← 22 Dec Wednesday 23 December 2020 · to 23:59 UTC 24 Dec →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
23,467 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 Baghdad, arrests in Türkiye and abductions in France drew the news. Iraq's coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Language across the world's news ran softer than usual.

Part of lifeHealth 63 in 100 of the stories about harm · more than usual Country that rose mostIraq 75 in 100 of its 200 stories, usually 49
RegionMiddle East & North Africa 38 in 100 of its stories, usually 34
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

Iraq

150 of its 200 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 49%. Baghdad accounted for 123 of Iraq's 150 stories about harm, carried by 444 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (116 stories). Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Rights & justice

Türkiye

138 of its 295 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (30 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Health

France

243 of its 649 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Reports of abductions ran at about 6 times the usual rate (11 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Conflict & violence

Central African Republic

40 of its 56 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 52%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Health

Thailand

105 of its 231 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Bangkok accounted for 61 of Thailand's 105 stories about harm, carried by 147 outlets. Outbreaks were named in 64 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.

Conflict & violence

Ethiopia

Tigray accounted for 39 of Ethiopia's 84 stories about harm, carried by 40 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (12 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.

Health

Chile

74 of its 120 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Reports of people falling ill ran at more than ten times the usual rate (6 stories).

Health

United Arab Emirates

103 of its 302 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 17%. Dubai accounted for 91 of the United Arab Emirates' 103 stories about harm, carried by 48 outlets.

Health

Taiwan

74 of its 160 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Taipei accounted for 51 of Taiwan's 74 stories about harm, carried by 46 outlets.

Also named far more than usual: outbreaks in Thailand (64 of its stories, about three times its usual); haemorrhagic fever in DR Congo (14 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); polio in Nigeria (15 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); snowstorms in Canada (18 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); storms in UK (26 of its stories, about 5 times its usual).

27 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 26; 27 the day before
28 in 10024 in 10024 Nov1 Dec8 Dec15 Dec23 Dec24 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 10023 Dec: 27 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 23 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 23,467 stories about harm among 86,953 counted on 23 Dec.

Read the day's briefing

Of the day's 86,953 news stories, 27 in every 100 were about people being harmed, above the usual 26. On 24 December 2019, a year earlier, the share was 18 in every 100, against 27 today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Zhang Wei, China -- accidents & disasters: 5 stories, carried by 11 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Phulpur, India -- deaths, cause not given: 22 stories, carried by 20 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Perth, Australia -- attacks & violence: 21 stories, carried by 41 outlets; harsh wording in 81 in 100Ayutthaya, Thailand -- disease & outbreaks: 9 stories, carried by 26 outlets; harsh wording in 44 in 100Ebola, DR Congo -- disease & outbreaks: 12 stories, carried by 12 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Ganderbal, Kashmir -- attacks & violence: 15 stories, carried by 14 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Ankara, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 25 stories, carried by 26 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Rockies, Canada -- accidents & disasters: 9 stories, carried by 14 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Whatcom County, US -- accidents & disasters: 12 stories, carried by 19 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tigray, Ethiopia -- people displaced: 39 stories, carried by 40 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Darfur, Sudan -- protests & strikes: 8 stories, carried by 31 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Bambari, Central African Republic -- attacks & violence: 10 stories, carried by 20 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sindhi, Pakistan -- protests & strikes: 5 stories, carried by 23 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Amhara, Ethiopia -- attacks & violence: 7 stories, carried by 23 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Newport, UK -- accidents & disasters: 30 stories, carried by 54 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Balochistan, Pakistan -- protests & strikes: 11 stories, carried by 31 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sioux Falls, US -- accidents & disasters: 14 stories, carried by 37 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 27 stories, carried by 52 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Bangui, Central African Republic -- attacks & violence: 21 stories, carried by 55 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Clermont-Ferrand, France -- attacks & violence: 38 stories, carried by 47 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 66 stories, carried by 84 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Dundar, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 31 stories, carried by 135 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Bangkok, Thailand -- disease & outbreaks: 61 stories, carried by 147 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 123 stories, carried by 444 outlets; harsh wording in 97 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
● 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.