← 22 Aug Monday 23 August 2021 · to 23:59 UTC 24 Aug →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
19,037 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 →

Most of the day's attention went to illness in Jerusalem, landslides in Haiti and people displaced in Kabul. Syria's coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Worldwide, the words used were softer than usual.

Reports of evacuations ran at about 4 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 46 in 100 of the stories about harm · less than usual Country that rose mostHungary 47 in 100 of its 70 stories, usually 22
RegionSouth Asia 44 in 100 of its stories, usually 35
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 →
Health

Israel

235 of its 439 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Jerusalem accounted for 103 of Israel's 235 stories about harm, carried by 108 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (42 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Haiti

93 of its 119 stories (78%) were about people being harmed, usually 62%. les Cayes accounted for 38 of Haiti's 93 stories about harm, carried by 127 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (45 stories). Landslides were named in 12 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.

Displacement

Afghanistan

Kabul accounted for 1,624 of Afghanistan's 2,023 stories about harm, carried by 1,305 outlets. Reports of evacuations ran at about twice the usual rate (631 stories). Hunger was named in 49 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with hurricane, tropical storm and heatstroke. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Syria

38 of its 55 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. Reports of people displaced ran at about twice the usual rate (10 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Health

Hungary

33 of its 70 stories (47%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Budapest accounted for 26 of Hungary's 33 stories about harm, carried by 72 outlets. Covid was named in 26 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.

Health

Taiwan

77 of its 182 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Taipei accounted for 56 of Taiwan's 77 stories about harm, carried by 135 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (7 stories).

Health

Vietnam

87 of its 181 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. Ho Chi Minh City accounted for 62 of Vietnam's 87 stories about harm, carried by 186 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (6 stories).

Health

Sweden

35 of its 113 stories (31%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (9 stories).

Disasters & accidents

Greece

88 of its 220 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (8 stories).

Food & livelihood

Lebanon

51 of its 94 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 45%. Covid was named in 15 of its stories about harm, about three times usual.

Also named far more than usual: outbreaks in New Zealand (110 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); covid in Hungary (26 of its stories, about three times its usual); covid in Lebanon (15 of its stories, about three times its usual); flooding in US (706 of its stories, about three times its usual); flooding in Malaysia (10 of its stories, about 6 times its usual).

26 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 24; 29 the day before
29 in 10021 in 10016 Jul23 Jul30 Jul6 Aug23 Aug16 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 10023 Aug: 26 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 23 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 19,037 stories about harm among 73,491 counted on 23 Aug.

Read the day's briefing

Evacuations were reported at about 4 times the usual rate, most often about Afghanistan and the US. Stories about people being harmed made up 26 in every 100 of the day's 73,491 stories, above the usual 24. It was the third day running that the news turned to Israel. On the side of help, reports of people freed or reunited ran at about twice the usual rate. On 23 August 2020, a year earlier, the share was 31 in every 100, against 26 today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Alexandria, Egypt -- deaths, cause not given: 20 stories, carried by 30 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Kamloops, Canada -- accidents & disasters: 9 stories, carried by 13 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Durban, South Africa -- protests & strikes: 26 stories, carried by 26 outlets; harsh wording in 85 in 100Campeche, Mexico -- accidents & disasters: 8 stories, carried by 11 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Jammu, Kashmir -- attacks & violence: 27 stories, carried by 20 outlets; harsh wording in 85 in 100Vilia, Greece -- accidents & disasters: 9 stories, carried by 18 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100Islamabad, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 82 stories, carried by 59 outlets; harsh wording in 79 in 100Henan, China -- accidents & disasters: 13 stories, carried by 28 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Gulf of Mexico, Mexico -- accidents & disasters: 8 stories, carried by 22 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Beirut, Lebanon -- disease & outbreaks: 23 stories, carried by 71 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Raqqa, Syria -- protests & strikes: 7 stories, carried by 35 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 30 stories, carried by 87 outlets; harsh wording in 80 in 100Ramstein, Germany -- people displaced: 21 stories, carried by 48 outlets; harsh wording in 67 in 100Port-au-Prince, Haiti -- accidents & disasters: 20 stories, carried by 53 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Wellington, New Zealand -- disease & outbreaks: 70 stories, carried by 47 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Panjshir, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 84 stories, carried by 71 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Erft, Germany -- accidents & disasters: 13 stories, carried by 57 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Athens, Greece -- accidents & disasters: 34 stories, carried by 122 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Beijing, China -- attacks & violence: 76 stories, carried by 238 outlets; harsh wording in 87 in 100Changi, Singapore -- attacks & violence: 25 stories, carried by 184 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Les Cayes, Haiti -- accidents & disasters: 38 stories, carried by 127 outlets; harsh wording in 84 in 100Long Island, US -- accidents & disasters: 22 stories, carried by 192 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Humphreys County, US -- accidents & disasters: 169 stories, carried by 619 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- people displaced: 1,624 stories, carried by 1,305 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 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.