← 14 May Saturday 15 May 2021 · to 23:59 UTC 16 May →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
12,468 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 Jerusalem (Israel), illness in Colombo and arrests in el Salvador. Israel's coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Everywhere we counted, the words were much harsher than usual.

Reports of refugees ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about Israel and Palestine →
Part of lifeHealth 50 in 100 of the stories about harm · less than usual Country that rose mostTaiwan 62 in 100 of its 112 stories, usually 29
RegionMiddle East & North Africa 55 in 100 of its stories, usually 40
Tone of the words Much harsher than usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Protests & strikes

Israel

995 of its 1,434 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 56%. Jerusalem accounted for 692 of Israel's 995 stories about harm, carried by 949 outlets. 354 of Jerusalem's 692 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at more than ten times the usual rate (117 stories). Building collapse was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Health

Sri Lanka

52 of its 102 stories (51%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Colombo accounted for 34 of Sri Lanka's 52 stories about harm, carried by 14 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Rights & justice

El Salvador

7 of its 12 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of arrests ran at about 4 times the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Health

India

1,378 of its 2,950 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Reports of evacuations ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories). Cyclone was named in 151 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with heavy rain, storms and landslides. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Colombia

31 of its 53 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 48%. 10 of Bogota's 13 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

Health

Taiwan

69 of its 112 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Taipei accounted for 58 of Taiwan's 69 stories about harm, carried by 83 outlets.

Health

Pakistan

80 of its 153 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Cyclone was named in 14 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

Health

New Zealand

94 of its 307 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Health

Peru

16 of its 39 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Also named far more than usual: tornadoes in China (63 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); cyclone in Pakistan (14 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); cyclone in India (151 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

26 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 25; 24 the day before
28 in 10024 in 10016 Apr23 Apr30 Apr7 May15 May16 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 1003 May: 25 in 1004 May: 24 in 1005 May: 24 in 1006 May: 24 in 1007 May: 24 in 1008 May: 26 in 1009 May: 27 in 10010 May: 25 in 10011 May: 25 in 10012 May: 25 in 10013 May: 24 in 10014 May: 24 in 10015 May: 26 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 15 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 12,468 stories about harm among 47,902 counted on 15 May.

Read the day's briefing

It was the eighth day running that the news turned to Israel. of the day's 47,902 news stories, 26 in every 100 were about people being harmed, above the usual 25. China's news mentioned tornadoes more than ten times as often as usual. Reports of refugees ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about Israel and Palestine. On 15 May 2020, a year earlier, the share was 33 in every 100, against 26 today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Ramallah, Palestine -- attacks & violence: 6 stories, carried by 8 outlets; harsh wording in 67 in 100Berea, Syria -- attacks & violence: 6 stories, carried by 6 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Port Harcourt, Nigeria -- attacks & violence: 8 stories, carried by 5 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 7 stories, carried by 10 outlets; harsh wording in 71 in 100Karachi, Pakistan -- accidents & disasters: 21 stories, carried by 8 outlets; harsh wording in 86 in 100Adelaide, Australia -- protests & strikes: 6 stories, carried by 11 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Osogbo, Nigeria -- protests & strikes: 8 stories, carried by 6 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Jakarta, Indonesia -- deaths, cause not given: 11 stories, carried by 17 outlets; harsh wording in 82 in 100Algiers, Algeria -- protests & strikes: 7 stories, carried by 14 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Shanghai, China -- accidents & disasters: 12 stories, carried by 20 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Yangon, Myanmar -- protests & strikes: 10 stories, carried by 18 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Khanqah Dogran, Pakistan -- deaths, cause not given: 5 stories, carried by 14 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Vienna, Austria -- attacks & violence: 11 stories, carried by 16 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Lakshadweep, India -- accidents & disasters: 17 stories, carried by 21 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Ashkelon, Israel -- attacks & violence: 30 stories, carried by 34 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Arabian Sea, India -- accidents & disasters: 47 stories, carried by 34 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Wellington, New Zealand -- attacks & violence: 19 stories, carried by 93 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100Bogota, Colombia -- protests & strikes: 13 stories, carried by 65 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Georgia, US -- accidents & disasters: 24 stories, carried by 121 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 41 stories, carried by 64 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Tuscarawas County, US -- protests & strikes: 9 stories, carried by 123 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Wuhan, China -- accidents & disasters: 96 stories, carried by 224 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Gaza, Palestine -- attacks & violence: 135 stories, carried by 356 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- protests & strikes: 692 stories, carried by 949 outlets; harsh wording in 99 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 much harsher than usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.

● Angera little more than 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.