← 27 Jul Tuesday 28 July 2020 · to 23:59 UTC 29 Jul →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
30,131 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 →

Violence in Tripoli, protests in Baghdad (Iraq) and illness in da Nang drew the news. Iraq's coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Taken together, the world's news read softer than usual.

Part of lifeHealth 62 in 100 of the stories about harm · more than usual Country that rose mostSpain 42 in 100 of its 912 stories, usually 27
RegionOceania 30 in 100 of its stories, usually 27
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 →
Conflict & violence

Libya

39 of its 76 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Tripoli accounted for 26 of Libya's 39 stories about harm, carried by 46 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (18 stories). 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.

Libya over 30 days → its stories → Tripoli stories →
Protests & strikes

Iraq

Baghdad accounted for 33 of Iraq's 51 stories about harm, carried by 37 outlets. 21 of Baghdad's 33 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (13 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Iraq over 30 days → its stories → Baghdad stories →
Disasters & accidents

Puerto Rico

37 of its 48 stories (77%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. Tropical storm was named in 17 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with heavy rain. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Puerto Rico over 30 days → its stories →
6 more places the news pointed at
Conflict & violence

Sudan

61 of its 85 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 62%. Darfur accounted for 36 of Sudan's 61 stories about harm, carried by 41 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about twice the usual rate (9 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

its stories →
Health

North Korea

55 of its 131 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Reports of arrests ran at about 6 times the usual rate (9 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

its stories →
Rights & justice

Malaysia

Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (103 stories). Drownings were named in 14 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

its stories →
Disasters & accidents

Guadeloupe

14 of its 14 stories (100%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Tropical storm was named in 13 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with hurricane.

its stories →
Health

Spain

379 of its 912 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

its stories →
Health

Switzerland

89 of its 240 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Flu was named in 24 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

its stories →

Also named far more than usual: tropical storm in Guadeloupe (13 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); covid in Burkina Faso (11 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); flu in Switzerland (24 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hurricane in Mexico (14 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); drownings in Malaysia (14 of its stories, about three times its usual).

29 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 31; 29 the day before
34 in 10029 in 10029 Jun6 Jul13 Jul20 Jul28 Jul29 Jun: 31 in 10030 Jun: 30 in 1001 Jul: 30 in 1002 Jul: 30 in 1003 Jul: 30 in 1004 Jul: 32 in 1005 Jul: 34 in 1006 Jul: 31 in 1007 Jul: 31 in 1008 Jul: 30 in 1009 Jul: 30 in 10010 Jul: 30 in 10011 Jul: 32 in 10012 Jul: 33 in 10013 Jul: 31 in 10014 Jul: 30 in 10015 Jul: 29 in 10016 Jul: 29 in 10017 Jul: 30 in 10018 Jul: 32 in 10019 Jul: 33 in 10020 Jul: 30 in 10021 Jul: 30 in 10022 Jul: 30 in 10023 Jul: 29 in 10024 Jul: 29 in 10025 Jul: 31 in 10026 Jul: 33 in 10027 Jul: 29 in 10028 Jul: 29 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 28 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 30,131 stories about harm among 105,402 counted on 28 Jul.

Read the day's briefing

It was the lowest share of stories about people being harmed since 10 March 2020. of the day's 105,402 news stories, 29 in every 100 were about people being harmed, below the usual 31. Guadeloupe's news mentioned tropical storm more than ten times as often as usual. On 29 July 2019, a year earlier, the share was 22 in every 100, against 29 today. In Libya, 51% of the news was about people being harmed, where 38% is usual.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where harm was most of the news all →

Sudan72 in 100 of its 85 stories · usually 62 · mostly conflict & violence Afghanistan69 in 100 of its 153 stories · usually 66 · mostly conflict & violence Mali64 in 100 of its 66 stories · usually 59 · mostly conflict & violence Yemen62 in 100 of its 60 stories · usually 71 · mostly disasters & accidents Iraq59 in 100 of its 86 stories · usually 56 · mostly rights & justice

Countries with at least 50 stories that day.

Where people protested

Washington US374 stories about protests or strikes, of its 1552 Portland US335 stories about protests or strikes, of its 377 Sydney Australia60 stories about protests or strikes, of its 254 Chicago US59 stories about protests or strikes, of its 307 Delhi India54 stories about protests or strikes, of its 319

Stories, not people.

Where the news was warmest

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Zimbabwe: about as warm as its own usual or lessZambia: about as warm as its own usual or lessYemen: about as warm as its own usual or lessVietnam: about as warm as its own usual or lessVenezuela: about as warm as its own usual or lessVanuatu: about as warm as its own usual or lessUzbekistan: about as warm as its own usual or lessUruguay: too little coverage to readMicronesia: too little coverage to readU.S. Virgin Islands: about as warm as its own usual or lessGuam: about as warm as its own usual or lessPuerto Rico: about as warm as its own usual or lessUnited States: about as warm as its own usual or lessSouth Georgia & South Sandwich Islands: too little coverage to readFalkland Islands: too little coverage to readCayman Islands: too little coverage to readIsle of Man: too little coverage to readUnited Kingdom: about as warm as its own usual or lessUganda: about as warm as its own usual or lessTurkmenistan: about as warm as its own usual or lessTurkey: about as warm as its own usual or lessTunisia: about as warm as its own usual or lessTrinidad & Tobago: about as warm as its own usual or lessTonga: too little coverage to readTogo: about as warm as its own usual or lessTimor-Leste: about as warm as its own usual or lessThailand: about as warm as its own usual or lessTanzania: about as warm as its own usual or lessTajikistan: about as warm as its own usual or lessTaiwan: too little coverage to readSyria: about as warm as its own usual or lessSwitzerland: about as warm as its own usual or lessSweden: about as warm as its own usual or lessEswatini: about as warm as its own usual or lessSuriname: too little coverage to readSouth Sudan: about as warm as its own usual or lessSudan: about as warm as its own usual or lessSri Lanka: about as warm as its own usual or lessSpain: about as warm as its own usual or lessSouth Korea: about as warm as its own usual or lessSouth Africa: about as warm as its own usual or lessSomalia: about as warm as its own usual or lessSomaliland: too little coverage to readSolomon Islands: about as warm as its own usual or lessSlovakia: about as warm as its own usual or lessSlovenia: too little coverage to readSingapore: about as warm as its own usual or lessSierra Leone: about as warm as its own usual or lessSeychelles: about as warm as its own usual or lessSerbia: too little coverage to readSenegal: about as warm as its own usual or lessSaudi Arabia: about as warm as its own usual or lessSão Tomé: too little coverage to readSamoa: about as warm as its own usual or lessSt Vincent: about as warm as its own usual or lessSt. Lucia: about as warm as its own usual or lessRwanda: about as warm as its own usual or lessRussia: about as warm as its own usual or lessRomania: about as warm as its own usual or lessQatar: about as warm as its own usual or lessPortugal: too little coverage to readPoland: about as warm as its own usual or lessPhilippines: about as warm as its own usual or lessPeru: about as warm as its own usual or lessParaguay: about as warm as its own usual or lessPapua New Guinea: about as warm as its own usual or lessPanama: about as warm as its own usual or lessPalau: about as warm as its own usual or lessPakistan: about as warm as its own usual or lessOman: about as warm as its own usual or lessNorway: about as warm as its own usual or lessNorth Korea: about as warm as its own usual or lessNigeria: about as warm as its own usual or lessNiger: about as warm as its own usual or lessNicaragua: about as warm as its own usual or lessNew Zealand: about as warm as its own usual or lessNiue: too little coverage to readNetherlands: about as warm as its own usual or lessCuraçao: too little coverage to readNepal: about as warm as its own usual or lessNamibia: about as warm as its own usual or lessMozambique: about as warm as its own usual or lessMorocco: about as warm as its own usual or lessWestern Sahara: too little coverage to readMontenegro: about as warm as its own usual or lessMongolia: about as warm as its own usual or lessMoldova: about as warm as its own usual or lessMexico: about as warm as its own usual or lessMauritius: about as warm as its own usual or lessMauritania: about as warm as its own usual or lessMalta: about as warm as its own usual or lessMali: about as warm as its own usual or lessMalaysia: about as warm as its own usual or lessMalawi: about as warm as its own usual or lessMadagascar: too little coverage to readNorth Macedonia: too little coverage to readLuxembourg: about as warm as its own usual or lessLithuania: about as warm as its own usual or lessLibya: about as warm as its own usual or lessLiberia: about as warm as its own usual or lessLesotho: about as warm as its own usual or lessLebanon: about as warm as its own usual or lessLatvia: about as warm as its own usual or lessLaos: about as warm as its own usual or lessKyrgyzstan: about as warm as its own usual or lessKuwait: about as warm as its own usual or lessKosovo: too little coverage to readKiribati: about as warm as its own usual or lessKenya: about as warm as its own usual or lessKazakhstan: about as warm as its own usual or lessJordan: about as warm as its own usual or lessJapan: about as warm as its own usual or lessJamaica: about as warm as its own usual or lessItaly: about as warm as its own usual or lessIsrael: about as warm as its own usual or lessPalestine: about as warm as its own usual or lessIreland: about as warm as its own usual or lessIraq: about as warm as its own usual or lessIran: about as warm as its own usual or lessIndonesia: about as warm as its own usual or lessIndia: about as warm as its own usual or lessIceland: about as warm as its own usual or lessHungary: about as warm as its own usual or lessHonduras: about as warm as its own usual or lessHaiti: about as warm as its own usual or lessGuyana: about as warm as its own usual or lessGuinea-Bissau: about as warm as its own usual or lessGuinea: about as warm as its own usual or lessGuatemala: about as warm as its own usual or lessGrenada: about as warm as its own usual or lessGreece: about as warm as its own usual or lessGhana: about as warm as its own usual or lessGermany: about as warm as its own usual or lessGeorgia: about as warm as its own usual or lessGambia: about as warm as its own usual or lessGabon: about as warm as its own usual or lessFrance: about as warm as its own usual or lessSt Pierre & Miquelon: too little coverage to readFrench Polynesia: too little coverage to readNew Caledonia: too little coverage to readFrench Southern Territories: too little coverage to readÅland Islands: too little coverage to readFinland: about as warm as its own usual or lessFiji: about as warm as its own usual or lessEthiopia: about as warm as its own usual or lessEstonia: about as warm as its own usual or lessEritrea: about as warm as its own usual or lessEquatorial Guinea: about as warm as its own usual or lessEl Salvador: too little coverage to readEcuador: about as warm as its own usual or lessDominican Republic: about as warm as its own usual or lessDominica: about as warm as its own usual or lessDjibouti: too little coverage to readGreenland: too little coverage to readFaroe Islands: too little coverage to readDenmark: about as warm as its own usual or lessCzech Republic: about as warm as its own usual or lessN. Cyprus: too little coverage to readCyprus: about as warm as its own usual or lessCuba: about as warm as its own usual or lessCroatia: about as warm as its own usual or lessCôte d'Ivoire: about as warm as its own usual or lessCosta Rica: about as warm as its own usual or lessDR Congo: about as warm as its own usual or lessCongo: about as warm as its own usual or lessComoros: too little coverage to readColombia: about as warm as its own usual or lessChina: about as warm as its own usual or lessHong Kong: about as warm as its own usual or lessChile: about as warm as its own usual or lessChad: about as warm as its own usual or lessCentral African Republic: about as warm as its own usual or lessCape Verde: too little coverage to readCanada: about as warm as its own usual or lessCameroon: about as warm as its own usual or lessCambodia: too little coverage to readMyanmar: about as warm as its own usual or lessBurundi: about as warm as its own usual or lessBurkina Faso: about as warm as its own usual or lessBulgaria: about as warm as its own usual or lessBrunei: too little coverage to readBrazil: about as warm as its own usual or lessBosnia and Herzegovina: about as warm as its own usual or lessBolivia: about as warm as its own usual or lessBhutan: about as warm as its own usual or lessBenin: about as warm as its own usual or lessBelize: too little coverage to readBelgium: about as warm as its own usual or lessBelarus: about as warm as its own usual or lessBarbados: about as warm as its own usual or lessBangladesh: about as warm as its own usual or lessBahrain: about as warm as its own usual or lessBahamas: about as warm as its own usual or lessAustria: about as warm as its own usual or lessAustralia: about as warm as its own usual or lessHeard & McDonald Islands: too little coverage to readArmenia: about as warm as its own usual or lessArgentina: about as warm as its own usual or lessAntigua & Barbuda: too little coverage to readAngola: about as warm as its own usual or lessAndorra: too little coverage to readAlgeria: about as warm as its own usual or lessAlbania: about as warm as its own usual or lessAfghanistan: about as warm as its own usual or lessJammu & Kashmir: about as warm as its own usual or lessAksai Chin: about as warm as its own usual or lessGaza: about as warm as its own usual or lessWest Bank: about as warm as its own usual or lessWestern Sahara (Moroccan-controlled): too little coverage to readWestern Sahara (Free Zone): too little coverage to readAzad Kashmir & Gilgit-Baltistan: about as warm as its own usual or lessSiachen Glacier: about as warm as its own usual or lessEast Jerusalem: about as warm as its own usual or lessAzad Kashmir & Gilgit-Baltistan: about as warm as its own usual or lessVatican City: too little coverage to readMarshall Islands: about as warm as its own usual or lessNorthern Mariana Islands: too little coverage to readAmerican Samoa: too little coverage to readChagos Islands: too little coverage to readSt. Helena: too little coverage to readPitcairn: too little coverage to readAnguilla: too little coverage to readBermuda: about as warm as its own usual or lessBritish Virgin Islands: too little coverage to readTurks & Caicos Islands: too little coverage to readMontserrat: too little coverage to readJersey: about as warm as its own usual or lessGuernsey: about as warm as its own usual or lessSan Marino: too little coverage to readSt Kitts & Nevis: about as warm as its own usual or lessCook Islands: about as warm as its own usual or lessAruba: too little coverage to readNauru: too little coverage to readMonaco: too little coverage to readMaldives: about as warm as its own usual or lessLiechtenstein: too little coverage to readWallis & Futuna: too little coverage to readSt. Martin: about as warm as its own usual or lessSt. Barthélemy: too little coverage to readMacao: about as warm as its own usual or lessNorfolk Island: too little coverage to readSint Maarten: too little coverage to readChristmas Island: too little coverage to readGibraltar: too little coverage to readMayotte: too little coverage to readUnited Arab Emirates: warmth about its own usualUkraine: warmth about its own usualEgypt: warmth about its own usualBotswana: warmth about its own usualAzerbaijan: warmth about its own usualUkraine: warmth about its own usualColorado, US -- health: 12 stories, carried by 15 outletsNew Mexico, US -- health: 14 stories, carried by 30 outletsPerth, Australia -- health: 20 stories, carried by 19 outletsSunshine Coast, Australia -- health: 12 stories, carried by 17 outletsColchester, UK -- health: 14 stories, carried by 16 outletsAccra, Ghana -- health: 38 stories, carried by 16 outletsKabul, Afghanistan -- conflict & violence: 70 stories, carried by 122 outletsZurich, Switzerland -- health: 12 stories, carried by 13 outlets
Warmer than its own usual The warmest eventsAbout as warm or lessToo little news

Each country shaded by the warmth in its news — care, help, gratitude — against its own last 30 days. Stronger colour: further above. Dots: the events whose coverage carried the most warmth, even where the event itself began as harm. Warm words, not good outcomes. Click a country or a dot.

Warmest news

No country's news was much warmer than its usual (a quarter or more).

Warmest events

● Colorado US about one and a half times as warm as the day's news · health · 12 stories ● New Mexico US about one and a half times as warm as the day's news · health · 14 stories ● Perth Australia about one and a half times as warm as the day's news · health · 20 stories ● Sunshine Coast Australia about one and a half times as warm as the day's news · health · 12 stories ● Colchester UK about one and a half times as warm as the day's news · health · 14 stories

The day in three measures

Parts of life 30 days →

Health62% 18,670 stories · more than usual (usually 60%) Rights & justice18% 5,237 stories · about as usual Disasters & accidents8% 2,253 stories · about as usual Conflict & violence5% 1,504 stories · about as usual Deaths & injuries, cause not given3% 1,039 stories · about as usual Shelter & services2% 602 stories · about as usual Food & livelihood1% 343 stories · about as usual Displacement1% 243 stories · about as usual

Of the stories about people being harmed, what part of life each was about. The mark is usual.

Harm reported 30 days →

Stories reporting people killed7,279 at about the usual rate Stories reporting arrests2,101 at about the usual rate Stories reporting people affected1,949 at about the usual rate Stories reporting people injured1,329 at about the usual rate Stories reporting evacuations136 at about the usual rate Stories reporting people displaced129 at about the usual rate Stories reporting refugees128 at about two-thirds of the usual rate · most about the US and Mexico Stories reporting abductions121 at about the usual rate Stories reporting people falling ill47 at about the usual rate

Stories 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
● Griefa little less 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

The week in human impact

Read the week →

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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.