← 29 Sep Wednesday 30 September 2020 · to 23:59 UTC 1 Oct →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
24,294 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 displaced in Armenia, arrests in Tanzania and illness in Buenos Aires drew the news. Armenia's coverage was about three times as angry as the world's. Language across the world's news ran softer than usual.

Part of lifeHealth 57 in 100 of the stories about harm · more than usual Country that rose mostAzerbaijan 44 in 100 of its 281 stories, usually 27
RegionEvery region about as usual
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

Armenia

103 of its 223 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Reports of people displaced ran at about three times the usual rate (14 stories). Natural hazards were named in 12 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual. Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Conflict & violence

Azerbaijan

125 of its 281 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Reports of people displaced ran at about three times the usual rate (22 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Iraq

73 of its 125 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. Baghdad accounted for 44 of Iraq's 73 stories about harm, carried by 88 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Health

Congo

33 of its 42 stories (79%) were about people being harmed, usually 59%. Ebola was named in 28 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual, with outbreaks.

Health

Fiji

Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (8 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Health

Tunisia

Tunis accounted for 23 of Tunisia's 28 stories about harm, carried by 81 outlets. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Health

Bangladesh

Tuberculosis was named in 11 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Also named far more than usual: ebola in Congo (28 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); hiv in Germany (48 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); outbreaks in Austria (11 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); hypothermia in Colombia (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hurricane in Netherlands (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

26 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 27; 25 the day before
31 in 10025 in 1001 Sep8 Sep15 Sep22 Sep30 Sep1 Sep: 27 in 1002 Sep: 27 in 1003 Sep: 27 in 1004 Sep: 27 in 1005 Sep: 29 in 1006 Sep: 31 in 1007 Sep: 29 in 1008 Sep: 27 in 1009 Sep: 27 in 10010 Sep: 27 in 10011 Sep: 28 in 10012 Sep: 30 in 10013 Sep: 30 in 10014 Sep: 27 in 10015 Sep: 27 in 10016 Sep: 27 in 10017 Sep: 26 in 10018 Sep: 26 in 10019 Sep: 29 in 10020 Sep: 28 in 10021 Sep: 26 in 10022 Sep: 26 in 10023 Sep: 26 in 10024 Sep: 26 in 10025 Sep: 26 in 10026 Sep: 28 in 10027 Sep: 27 in 10028 Sep: 25 in 10029 Sep: 25 in 10030 Sep: 26 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 30 Sep. 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 24,294 stories about harm among 94,943 counted on 30 Sep.

Read the day's briefing

For the third day running, the news turned to Armenia. Stories about people being harmed made up 26 in every 100 of the day's 94,943 stories, below the usual 27. Mentions of Ebola ran about 6 times their usual in Congo's news. On 1 October 2019, a year earlier, the share was 17 in every 100, against 26 today. Armenia stood out: 46% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 31%.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Rajouri, Kashmir -- attacks & violence: 22 stories, carried by 17 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sweida, Syria -- attacks & violence: 6 stories, carried by 20 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Ischgl, Austria -- disease & outbreaks: 8 stories, carried by 14 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Minsk, Belarus -- protests & strikes: 21 stories, carried by 21 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Alima, Congo -- disease & outbreaks: 14 stories, carried by 18 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Islamabad, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 47 stories, carried by 55 outlets; harsh wording in 83 in 100Artsakh, Azerbaijan -- attacks & violence: 39 stories, carried by 24 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Caracas, Venezuela -- protests & strikes: 13 stories, carried by 30 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Armanaz, Syria -- attacks & violence: 20 stories, carried by 31 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Karabakh, Russia -- attacks & violence: 18 stories, carried by 21 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Pantanal, Brazil -- accidents & disasters: 10 stories, carried by 40 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100English Channel, UK -- people displaced: 28 stories, carried by 92 outlets; harsh wording in 86 in 100Beirut, Lebanon -- attacks & violence: 67 stories, carried by 84 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Hathras, India -- protests & strikes: 109 stories, carried by 60 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Baku, Azerbaijan -- attacks & violence: 26 stories, carried by 38 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Ankara, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 34 stories, carried by 80 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Paris, France -- attacks & violence: 101 stories, carried by 148 outlets; harsh wording in 84 in 100Azeri, Armenia -- attacks & violence: 43 stories, carried by 57 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Yerevan, Armenia -- attacks & violence: 29 stories, carried by 59 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Lucknow, India -- deaths, cause not given: 44 stories, carried by 141 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 44 stories, carried by 88 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Portland, US -- protests & strikes: 119 stories, carried by 214 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Charlottesville, US -- protests & strikes: 68 stories, carried by 297 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Berlin, Germany -- disease & outbreaks: 97 stories, carried by 373 outlets; harsh wording in 55 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 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

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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.