065 stories about harm among 61,951 counted on 30 May.
Read the day's briefing
Arrests were reported at about twice the usual rate, most often about the US and India. Stories about people being harmed made up 36 in every 100 of the day's 61,951 stories, above the usual 34. Mentions of heavy rain ran about 9 times their usual in New Zealand's news. A year earlier, on 31 May 2019, 19 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 36 today. Taiwan stood out: 59% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 42%.
- 36 in every 100 of the day's 61,951 news stories were about people being harmed (usually 34).
- Taiwan: 60 of its 101 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%.
- Burkina Faso: 14 of its 16 stories (88%) were about people being harmed, usually 61%.
- US: 548 of Washington's 1,077 stories were about protests or strikes.
- Bermuda: 12 of its 28 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%.
- Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about the US and India.
- Mentions of heavy rain ran about 9 times their usual in New Zealand's news.
- Mentions of tuberculosis ran more than ten times their usual in Australia's news.
- Across the world, the words of the day's news were much harsher than usual.
- A year earlier, on 31 May 2019, 19 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 36 today.
Written by code from the day's numbers.
Where harm was most of the news all →
Afghanistan71 in 100 of its 109 stories · usually 72 · mostly conflict & violence Philippines61 in 100 of its 456 stories · usually 56 · mostly health Taiwan59 in 100 of its 101 stories · usually 42 · mostly health Bangladesh55 in 100 of its 221 stories · usually 60 · mostly health Palestine55 in 100 of its 64 stories · usually 51 · mostly healthCountries with at least 50 stories that day.
Where people protested
Minneapolis US621 stories about protests or strikes, of its 695 Washington US548 stories about protests or strikes, of its 1077 Minnesota US212 stories about protests or strikes, of its 287 Atlanta US133 stories about protests or strikes, of its 176 Houston US125 stories about protests or strikes, of its 182Stories, not people.
Where it happened
feelings in full →
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.
Biggest events
● Minneapolis US protests & strikes · 695 stories, 1,263 outlets ● Washington US protests & strikes · 1,077 stories, 1,128 outlets ● Kabul Afghanistan attacks & violence · 64 stories, 93 outlets ● Kettle River Canada accidents & disasters · 10 stories, 32 outlets ● Loroum Burkina Faso attacks & violence · 6 stories, 26 outlets ● Kulgam Kashmir attacks & violence · 33 stories, 22 outlets ● Habibullah Pakistan attacks & violence · 5 stories, 14 outlets ● Kwale Kenya attacks & violence · 13 stories, 36 outletsThe day in three measures
Parts of life 30 days →
Health58% 12,650 stories · much less than usual (usually 74%) Rights & justice25% 5,435 stories · much more than usual (usually 9%) Disasters & accidents6% 1,294 stories · about as usual Conflict & violence5% 1,086 stories · about as usual Deaths & injuries, cause not given3% 670 stories · about as usual Shelter & services2% 390 stories · about as usual Displacement1% 219 stories · about as usual Food & livelihood1% 158 stories · about as usualOf the stories about people being harmed, what part of life each was about. The mark is usual.
Harm reported 30 days →
Stories reporting people killed6,358 at about the usual rate Stories reporting arrests2,340 at about twice the usual rate · most about the US and India Stories reporting people affected1,290 at about the usual rate Stories reporting people injured1,057 at about one and a half times the usual rate · most about the US and India Stories reporting evacuations127 at about the usual rate Stories reporting people displaced91 at about the usual rate Stories reporting abductions75 at about the usual rate Stories reporting refugees63 at about two-thirds of the usual rate · most about Palestine and the US Stories reporting people falling ill35 at about two-thirds of the usual rate · most about the US and CanadaStories that report it, not people: we count what reporters wrote, not what happened.
How it felt 30 days →
harshwarm
The words in the day's stories were much harsher than usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.
● Angerabout one and a half times usual
● Warmthabout as usual
● Griefabout one and a half times 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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These are counts of stories, not counts of suffering. Most of what happens to people is never reported at all.