← 21 Dec Tuesday 22 December 2020 · to 23:59 UTC 23 Dec →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
23,887 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 →

Most of the day's attention went to violence in Tripoli, illness in Taipei and people affected in Fiji. Ethiopia's coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Taken together, the world's news read softer than usual.

Part of lifeHealth 66 in 100 of the stories about harm · more than usual Country that rose mostTaiwan 45 in 100 of its 176 stories, usually 26
RegionEurope 32 in 100 of its stories, usually 28
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

38 of its 69 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Tripoli accounted for 28 of Libya's 38 stories about harm, carried by 66 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (11 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Fiji

48 of its 81 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (14 stories).

6 more places the news pointed at
Health

Türkiye

105 of its 251 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (22 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Health

Thailand

114 of its 256 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Samut Sakhon accounted for 82 of Thailand's 114 stories about harm, carried by 80 outlets. Outbreaks were named in 75 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.

Health

UK

2,925 of its 7,551 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Wildfires were named in 10 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.

Health

United Arab Emirates

69 of its 275 stories (25%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (8 stories). Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Health

Mexico

110 of its 313 stories (35%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (8 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Conflict & violence

Sudan

Khartoum accounted for 36 of Sudan's 55 stories about harm, carried by 81 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (8 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: outbreaks in Thailand (75 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); poisoning in Russia (75 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); ebola in DR Congo (10 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); respiratory illness in Italy (15 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hunger in Afghanistan (10 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).

27 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 26; 27 the day before
28 in 10024 in 10023 Nov30 Nov7 Dec14 Dec22 Dec23 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 10030 Nov: 25 in 1001 Dec: 25 in 1002 Dec: 25 in 1003 Dec: 25 in 1004 Dec: 25 in 1005 Dec: 27 in 1006 Dec: 26 in 1007 Dec: 25 in 1008 Dec: 25 in 1009 Dec: 25 in 10010 Dec: 24 in 10011 Dec: 25 in 10012 Dec: 27 in 10013 Dec: 27 in 10014 Dec: 26 in 10015 Dec: 25 in 10016 Dec: 25 in 10017 Dec: 25 in 10018 Dec: 25 in 10019 Dec: 28 in 10020 Dec: 28 in 10021 Dec: 27 in 10022 Dec: 27 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 22 Dec. 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 23,887 stories about harm among 88,158 counted on 22 Dec.

Read the day's briefing

It was the second day running that the news turned to Libya. of the day's 88,158 news stories, 27 in every 100 were about people being harmed, above the usual 26. On 23 December 2019, a year earlier, the share was 19 in every 100, against 27 today. Libya's news was 55% about people being harmed, against a usual 39%.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Vanua Levu, Fiji -- accidents & disasters: 12 stories, carried by 13 outlets; harsh wording in 75 in 100Townsville, Australia -- deaths, cause not given: 6 stories, carried by 20 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Mogadishu, Somalia -- protests & strikes: 5 stories, carried by 12 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Ebola, DR Congo -- disease & outbreaks: 7 stories, carried by 9 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sanaa, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 7 stories, carried by 16 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 30 stories, carried by 32 outlets; harsh wording in 83 in 100Kankara, Nigeria -- attacks & violence: 26 stories, carried by 16 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Kottayam, India -- protests & strikes: 20 stories, carried by 17 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kulgam, Kashmir -- attacks & violence: 21 stories, carried by 21 outlets; harsh wording in 86 in 100Fraser Island, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 13 stories, carried by 20 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Ghazni, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 19 stories, carried by 34 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Rome, Italy -- disease & outbreaks: 30 stories, carried by 35 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 31 stories, carried by 52 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Yerevan, Armenia -- protests & strikes: 11 stories, carried by 45 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Bangui, Central African Republic -- attacks & violence: 13 stories, carried by 33 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Omsk, Russia -- disease & outbreaks: 14 stories, carried by 46 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tripoli, Libya -- attacks & violence: 28 stories, carried by 66 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Khartoum, Sudan -- attacks & violence: 36 stories, carried by 81 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Balochistan, Pakistan -- protests & strikes: 29 stories, carried by 52 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100San Juan County, US -- accidents & disasters: 14 stories, carried by 73 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Samut Sakhon, Thailand -- disease & outbreaks: 82 stories, carried by 80 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 67 stories, carried by 110 outlets; harsh wording in 87 in 100Halemaumau Crater, US -- accidents & disasters: 44 stories, carried by 132 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Moscow, Russia -- disease & outbreaks: 121 stories, carried by 209 outlets; harsh wording in 88 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
● Griefabout as usual
● Feara little more than 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.