← 21 May Saturday 22 May 2021 · to 23:59 UTC 23 May →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
12,582 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 →

The news turned to people killed in Rwanda, people displaced in China and protests in Aung Hlaing (Myanmar). Nigeria's coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's. Everywhere we counted, the words were much harsher than usual.

Help and hope: reports of peace efforts ran at about twice the usual rate →
Part of lifeHealth 48 in 100 of the stories about harm · less than usual Country that rose mostIceland 74 in 100 of its 72 stories, usually 28
RegionSoutheast Asia 44 in 100 of its stories, usually 37
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 →
Disasters & accidents

Rwanda

24 of its 38 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (20 stories). Natural hazards were named in 19 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Health

China

322 of its 1,032 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (9 stories). Landslides were named in 10 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Grief in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Conflict & violence

Nigeria

Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (218 stories). Plane crash was named in 104 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about three times as grief-stricken as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Health

Netherlands

56 of its 152 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of people injured ran at about 10 times the usual rate (13 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Health

Taiwan

55 of its 105 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Taipei accounted for 35 of Taiwan's 55 stories about harm, carried by 32 outlets. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Health

Kashmir

51 of its 85 stories (60%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Jammu accounted for 35 of Kashmir's 51 stories about harm, carried by 17 outlets. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Congo

13 of its 17 stories (76%) were about people being harmed, usually 52%. Natural hazards were named in 12 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Israel

Jerusalem accounted for 362 of Israel's 633 stories about harm, carried by 687 outlets. 212 of Jerusalem's 362 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Iceland

53 of its 72 stories (74%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Fagradalsfjall accounted for 50 of Iceland's 53 stories about harm, carried by 50 outlets.

Also named far more than usual: hurricane in Bermuda (24 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); natural hazards in Congo (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); wildfires in Greece (15 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); tsunami in Indonesia (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); road crashes in UK (34 of its stories, about 5 times its usual).

26 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 25; 24 the day before
28 in 10024 in 10023 Apr30 Apr7 May14 May22 May23 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 10016 May: 28 in 10017 May: 25 in 10018 May: 24 in 10019 May: 24 in 10020 May: 24 in 10021 May: 24 in 10022 May: 26 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 22 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 12,582 stories about harm among 47,539 counted on 22 May.

Read the day's briefing

On the side of help, reports of peace efforts ran at about twice the usual rate. On 22 May 2020, a year earlier, the share was 32 in every 100, against 26 today. Rwanda's news was 63% about people being harmed, against a usual 38%. of the day's 47,539 news stories, 26 in every 100 were about people being harmed, above the usual 25.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Marib, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 5 stories, carried by 5 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kishtwar, Kashmir -- attacks & violence: 5 stories, carried by 5 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Algiers, Algeria -- protests & strikes: 9 stories, carried by 10 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100Prince Edward Island, Canada -- deaths, cause not given: 7 stories, carried by 21 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 19 stories, carried by 20 outlets; harsh wording in 84 in 100Blitar, Indonesia -- accidents & disasters: 8 stories, carried by 10 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Khartoum, Sudan -- protests & strikes: 8 stories, carried by 27 outlets; harsh wording in 75 in 100Visakhapatnam, India -- accidents & disasters: 17 stories, carried by 21 outlets; harsh wording in 82 in 100Arabian Sea, India -- accidents & disasters: 14 stories, carried by 14 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Maiduguri, Nigeria -- attacks & violence: 6 stories, carried by 17 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Yangbi, China -- accidents & disasters: 17 stories, carried by 19 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Aung Hlaing, Myanmar -- protests & strikes: 20 stories, carried by 32 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kaduna, Nigeria -- accidents & disasters: 125 stories, carried by 76 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Kerem Shalom, Israel -- attacks & violence: 13 stories, carried by 52 outlets; harsh wording in 85 in 100Gaza, Palestine -- attacks & violence: 68 stories, carried by 64 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Union Parish, US -- protests & strikes: 14 stories, carried by 49 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Fagradalsfjall, Iceland -- accidents & disasters: 50 stories, carried by 50 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Athens, Greece -- accidents & disasters: 25 stories, carried by 117 outlets; harsh wording in 76 in 100Elizabeth City, US -- protests & strikes: 16 stories, carried by 78 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 55 stories, carried by 94 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Kivu, Rwanda -- accidents & disasters: 13 stories, carried by 63 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 10 stories, carried by 117 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Qinghai, China -- accidents & disasters: 48 stories, carried by 181 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- protests & strikes: 362 stories, carried by 687 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 much harsher than usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.

● Angerabout as usual
● Warmthabout as usual
● Griefa little more than 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.