← 1 May Sunday 2 May 2021 · to 23:59 UTC 3 May →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
10,639 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.

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The news turned to violence in Kabul, protests in Bogota (Colombia) and rights and justice in Tehran. Afghanistan's coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Across the world, the tone of the words was harsher than usual.

Part of lifeHealth 52 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostAfghanistan 75 in 100 of its 216 stories, usually 59
RegionCentral Asia 51 in 100 of its stories, usually 38
Tone of the words Harsher than usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Conflict & violence

Afghanistan

163 of its 216 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 59%. Kabul accounted for 101 of Afghanistan's 163 stories about harm, carried by 267 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about 4 times the usual rate (13 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Colombia

24 of its 50 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. 11 of Bogota's 11 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Rights & justice

Iran

104 of its 237 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Tehran accounted for 82 of Iran's 104 stories about harm, carried by 493 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 9 times the usual rate (36 stories).

Health

Israel

209 of its 401 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (130 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Conflict & violence

Chad

Ndjamena accounted for 15 of Chad's 18 stories about harm, carried by 22 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (13 stories). Illness was named in 12 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Myanmar

Yangon accounted for 33 of Myanmar's 46 stories about harm, carried by 69 outlets. 31 of Yangon's 33 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people displaced ran at about 4 times the usual rate (17 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Health

Malaysia

74 of its 224 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (10 stories). Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Protests & strikes

Germany

29 of Berlin's 35 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (27 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

Protests & strikes

North Korea

Pyongyang accounted for 35 of North Korea's 40 stories about harm, carried by 74 outlets. 26 of Pyongyang's 35 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Palestine

23 of its 37 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. Reports of people injured ran at about 5 times the usual rate (10 stories).

Also named far more than usual: illness in Chad (12 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); flooding in Ireland (18 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); heavy rain in UK (14 of its stories, about 9 times its usual); polio in India (15 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).

25 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 25; 25 the day before
28 in 10024 in 1003 Apr10 Apr17 Apr24 Apr2 May3 Apr: 27 in 1004 Apr: 28 in 1005 Apr: 26 in 1006 Apr: 25 in 1007 Apr: 25 in 1008 Apr: 25 in 1009 Apr: 25 in 10010 Apr: 27 in 10011 Apr: 28 in 10012 Apr: 25 in 10013 Apr: 26 in 10014 Apr: 25 in 10015 Apr: 24 in 10016 Apr: 25 in 10017 Apr: 27 in 10018 Apr: 28 in 10019 Apr: 25 in 10020 Apr: 25 in 10021 Apr: 24 in 10022 Apr: 24 in 10023 Apr: 24 in 10024 Apr: 28 in 10025 Apr: 28 in 10026 Apr: 24 in 10027 Apr: 24 in 10028 Apr: 24 in 10029 Apr: 24 in 10030 Apr: 24 in 1001 May: 25 in 1002 May: 25 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 2 May. 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 10,639 stories about harm among 42,321 counted on 2 May.

Read the day's briefing

Ireland's news mentioned flooding more than ten times as often as usual. 25 in every 100 of the day's 42,321 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. For the second day running, the news turned to Afghanistan. On 2 May 2020, a year earlier, the share was 37 in every 100, against 25 today. Afghanistan's news was 75% about people being harmed, against a usual 59%. This week the news turned most often to Burkina Faso, on 4 of 7 days.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Abakaliki, Nigeria -- protests & strikes: 10 stories, carried by 9 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Northern Ireland, UK -- attacks & violence: 29 stories, carried by 28 outlets; harsh wording in 86 in 100Prince Edward Island, Canada -- deaths, cause not given: 9 stories, carried by 27 outlets; harsh wording in 78 in 100Mandalay, Myanmar -- protests & strikes: 5 stories, carried by 8 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Abuja, Nigeria -- attacks & violence: 46 stories, carried by 33 outlets; harsh wording in 78 in 100Faisalabad, Pakistan -- protests & strikes: 7 stories, carried by 15 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 13 stories, carried by 19 outlets; harsh wording in 85 in 100Istanbul, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 19 stories, carried by 27 outlets; harsh wording in 84 in 100Tahoua, Niger -- attacks & violence: 5 stories, carried by 10 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Nanggala, Indonesia -- accidents & disasters: 5 stories, carried by 11 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Ankara, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 10 stories, carried by 15 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Bogota, Colombia -- protests & strikes: 11 stories, carried by 12 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Ndjamena, Chad -- attacks & violence: 15 stories, carried by 22 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Mogadishu, Somalia -- attacks & violence: 13 stories, carried by 23 outlets; harsh wording in 77 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- attacks & violence: 77 stories, carried by 70 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 7 stories, carried by 21 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Havana, Cuba -- protests & strikes: 15 stories, carried by 42 outlets; harsh wording in 87 in 100Brussels, Belgium -- protests & strikes: 14 stories, carried by 73 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Pyongyang, North Korea -- protests & strikes: 35 stories, carried by 74 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Yangon, Myanmar -- protests & strikes: 33 stories, carried by 69 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 101 stories, carried by 267 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Berlin, Germany -- protests & strikes: 35 stories, carried by 270 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100San Diego, US -- accidents & disasters: 94 stories, carried by 364 outlets; harsh wording in 80 in 100Green Bay, US -- attacks & violence: 77 stories, carried by 481 outlets; harsh wording in 100 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 harsher 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.