Sri Lanka
172 of its 276 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. Colombo accounted for 123 of Sri Lanka's 172 stories about harm, carried by 281 outlets. Oil spill was named in 89 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual.
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 news turned to oil spill in Sri Lanka, people displaced in Iraq and arrests in Nicaragua. Iraq's coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's. Over the whole world, the tone was softer than usual.
Part of lifeHealth
51 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual
Country that rose mostSri Lanka
62 in 100 of its 276 stories, usually 40
RegionOceania
25 in 100 of its stories, usually 22
Tone of the words
Softer than usual
across the world's stories about harm
What the world's news was about today
how these are picked →Iraq
35 of its 50 stories (70%) were about people being harmed, usually 51%. Reports of people displaced ran at about 4 times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Nicaragua
34 of its 47 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories).
Switzerland
68 of its 189 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of people affected ran at about 5 times the usual rate (15 stories).
6 more places the news pointed at
Kashmir
70 of its 112 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 49%. Pulwama accounted for 32 of Kashmir's 70 stories about harm, carried by 22 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's. Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Dominica
35 of its 49 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Sudan
44 of its 65 stories (68%) were about people being harmed, usually 50%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Taiwan
81 of its 148 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. Taipei accounted for 55 of Taiwan's 81 stories about harm, carried by 71 outlets.
Somalia
16 of its 23 stories (70%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
Vietnam
94 of its 226 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (10 stories).
Also named far more than usual: tropical storm in Philippines (34 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); building collapse in Brazil (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flooding in Ghana (10 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); flooding in Ireland (11 of its stories, about three times its usual); heatwave in UK (16 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).
22 in 100 stories were about harm
usually 25; 23 the day beforeStories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 3 Jun. 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 20,846 stories about harm among 92,808 counted on 3 Jun.
Read the day's briefing
No day had a lower share of stories about people being harmed since 25 February 2020. the news turned to Sri Lanka for the third day running. A year earlier, on 3 June 2020, 35 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 22 today. of the day's 92,808 news stories, 22 in every 100 were about people being harmed, below the usual 25.
- 22 in every 100 of the day's 92,808 news stories were about people being harmed (usually 25).
- Sri Lanka: 172 of its 276 stories (62%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%.
- Iraq: 35 of its 50 stories (70%) were about people being harmed, usually 51%.
- Nicaragua: 34 of its 47 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%.
- Switzerland: 68 of its 189 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%.
- Mentions of oil spill ran about 6 times their usual in Sri Lanka's news.
- Mentions of tropical storm ran about 6 times their usual in the Philippines' news.
- Across the world, the words of the day's news were softer than usual.
- It was the lowest share of stories about people being harmed since 25 February 2020.
- It was the third day running that the news turned to Sri Lanka.
- A year earlier, on 3 June 2020, 35 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 22 today.
Written by code from the day's numbers.
Where harm was most of the news all →
Iraq70 in 100 of its 50 stories · usually 51 · mostly conflict & violence Sudan68 in 100 of its 65 stories · usually 50 · mostly conflict & violence Afghanistan64 in 100 of its 161 stories · usually 62 · mostly conflict & violence Kashmir62 in 100 of its 112 stories · usually 49 · mostly conflict & violence Sri Lanka62 in 100 of its 276 stories · usually 40 · mostly disasters & accidentsCountries with at least 50 stories that day.
Where people protested
Washington US180 stories about protests or strikes, of its 894 Beijing China60 stories about protests or strikes, of its 174 Jerusalem Israel54 stories about protests or strikes, of its 126 London UK37 stories about protests or strikes, of its 334 Chicago US32 stories about protests or strikes, of its 165Stories, 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
● Colombo Sri Lanka accidents & disasters · 123 stories, 281 outlets ● Tulsa US attacks & violence · 72 stories, 126 outlets ● Oroville US accidents & disasters · 17 stories, 120 outlets ● Tehran Iran accidents & disasters · 35 stories, 101 outlets ● Tel Aviv Israel attacks & violence · 71 stories, 94 outlets ● Jerusalem Israel attacks & violence · 126 stories, 114 outlets ● Kabul Afghanistan attacks & violence · 67 stories, 78 outlets ● Jask Iran accidents & disasters · 15 stories, 23 outletsThe day in three measures
Parts of life 30 days →
Health51% 10,449 stories · about as usual Rights & justice20% 4,217 stories · about as usual Disasters & accidents10% 2,044 stories · about as usual Conflict & violence8% 1,663 stories · less than usual (usually 11%) Deaths & injuries, cause not given4% 831 stories · about as usual Food & livelihood3% 571 stories · about as usual Shelter & services3% 549 stories · about as usual Displacement2% 313 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 killed4,947 at about two-thirds of the usual rate · most about the US and India Stories reporting arrests1,505 at about the usual rate Stories reporting people affected1,472 at about the usual rate Stories reporting people injured823 at about half the usual rate · most about the US and Afghanistan Stories reporting refugees169 at about the usual rate Stories reporting people displaced121 at about the usual rate Stories reporting abductions106 at about two-thirds of the usual rate · most about Nigeria and the US Stories reporting evacuations64 at about half the usual rate · most about the US and the Philippines Stories reporting people falling ill21 at about the usual rateStories 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 softer than usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.
● Angerabout as usual
● Warmthabout as usual
● Griefa little less 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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These are counts of stories, not counts of suffering. Most of what happens to people is never reported at all.