← 20 Jul Wednesday 21 July 2021 · to 23:59 UTC 22 Jul →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
20,129 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 protests in Tehran (Iran), flooding in China and abductions in Nigeria. Iran's coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Language across the world's news ran softer than usual.

Part of lifeHealth 49 in 100 of the stories about harm · more than usual Country that rose mostIran 61 in 100 of its 137 stories, usually 43
RegionCentral Asia 46 in 100 of its stories, usually 32
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 →
Protests & strikes

Iran

83 of its 137 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 43%. 20 of Tehran's 34 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (11 stories). Drought was named in 26 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Disasters & accidents

China

706 of its 1,915 stories (37%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (18 stories). Flooding was named in 199 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with heavy rain, drought and power cuts.

Rights & justice

Nigeria

429 of its 1,048 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Reports of abductions ran at about twice the usual rate (97 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

Health

Jamaica

54 of its 144 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 27%. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories). Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

6 more places the news pointed at
Health

Trinidad & Tobago

29 of its 83 stories (35%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (18 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Health

India

Reports of evacuations ran at about 4 times the usual rate (5 stories). Flu was named in 32 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual, with bird flu and respiratory illness. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Cuba

Havana accounted for 52 of Cuba's 118 stories about harm, carried by 55 outlets. 39 of Havana's 52 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

Rights & justice

Rwanda

33 of its 46 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 44%. Kigali accounted for 20 of Rwanda's 33 stories about harm, carried by 8 outlets.

Health

Romania

33 of its 101 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (7 stories).

Health

Denmark

16 of its 50 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (10 stories).

Also named far more than usual: outbreaks in Ghana (24 of its stories, about three times its usual); heavy rain in Philippines (30 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); natural hazards in Germany (21 of its stories, about three times its usual); flu in India (32 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); wildfires in UK (24 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).

23 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 23; 23 the day before
26 in 10021 in 10022 Jun29 Jun6 Jul13 Jul21 Jul22 Jun: 21 in 10023 Jun: 21 in 10024 Jun: 22 in 10025 Jun: 23 in 10026 Jun: 25 in 10027 Jun: 25 in 10028 Jun: 23 in 10029 Jun: 22 in 10030 Jun: 22 in 1001 Jul: 22 in 1002 Jul: 23 in 1003 Jul: 25 in 1004 Jul: 25 in 1005 Jul: 24 in 1006 Jul: 23 in 1007 Jul: 22 in 1008 Jul: 22 in 1009 Jul: 23 in 10010 Jul: 25 in 10011 Jul: 25 in 10012 Jul: 23 in 10013 Jul: 23 in 10014 Jul: 22 in 10015 Jul: 23 in 10016 Jul: 24 in 10017 Jul: 26 in 10018 Jul: 25 in 10019 Jul: 23 in 10020 Jul: 23 in 10021 Jul: 23 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 21 Jul. 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 20,129 stories about harm among 88,089 counted on 21 Jul.

Read the day's briefing

Of the day's 88,089 news stories, 23 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. On 21 July 2020, a year earlier, the share was 30 in every 100, against 23 today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
West Midlands, UK -- accidents & disasters: 43 stories, carried by 32 outlets; harsh wording in 81 in 100Yangon, Myanmar -- protests & strikes: 9 stories, carried by 13 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sitapur, India -- accidents & disasters: 5 stories, carried by 11 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Izeh, Iran -- protests & strikes: 7 stories, carried by 10 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Ibadan, Nigeria -- protests & strikes: 51 stories, carried by 20 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Lahore, Pakistan -- accidents & disasters: 26 stories, carried by 38 outlets; harsh wording in 81 in 100Montreal, Canada -- accidents & disasters: 20 stories, carried by 48 outlets; harsh wording in 85 in 100Berlin, Germany -- accidents & disasters: 38 stories, carried by 37 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Okanagan, Canada -- accidents & disasters: 33 stories, carried by 30 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Bogota, Colombia -- protests & strikes: 11 stories, carried by 25 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Galkayo, Somalia -- attacks & violence: 13 stories, carried by 26 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Paris, France -- protests & strikes: 63 stories, carried by 81 outlets; harsh wording in 70 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 40 stories, carried by 36 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- attacks & violence: 56 stories, carried by 126 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Tehran, Iran -- protests & strikes: 34 stories, carried by 65 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Havana, Cuba -- protests & strikes: 52 stories, carried by 55 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 73 stories, carried by 80 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Port-au-Prince, Haiti -- attacks & violence: 35 stories, carried by 160 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Minsk, Belarus -- protests & strikes: 10 stories, carried by 146 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100El Dorado, US -- accidents & disasters: 23 stories, carried by 91 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Henan, China -- accidents & disasters: 116 stories, carried by 110 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100San Bernardino, US -- accidents & disasters: 30 stories, carried by 215 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Ahrweiler, Germany -- accidents & disasters: 45 stories, carried by 185 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Zhengzhou, China -- accidents & disasters: 169 stories, carried by 310 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 softer 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.