← 28 Nov Sunday 29 November 2020 · to 23:59 UTC 30 Nov →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
12,306 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 →

Protests in Paris (France), people killed in the Bahamas and violence in Ghazni drew the news. Afghanistan's coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Across the world, the tone of the words was much harsher than usual.

Part of lifeHealth 53 in 100 of the stories about harm · much less than usual Country that rose mostBelarus 75 in 100 of its 51 stories, usually 40
RegionCentral Asia 40 in 100 of its stories, usually 36
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 →
Protests & strikes

France

178 of its 465 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Paris accounted for 134 of France's 178 stories about harm, carried by 239 outlets. 76 of Paris' 134 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (30 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Health

Bahamas

26 of its 39 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (13 stories). Respiratory illness was named in 18 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Afghanistan

144 of its 186 stories (77%) were about people being harmed, usually 60%. Ghazni accounted for 87 of Afghanistan's 144 stories about harm, carried by 219 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (105 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Protests & strikes

Belarus

38 of its 51 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. Minsk accounted for 32 of Belarus' 38 stories about harm, carried by 110 outlets. 31 of Minsk's 32 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (29 stories).

Conflict & violence

Nigeria

430 of its 953 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Reports of people displaced ran at about 8 times the usual rate (40 stories). Hunger was named in 22 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Iran

245 of its 403 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 51%. Tehran accounted for 177 of Iran's 245 stories about harm, carried by 403 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (24 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.

Health

Singapore

44 of its 123 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (14 stories). Illness was named in 30 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.

Protests & strikes

Cuba

16 of its 31 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. 5 of Havana's 7 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories).

Disasters & accidents

Indonesia

84 of its 128 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Volcanic eruption was named in 35 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with avalanche.

Also named far more than usual: illness in Singapore (30 of its stories, about three times its usual); volcanic eruption in Indonesia (35 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flooding in New Zealand (24 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); heatwave in Australia (43 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hunger in Nigeria (22 of its stories, about 8 times its usual).

26 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 26; 26 the day before
30 in 10023 in 1006 Oct15 Oct11 Nov21 Nov29 Nov6 Oct: 27 in 1007 Oct: 26 in 1009 Oct: 28 in 10010 Oct: 28 in 10011 Oct: 29 in 10012 Oct: 27 in 10014 Oct: 26 in 10015 Oct: 25 in 10018 Oct: 29 in 10019 Oct: 26 in 10022 Oct: 25 in 10023 Oct: 27 in 10027 Oct: 26 in 1005 Nov: 23 in 10011 Nov: 25 in 10012 Nov: 26 in 10013 Nov: 27 in 10015 Nov: 30 in 10018 Nov: 26 in 10019 Nov: 26 in 10020 Nov: 26 in 10021 Nov: 26 in 10022 Nov: 28 in 10023 Nov: 26 in 10024 Nov: 25 in 10025 Nov: 25 in 10026 Nov: 25 in 10027 Nov: 25 in 10028 Nov: 26 in 10029 Nov: 26 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 29 Nov. 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 12,306 stories about harm among 46,744 counted on 29 Nov.

Read the day's briefing

In Indonesia's news, mentions of volcanic eruption ran more than ten times their usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 26 in every 100 of the day's 46,744 stories, as usual. It was the second day running that the news turned to France. On 30 November 2019, a year earlier, the share was 20 in every 100, against 26 today. France stood out: 38% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 29%. This week the news turned most often to Ethiopia, on 4 of 7 days; help rose on 4 of them.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Sacramento, US -- people displaced: 26 stories, carried by 31 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Wellington, New Zealand -- accidents & disasters: 41 stories, carried by 33 outlets; harsh wording in 73 in 100Sanaa, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 14 stories, carried by 17 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Madrid, Spain -- protests & strikes: 6 stories, carried by 16 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Raipur, India -- attacks & violence: 31 stories, carried by 36 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100San Bernardino, US -- accidents & disasters: 5 stories, carried by 55 outlets; harsh wording in 80 in 100English Channel, UK -- accidents & disasters: 18 stories, carried by 34 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Borno State, Nigeria -- attacks & violence: 36 stories, carried by 26 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Nassau, Bahamas -- disease & outbreaks: 15 stories, carried by 21 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Absard, Iran -- attacks & violence: 11 stories, carried by 23 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Bangkok, Thailand -- protests & strikes: 18 stories, carried by 36 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100Fraser Island, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 9 stories, carried by 42 outlets; harsh wording in 78 in 100Lossiemouth, UK -- accidents & disasters: 5 stories, carried by 47 outlets; harsh wording in 80 in 100Sydney, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 96 stories, carried by 105 outlets; harsh wording in 77 in 100Tampines, Singapore -- disease & outbreaks: 28 stories, carried by 49 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Havana, Cuba -- protests & strikes: 7 stories, carried by 71 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Bareilly, India -- attacks & violence: 18 stories, carried by 86 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Maiduguri, Nigeria -- attacks & violence: 77 stories, carried by 71 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 33 stories, carried by 122 outlets; harsh wording in 79 in 100Tigray, Ethiopia -- people displaced: 103 stories, carried by 262 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Minsk, Belarus -- protests & strikes: 32 stories, carried by 110 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Paris, France -- protests & strikes: 134 stories, carried by 239 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Ghazni, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 87 stories, carried by 219 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 177 stories, carried by 403 outlets; harsh wording in 99 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 much harsher than usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.

● Angera little more than 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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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.