← 3 Feb Thursday 4 February 2021 · to 23:59 UTC 5 Feb →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
25,425 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 abductions in Uganda, violence in Tehran and protests in Beirut (Lebanon). Uganda's coverage was about three times as angry as the world's. Over the whole world, the tone was softer than usual.

Part of lifeHealth 57 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostUganda 71 in 100 of its 212 stories, usually 45
RegionMiddle East & North Africa 38 in 100 of its stories, usually 36
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 →
Rights & justice

Uganda

151 of its 212 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Reports of abductions ran at more than ten times the usual rate (60 stories). Illness was named in 35 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Conflict & violence

Iran

177 of its 300 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Tehran accounted for 108 of Iran's 177 stories about harm, carried by 193 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 6 times the usual rate (54 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Lebanon

139 of its 233 stories (60%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Beirut accounted for 114 of Lebanon's 139 stories about harm, carried by 205 outlets. 58 of Beirut's 114 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Protests & strikes

Nepal

41 of its 77 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Kathmandu accounted for 35 of Nepal's 41 stories about harm, carried by 100 outlets. 28 of Kathmandu's 35 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about 9 times the usual rate (24 stories).

Protests & strikes

Türkiye

94 of its 222 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. 20 of Istanbul's 34 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (42 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Russia

Moscow accounted for 228 of Russia's 363 stories about harm, carried by 406 outlets. 146 of Moscow's 228 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people falling ill ran at more than ten times the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Myanmar

137 of its 213 stories (64%) were about people being harmed, usually 52%. Yangon accounted for 47 of Myanmar's 137 stories about harm, carried by 61 outlets. 42 of Yangon's 47 stories were about protests or strikes.

Protests & strikes

Angola

11 of its 22 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. 3 of Cafunfo's 4 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 6 times the usual rate (5 stories).

Health

Romania

61 of its 131 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Reports of people affected ran at about 6 times the usual rate (27 stories).

Also named far more than usual: natural hazards in Somalia (10 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); storms in Australia (17 of its stories, about three times its usual); ebola in China (15 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); hepatitis in UK (24 of its stories, about 6 times its usual).

25 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 27; 25 the day before
31 in 10025 in 1006 Jan13 Jan20 Jan27 Jan4 Feb6 Jan: 27 in 1007 Jan: 28 in 1008 Jan: 29 in 1009 Jan: 31 in 10010 Jan: 31 in 10011 Jan: 27 in 10012 Jan: 27 in 10013 Jan: 27 in 10014 Jan: 27 in 10015 Jan: 27 in 10016 Jan: 29 in 10017 Jan: 29 in 10018 Jan: 27 in 10019 Jan: 27 in 10020 Jan: 26 in 10021 Jan: 26 in 10022 Jan: 26 in 10023 Jan: 28 in 10024 Jan: 28 in 10025 Jan: 26 in 10026 Jan: 26 in 10027 Jan: 26 in 10028 Jan: 26 in 10029 Jan: 26 in 10030 Jan: 27 in 10031 Jan: 28 in 1001 Feb: 25 in 1002 Feb: 25 in 1003 Feb: 25 in 1004 Feb: 25 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 4 Feb. 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 25,425 stories about harm among 103,178 counted on 4 Feb.

Read the day's briefing

The share of stories about people being harmed was the lowest since 10 December 2020. Mentions of storms ran about three times their usual in Australia's news. On 5 February 2020, a year earlier, the share was 20 in every 100, against 25 today. Stories about people being harmed made up 25 in every 100 of the day's 103,178 stories, below the usual 27.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
North Waziristan, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 6 stories, carried by 10 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tamaulipas, Mexico -- attacks & violence: 10 stories, carried by 18 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Prince Edward Island, Canada -- deaths, cause not given: 5 stories, carried by 23 outlets; harsh wording in 80 in 100Bihar, India -- protests & strikes: 13 stories, carried by 15 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100English Channel, UK -- accidents & disasters: 11 stories, carried by 41 outlets; harsh wording in 73 in 100Sanaa, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 16 stories, carried by 26 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Damascus, Syria -- attacks & violence: 31 stories, carried by 35 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Jordan Valley, Israel -- attacks & violence: 10 stories, carried by 45 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Alexandria, Egypt -- protests & strikes: 33 stories, carried by 35 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Istanbul, Türkiye -- protests & strikes: 34 stories, carried by 46 outlets; harsh wording in 85 in 100Tigray, Ethiopia -- people displaced: 35 stories, carried by 78 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Bogazici, Türkiye -- protests & strikes: 9 stories, carried by 34 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Perth, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 64 stories, carried by 71 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 34 stories, carried by 74 outlets; harsh wording in 82 in 100Yangon, Myanmar -- protests & strikes: 47 stories, carried by 61 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Seattle, US -- protests & strikes: 77 stories, carried by 143 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Kathmandu, Nepal -- protests & strikes: 35 stories, carried by 100 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Delhi, India -- protests & strikes: 418 stories, carried by 189 outlets; harsh wording in 84 in 100Beirut, Lebanon -- protests & strikes: 114 stories, carried by 205 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 108 stories, carried by 193 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Arabian Peninsula, Saudi Arabia -- attacks & violence: 8 stories, carried by 142 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kenosha, US -- protests & strikes: 103 stories, carried by 280 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Naypyitaw, Myanmar -- protests & strikes: 19 stories, carried by 145 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Moscow, Russia -- protests & strikes: 228 stories, carried by 406 outlets; harsh wording in 91 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

The week in human impact

Read the week →

Unlock a year of trends, free. Follow up to 5 countries, with a bell when their news changes, and 👍 vote for Pro — ten years of the archive, any period, daily alerts.

Create a free account

Sign in · a username, an email and a password.

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.