El Salvador
22 of its 29 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (10 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
The day's news pointed at arrests in el Salvador, people injured in Malaysia and refugees in Yemen. Israel's coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. In the world's news as a whole, the wording was about as usual.
Part of lifeHealth
49 in 100 of the stories about harm · less than usual
Country that rose mostMalaysia
38 in 100 of its 375 stories, usually 26
RegionMiddle East & North Africa
50 in 100 of its stories, usually 44
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 →Malaysia
144 of its 375 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (6 stories). Respiratory illness was named in 25 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.
Yemen
16 of its 21 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 59%. Reports of refugees ran at about twice the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Israel
Jerusalem accounted for 719 of Israel's 1,310 stories about harm, carried by 929 outlets. 402 of Jerusalem's 719 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.
6 more places the news pointed at
Kashmir
65 of its 123 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Jammu accounted for 37 of Kashmir's 65 stories about harm, carried by 19 outlets. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
Nigeria
Reports of evacuations ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories). Plane crash was named in 17 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with gas explosion. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
Bermuda
19 of its 40 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Hurricane was named in 12 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.
Fiji
38 of its 95 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of people affected ran at about 6 times the usual rate (16 stories).
Taiwan
73 of its 165 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Taipei accounted for 50 of Taiwan's 73 stories about harm, carried by 47 outlets.
Mali
12 of its 22 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (6 stories).
Also named far more than usual: hurricane in Bermuda (12 of its stories, about three times its usual); wildfires in Greece (11 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); earthquake in China (46 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); road crashes in France (11 of its stories, about 9 times its usual); road crashes in UK (93 of its stories, about 8 times its usual).
24 in 100 stories were about harm
usually 25; 24 the day beforeStories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 21 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 20,976 stories about harm among 87,781 counted on 21 May.
Read the day's briefing
Help and hope: reports of peace efforts ran at about twice the usual rate. of the day's 87,781 news stories, 24 in every 100 were about people being harmed, below the usual 25. el Salvador stood out: 76% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 32%. Mentions of the hurricane ran about three times their usual in Bermuda's news. On 21 May 2020, a year earlier, the share was 32 in every 100, against 24 today.
- 24 in every 100 of the day's 87,781 news stories were about people being harmed (usually 25).
- El Salvador: 22 of its 29 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%.
- Malaysia: 144 of its 375 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%.
- Yemen: 16 of its 21 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 59%.
- Israel: Jerusalem accounted for 719 of Israel's 1,310 stories about harm, carried by 929 outlets.
- Help and hope: reports of peace efforts ran at about twice the usual rate.
- Mentions of the hurricane ran about three times their usual in Bermuda's news.
- Mentions of respiratory illness ran more than ten times their usual in Malaysia's news.
- Across the world, the words of the day's news were about as usual.
- A year earlier, on 21 May 2020, 32 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 24 today.
Written by code from the day's numbers.
Where harm was most of the news all →
Israel65 in 100 of its 2,008 stories · usually 62 · mostly conflict & violence Afghanistan56 in 100 of its 116 stories · usually 64 · mostly conflict & violence Mozambique54 in 100 of its 57 stories · usually 60 · mostly conflict & violence Kashmir53 in 100 of its 123 stories · usually 44 · mostly health Bangladesh53 in 100 of its 177 stories · usually 48 · mostly healthCountries with at least 50 stories that day.
Where people protested
Jerusalem Israel402 stories about protests or strikes, of its 719 Washington US148 stories about protests or strikes, of its 713 Chicago US74 stories about protests or strikes, of its 236 Manhattan US61 stories about protests or strikes, of its 155 New York US34 stories about protests or strikes, of its 220Stories, not people.
Where it happened
feelings in full →
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.
Biggest events
● Jerusalem Israel protests & strikes · 719 stories, 929 outlets ● Marib Yemen attacks & violence · 6 stories, 139 outlets ● Gulf of Mexico US accidents & disasters · 39 stories, 69 outlets ● Kabul Afghanistan attacks & violence · 37 stories, 87 outlets ● Tel Aviv Israel attacks & violence · 101 stories, 92 outlets ● Quetta Pakistan attacks & violence · 17 stories, 91 outlets ● Union Parish US protests & strikes · 13 stories, 118 outlets ● Tehran Iran attacks & violence · 48 stories, 82 outletsThe day in three measures
Parts of life 30 days →
Health49% 10,159 stories · less than usual (usually 53%) Rights & justice19% 3,841 stories · about as usual Conflict & violence12% 2,498 stories · more than usual (usually 10%) Disasters & accidents10% 2,108 stories · about as usual Deaths & injuries, cause not given4% 812 stories · about as usual Food & livelihood3% 552 stories · about as usual Shelter & services2% 480 stories · about as usual Displacement1% 311 stories · about as usualOf the stories about people being harmed, what part of life each was about. The mark is usual.
Harm reported 30 days →
Stories reporting people killed5,677 at about the usual rate Stories reporting people affected1,622 at about the usual rate Stories reporting arrests1,428 at about the usual rate Stories reporting people injured1,191 at about the usual rate Stories reporting people displaced180 at about one and a half times the usual rate · most about Israel and Nigeria Stories reporting refugees167 at about the usual rate Stories reporting abductions153 at about the usual rate Stories reporting evacuations97 at about the usual rate Stories reporting people falling ill34 at about one and a half times the usual rate · most about the US and the UKStories 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
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These are counts of stories, not counts of suffering. Most of what happens to people is never reported at all.