← 21 Aug Sunday 22 August 2021 · to 23:59 UTC 23 Aug →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
10,847 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 displaced in Kabul, a disaster in les Cayes and violence in Jerusalem. Israel's coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Across the world, the tone of the words was about as usual.

Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about Afghanistan and the US → Reports of evacuations ran at about 6 times the usual rate, most often about Afghanistan and the US → Reports of refugees ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about Afghanistan and the US → Help and hope: reports of people freed or reunited ran at about twice the usual rate →
Part of lifeHealth 36 in 100 of the stories about harm · much less than usual Country that rose mostHaiti 81 in 100 of its 75 stories, usually 61
RegionSouth Asia 48 in 100 of its stories, usually 34
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 →
Displacement

Afghanistan

1,572 of its 2,251 stories (70%) were about people being harmed, usually 64%. Kabul accounted for 1,297 of Afghanistan's 1,572 stories about harm, carried by 1,213 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about three times the usual rate (517 stories). Polio was named in 15 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Haiti

61 of its 75 stories (81%) were about people being harmed, usually 61%. les Cayes accounted for 37 of Haiti's 61 stories about harm, carried by 199 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (27 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Israel

159 of its 307 stories (52%) were about people being harmed, usually 40%. Jerusalem accounted for 82 of Israel's 159 stories about harm, carried by 125 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 7 times the usual rate (69 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Health

New Zealand

91 of its 293 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (9 stories). Outbreaks were named in 57 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual.

6 more places the news pointed at
Disasters & accidents

Mexico

54 of its 125 stories (43%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (18 stories). Landslides were named in 28 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with flooding, storms and power cuts. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Health

US

3,576 of its 9,992 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Reports of evacuations ran at about 5 times the usual rate (124 stories). Flooding was named in 705 of its stories about harm, about 6 times usual, with power cuts, storm surge and heavy rain.

Health

Australia

277 of its 875 stories (32%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (13 stories). Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Health

Vietnam

Ho Chi Minh City accounted for 30 of Vietnam's 57 stories about harm, carried by 62 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (9 stories). Anger in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Conflict & violence

Bolivia

10 of its 11 stories (91%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Yemen

22 of its 28 stories (79%) were about people being harmed, usually 55%. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: landslides in Mexico (28 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flooding in US (705 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); outbreaks in Iran (13 of its stories, about 5 times its usual).

29 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 24; 28 the day before
29 in 10021 in 10015 Jul22 Jul29 Jul5 Aug22 Aug15 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 10022 Jul: 23 in 10023 Jul: 24 in 10024 Jul: 25 in 10025 Jul: 25 in 10026 Jul: 24 in 10027 Jul: 23 in 10028 Jul: 23 in 10029 Jul: 23 in 10030 Jul: 24 in 10031 Jul: 25 in 1001 Aug: 25 in 1002 Aug: 24 in 1003 Aug: 23 in 1004 Aug: 21 in 1005 Aug: 24 in 1006 Aug: 24 in 10011 Aug: 24 in 10012 Aug: 24 in 10013 Aug: 25 in 10014 Aug: 27 in 10020 Aug: 25 in 10021 Aug: 28 in 10022 Aug: 29 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 22 Aug. 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 10,847 stories about harm among 37,343 counted on 22 Aug.

Read the day's briefing

It was the highest share of stories about people being harmed since 17 January 2021. of the day's 37,343 news stories, 29 in every 100 were about people being harmed, above the usual 24. Reports of people freed or reunited, a sign of help, ran at about twice the usual rate. People affected were reported at about twice the usual rate, most often about Afghanistan and the US.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Tillabery, Niger -- attacks & violence: 6 stories, carried by 10 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Athens, Greece -- accidents & disasters: 18 stories, carried by 19 outlets; harsh wording in 83 in 100Sanaa, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 9 stories, carried by 16 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Gwadar, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 14 stories, carried by 9 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Islamabad, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 57 stories, carried by 37 outlets; harsh wording in 84 in 100Damascus, Syria -- attacks & violence: 16 stories, carried by 15 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Xalapa, Mexico -- accidents & disasters: 9 stories, carried by 14 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Marib, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 10 stories, carried by 21 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Moscow, Russia -- attacks & violence: 40 stories, carried by 55 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Henan, China -- accidents & disasters: 10 stories, carried by 22 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Beijing, China -- attacks & violence: 43 stories, carried by 58 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Ramstein, Germany -- people displaced: 24 stories, carried by 57 outlets; harsh wording in 50 in 100Kyiv, Ukraine -- attacks & violence: 12 stories, carried by 66 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Panjshir, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 47 stories, carried by 47 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Gaza, Palestine -- attacks & violence: 15 stories, carried by 70 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Wellington, New Zealand -- disease & outbreaks: 43 stories, carried by 45 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Tehran, Iran -- disease & outbreaks: 27 stories, carried by 55 outlets; harsh wording in 85 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- attacks & violence: 82 stories, carried by 125 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Shifa, Israel -- protests & strikes: 5 stories, carried by 166 outlets; harsh wording in 60 in 100Tecolutla, Mexico -- accidents & disasters: 15 stories, carried by 140 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Les Cayes, Haiti -- accidents & disasters: 37 stories, carried by 199 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100Humphreys County, US -- accidents & disasters: 89 stories, carried by 396 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Long Island, US -- accidents & disasters: 128 stories, carried by 424 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- people displaced: 1,297 stories, carried by 1,213 outlets; harsh wording in 94 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 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

Read the week →

Unlock a year of trends, free. Follow up to 5 countries, with a bell when their news changes, and 👍 vote for Pro — ten years of the archive, any period, daily alerts.

Create a free account

Sign in · a username, an email and a password.

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.