← 3 Mar Thursday 4 March 2021 · to 23:59 UTC 5 Mar →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
24,615 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 protests in Yangon (Myanmar), the tsunami in New Zealand and people injured in Sweden. Myanmar's coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Over the whole world, the tone was about as usual.

Part of lifeHealth 56 in 100 of the stories about harm · more than usual Country that rose mostNew Zealand 43 in 100 of its 1,025 stories, usually 24
RegionOceania 30 in 100 of its stories, usually 23
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 →
Protests & strikes

Myanmar

185 of its 201 stories (92%) were about people being harmed, usually 77%. Yangon accounted for 112 of Myanmar's 185 stories about harm, carried by 303 outlets. 109 of Yangon's 112 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (175 stories). Flooding was named in 31 of its stories about harm, about 9 times usual. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

New Zealand

440 of its 1,025 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (26 stories). Tsunami was named in 237 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with flooding and drownings. Anger in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Conflict & violence

Sweden

92 of its 198 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (66 stories). Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about three times its own usual.

Rights & justice

Ethiopia

62 of its 104 stories (60%) were about people being harmed, usually 51%. Tigray accounted for 49 of Ethiopia's 62 stories about harm, carried by 110 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

6 more places the news pointed at
Disasters & accidents

Iceland

31 of its 46 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reykjavik accounted for 26 of Iceland's 31 stories about harm, carried by 65 outlets. Volcanic eruption was named in 16 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual.

Disasters & accidents

Djibouti

12 of its 14 stories (86%) were about people being harmed, usually 19%. Reports of people affected ran at about 5 times the usual rate (5 stories). Drownings were named in 10 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

Protests & strikes

Senegal

21 of its 39 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. 8 of Dakar's 16 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (5 stories).

Conflict & violence

Iraq

148 of its 224 stories (66%) were about people being harmed, usually 55%. Baghdad accounted for 64 of Iraq's 148 stories about harm, carried by 182 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Hong Kong

62 of its 157 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. 12 of Sam Cheung's 23 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (7 stories).

Protests & strikes

Afghanistan

14 of Jalalabad's 27 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of abductions ran at about 4 times the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: volcanic eruption in Iceland (16 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); drownings in Djibouti (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); oil spill in Iran (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); accidents in Japan (15 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); natural hazards in Philippines (12 of its stories, about three times its usual).

25 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 26; 25 the day before
29 in 10024 in 1003 Feb10 Feb17 Feb24 Feb4 Mar3 Feb: 25 in 1004 Feb: 25 in 1005 Feb: 25 in 1006 Feb: 27 in 1007 Feb: 27 in 1008 Feb: 24 in 1009 Feb: 25 in 10010 Feb: 25 in 10011 Feb: 25 in 10012 Feb: 25 in 10013 Feb: 28 in 10014 Feb: 29 in 10015 Feb: 27 in 10016 Feb: 27 in 10017 Feb: 27 in 10018 Feb: 26 in 10019 Feb: 26 in 10020 Feb: 28 in 10021 Feb: 29 in 10022 Feb: 26 in 10023 Feb: 26 in 10024 Feb: 25 in 10025 Feb: 25 in 10026 Feb: 25 in 10027 Feb: 27 in 10028 Feb: 28 in 1001 Mar: 25 in 1002 Mar: 26 in 1003 Mar: 25 in 1004 Mar: 25 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 4 Mar. 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 24,615 stories about harm among 99,055 counted on 4 Mar.

Read the day's briefing

It was the seventh day running that the news turned to Myanmar. of the day's 99,055 news stories, 25 in every 100 were about people being harmed, below the usual 26. New Zealand's news mentioned the tsunami more than ten times as often as usual. Myanmar's news was 92% about people being harmed, against a usual 77%. On 4 March 2020, a year earlier, the share was 25 in every 100, the same as today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Kaliningrad, Russia -- attacks & violence: 7 stories, carried by 12 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Bamaga, Australia -- deaths, cause not given: 7 stories, carried by 15 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Pacaya, Guatemala -- accidents & disasters: 7 stories, carried by 16 outlets; harsh wording in 86 in 100Lilongwe, Malawi -- protests & strikes: 8 stories, carried by 21 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Ain al-Asad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 8 stories, carried by 16 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 26 stories, carried by 37 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Athens, Greece -- accidents & disasters: 32 stories, carried by 56 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Rockies, Canada -- accidents & disasters: 9 stories, carried by 16 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Honolulu, US -- accidents & disasters: 20 stories, carried by 43 outlets; harsh wording in 85 in 100Obock, Djibouti -- accidents & disasters: 9 stories, carried by 17 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Gulf of Oman, Iran -- accidents & disasters: 7 stories, carried by 20 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Beirut, Lebanon -- protests & strikes: 22 stories, carried by 39 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 21 stories, carried by 37 outlets; harsh wording in 86 in 100Jalalabad, Afghanistan -- protests & strikes: 27 stories, carried by 58 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Stockholm, Sweden -- attacks & violence: 26 stories, carried by 58 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Vetlanda, Sweden -- attacks & violence: 43 stories, carried by 62 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Tatvan, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 20 stories, carried by 71 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Reykjavik, Iceland -- accidents & disasters: 26 stories, carried by 65 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Jeddah, Saudi Arabia -- attacks & violence: 30 stories, carried by 96 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100North Island, New Zealand -- accidents & disasters: 109 stories, carried by 93 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 64 stories, carried by 182 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Gisborne, New Zealand -- accidents & disasters: 40 stories, carried by 128 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Mandalay, Myanmar -- protests & strikes: 34 stories, carried by 147 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Yangon, Myanmar -- protests & strikes: 112 stories, carried by 303 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 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

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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.