← 29 Dec Wednesday 30 December 2020 · to 23:59 UTC 31 Dec →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
22,718 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 power cuts in Croatia, violence in Sanaa and people killed in Switzerland. Yemen's coverage was about three times as angry as the world's. Language across the world's news ran about as usual.

Part of lifeHealth 63 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostNorway 59 in 100 of its 130 stories, usually 20
RegionMiddle East & North Africa 43 in 100 of its stories, usually 35
Tone of the words About as usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Disasters & accidents

Croatia

151 of its 195 stories (77%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Petrinja accounted for 137 of Croatia's 151 stories about harm, carried by 281 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about 5 times the usual rate (23 stories). Power cuts were named in 18 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. 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.

Croatia over 30 days → its stories → Petrinja stories →
Conflict & violence

Yemen

169 of its 198 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 62%. Sanaa accounted for 102 of Yemen's 169 stories about harm, carried by 389 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 9 times the usual rate (116 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.

Yemen over 30 days → its stories → Sanaa stories →
Health

Switzerland

56 of its 161 stories (35%) were about people being harmed, usually 11%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (13 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Switzerland over 30 days → its stories →
6 more places the news pointed at
Disasters & accidents

Norway

77 of its 130 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Gjerdrum accounted for 66 of Norway's 77 stories about harm, carried by 177 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (61 stories). Landslides were named in 68 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with earthquake.

its stories →
Conflict & violence

Syria

84 of its 115 stories (73%) were about people being harmed, usually 52%. Damascus accounted for 46 of Syria's 84 stories about harm, carried by 63 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 9 times the usual rate (50 stories). Its coverage was about 4 times as angry as the world's.

its stories →
Conflict & violence

Saudi Arabia

107 of its 210 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Riyadh accounted for 71 of Saudi Arabia's 107 stories about harm, carried by 78 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (34 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

its stories →
Conflict & violence

Kashmir

83 of its 153 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (55 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

its stories →
Conflict & violence

Iran

108 of its 180 stories (60%) were about people being harmed, usually 48%. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (17 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

its stories →
Protests & strikes

Honduras

14 of its 20 stories (70%) were about people being harmed, usually 49%. 6 of Santiago de Puringla's 6 stories were about protests or strikes. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

its stories →

Also named far more than usual: landslides in Norway (68 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); cyclone in Mozambique (20 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); volcanic eruption in St Vincent (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); typhoon in North Korea (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); cyclone in Zimbabwe (12 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).

29 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 26; 29 the day before
31 in 10024 in 1001 Dec8 Dec15 Dec22 Dec30 Dec1 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 10024 Dec: 27 in 10025 Dec: 28 in 10026 Dec: 30 in 10027 Dec: 31 in 10028 Dec: 29 in 10029 Dec: 29 in 10030 Dec: 29 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 30 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 22,718 stories about harm among 77,059 counted on 30 Dec.

Read the day's briefing

Norway's news mentioned landslides more than ten times as often as usual. It was the third day running that the news turned to Croatia. of the day's 77,059 news stories, 29 in every 100 were about people being harmed, above the usual 26. A year earlier, on 31 December 2019, 20 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 29 today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where harm was most of the news all →

Yemen85 in 100 of its 198 stories · usually 62 · mostly conflict & violence Croatia77 in 100 of its 195 stories · usually 44 · mostly disasters & accidents Syria73 in 100 of its 115 stories · usually 52 · mostly conflict & violence Palestine65 in 100 of its 75 stories · usually 48 · mostly conflict & violence Iran60 in 100 of its 180 stories · usually 48 · mostly conflict & violence

Countries with at least 50 stories that day.

Where people protested

Washington US104 stories about protests or strikes, of its 743 Buenos Aires Argentina76 stories about protests or strikes, of its 106 Delhi India50 stories about protests or strikes, of its 304 Beijing China48 stories about protests or strikes, of its 214 Shenzhen China38 stories about protests or strikes, of its 46

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: about as warm as its own usual or lessMicronesia: too little coverage to readU.S. Virgin Islands: too little coverage to readGuam: about as warm as its own usual or lessPuerto Rico: too little coverage to readUnited 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 lessUnited Arab Emirates: about as warm as its own usual or lessUkraine: 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: too little coverage to readTimor-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: about as warm as its own usual or lessSyria: 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: too little coverage to readSlovenia: about as warm as its own usual or lessSingapore: 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 lessSão Tomé: too little coverage to readSamoa: too little coverage to readSt Vincent: too little coverage to readSt. Lucia: too little coverage to readRwanda: 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: about as warm as its own usual or lessPoland: 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: too little coverage to readPapua New Guinea: about as warm as its own usual or lessPanama: about as warm as its own usual or lessPalau: too little coverage to readPakistan: 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: too little coverage to readNigeria: 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: too little coverage to readNamibia: too little coverage to readMozambique: 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: too little coverage to readMexico: about as warm as its own usual or lessMauritius: about as warm as its own usual or lessMauritania: too little coverage to readMalta: 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: about as warm as its own usual or lessNorth Macedonia: about as warm as its own usual or lessLuxembourg: about as warm as its own usual or lessLithuania: too little coverage to readLiberia: about as warm as its own usual or lessLesotho: too little coverage to readLebanon: about as warm as its own usual or lessLatvia: too little coverage to readLaos: too little coverage to readKyrgyzstan: about as warm as its own usual or lessKuwait: about as warm as its own usual or lessKosovo: too little coverage to readKiribati: too little coverage to readKenya: 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: too little coverage to readJamaica: 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: too little coverage to readIndia: 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: too little coverage to readGrenada: 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: too little coverage to readEl Salvador: about as warm as its own usual or lessEgypt: about as warm as its own usual or lessEcuador: about as warm as its own usual or lessDominican Republic: too little coverage to readDominica: about as warm as its own usual or lessDjibouti: too little coverage to readGreenland: about as warm as its own usual or lessFaroe 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: too little coverage to readCongo: too little coverage to readComoros: 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: about as warm as its own usual or lessCanada: about as warm as its own usual or lessCameroon: about as warm as its own usual or lessCambodia: about as warm as its own usual or lessMyanmar: about as warm as its own usual or lessBurundi: too little coverage to readBurkina Faso: about as warm as its own usual or lessBulgaria: too little coverage to readBrunei: about as warm as its own usual or lessBrazil: about as warm as its own usual or lessBotswana: too little coverage to readBosnia 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: about as warm as its own usual or lessBelgium: about as warm as its own usual or lessBelarus: too little coverage to readBarbados: 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 lessAzerbaijan: about as warm as its own usual or lessAustria: too little coverage to readAustralia: too little coverage to readHeard & 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 lessCrimea: 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: about as warm as its own usual or lessMarshall 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: about as warm as its own usual or lessJersey: 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: too little coverage to readCook Islands: too little coverage to readAruba: 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: too little coverage to readSt. Barthélemy: too little coverage to readMacao: too little coverage to readNorfolk 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 readSaudi Arabia: warmth about its own usualLibya: warmth about its own usualMiami, US -- health: 150 stories, carried by 264 outletsReno, US -- deaths & injuries, cause not given: 22 stories, carried by 32 outletsTripoli, Libya -- displacement: 11 stories, carried by 11 outletsBharuch, India -- health: 12 stories, carried by 13 outletsSandringham, UK -- health: 10 stories, carried by 11 outletsMidlands, UK -- health: 10 stories, carried by 38 outletsDarfur, Sudan -- conflict & violence: 14 stories, carried by 21 outletsAccra, Ghana -- rights & justice: 22 stories, carried by 12 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

● Miami US about twice as warm as the day's news · health · 150 stories ● Reno US about one and a half times as warm as the day's news · deaths & injuries, cause not given · 22 stories ● Tripoli Libya about one and a half times as warm as the day's news · displacement · 11 stories ● Bharuch India about one and a half times as warm as the day's news · health · 12 stories ● Sandringham UK about one and a half times as warm as the day's news · health · 10 stories

The day in three measures

Parts of life 30 days →

Health63% 14,129 stories · about as usual Rights & justice13% 2,961 stories · about as usual Disasters & accidents9% 2,082 stories · about as usual Conflict & violence7% 1,597 stories · about as usual Deaths & injuries, cause not given4% 953 stories · about as usual Shelter & services2% 409 stories · about as usual Food & livelihood1% 220 stories · about as usual Displacement1% 196 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 killed6,551 at about the usual rate Stories reporting people injured1,559 at about one and a half times the usual rate · most about the US and Yemen Stories reporting people affected1,506 at about the usual rate Stories reporting arrests1,438 at about the usual rate Stories reporting people displaced156 at about one and a half times the usual rate · most about India and the US Stories reporting refugees146 at about the usual rate Stories reporting evacuations127 at about twice the usual rate · most about Norway and the US Stories reporting abductions126 at about two-thirds of the usual rate · most about Nigeria and the US Stories reporting people falling ill21 at about two-thirds of the usual rate · most about the US and India

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 about as 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

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.