Belgium
68 of its 179 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Brussels accounted for 54 of Belgium's 68 stories about harm, carried by 121 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (6 stories).
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 Brussels, people injured in Yemen and protests in Bamako (Mali). Yemen's coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. In the world's news as a whole, the wording was softer than usual.
Part of lifeHealth
63 in 100 of the stories about harm · more than usual
Country that rose mostPapua New Guinea
74 in 100 of its 80 stories, usually 36
RegionCentral Asia
57 in 100 of its stories, usually 43
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 →Yemen
41 of its 48 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 71%. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (9 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Mali
Bamako accounted for 26 of Mali's 36 stories about harm, carried by 41 outlets. 22 of Bamako's 26 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Papua New Guinea
59 of its 80 stories (74%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Earthquake was named in 52 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual, with tsunami.
6 more places the news pointed at
Iran
123 of its 229 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. Tehran accounted for 62 of Iran's 123 stories about harm, carried by 93 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
Norway
49 of its 157 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of arrests ran at more than ten times the usual rate (16 stories). Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Bangladesh
Dhaka accounted for 56 of Bangladesh's 128 stories about harm, carried by 61 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (23 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
Belarus
37 of its 86 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. 11 of Minsk's 21 stories were about protests or strikes.
Mongolia
12 of its 17 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 48%. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
Burkina Faso
10 of its 11 stories (91%) were about people being harmed, usually 60%. Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (7 stories).
Also named far more than usual: flooding in New Zealand (29 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); flooding in Indonesia (14 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); hiv in Syria (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); poisoning in Russia (24 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); heavy rain in China (24 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).
30 in 100 stories were about harm
usually 31; 29 the day beforeStories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 17 Jul. 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 30,069 stories about harm among 101,375 counted on 17 Jul.
Read the day's briefing
In Papua New Guinea's news, mentions of the earthquake ran about 8 times their usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 30 in every 100 of the day's 101,375 stories, below the usual 31. On 18 July 2019, a year earlier, the share was 22 in every 100, against 30 today. In Belgium, 38% of the news was about people being harmed, where 28% is usual.
- 30 in every 100 of the day's 101,375 news stories were about people being harmed (usually 31).
- Belgium: 68 of its 179 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%.
- Yemen: 41 of its 48 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 71%.
- Mali: Bamako accounted for 26 of Mali's 36 stories about harm, carried by 41 outlets.
- Papua New Guinea: 59 of its 80 stories (74%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%.
- Mentions of the earthquake ran about 8 times their usual in Papua New Guinea's news.
- Mentions of flooding ran about 4 times their usual in New Zealand's news.
- Across the world, the words of the day's news were softer than usual.
- A year earlier, on 18 July 2019, 22 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 30 today.
Written by code from the day's numbers.
Where harm was most of the news all →
Papua New Guinea74 in 100 of its 80 stories · usually 36 · mostly disasters & accidents Mali68 in 100 of its 53 stories · usually 63 · mostly conflict & violence Afghanistan62 in 100 of its 111 stories · usually 63 · mostly conflict & violence Syria61 in 100 of its 103 stories · usually 63 · mostly conflict & violence Kashmir58 in 100 of its 189 stories · usually 64 · mostly conflict & violenceCountries with at least 50 stories that day.
Where people protested
Washington US191 stories about protests or strikes, of its 1390 Portland US155 stories about protests or strikes, of its 184 Atlanta US46 stories about protests or strikes, of its 276 New York US45 stories about protests or strikes, of its 368 Manhattan US41 stories about protests or strikes, of its 236Stories, 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
● Portland US protests & strikes · 184 stories, 319 outlets ● Fort Bragg US protests & strikes · 10 stories, 138 outlets ● Kaziranga India accidents & disasters · 24 stories, 87 outlets ● Kokoda Papua New Guinea accidents & disasters · 16 stories, 73 outlets ● Yangtze China accidents & disasters · 23 stories, 65 outlets ● Kabul Afghanistan attacks & violence · 45 stories, 115 outlets ● Morobe Papua New Guinea accidents & disasters · 6 stories, 44 outlets ● Tehran Iran attacks & violence · 62 stories, 93 outletsThe day in three measures
Parts of life 30 days →
Health63% 18,891 stories · more than usual (usually 59%) Rights & justice17% 5,106 stories · less than usual (usually 20%) Disasters & accidents7% 2,096 stories · about as usual Conflict & violence5% 1,573 stories · about as usual Deaths & injuries, cause not given3% 1,016 stories · about as usual Shelter & services2% 622 stories · about as usual Food & livelihood1% 316 stories · about as usual Displacement1% 195 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 killed7,806 at about the usual rate Stories reporting arrests1,987 at about the usual rate Stories reporting people affected1,938 at about the usual rate Stories reporting people injured1,332 at about the usual rate Stories reporting refugees137 at about two-thirds of the usual rate · most about the US and the UK Stories reporting people displaced113 at about the usual rate Stories reporting abductions105 at about the usual rate Stories reporting evacuations105 at about the usual rate Stories reporting people falling ill52 at about the usual rateStories 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 softer than usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.
● Angerabout as usual
● Warmthabout as usual
● Griefabout as 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.