Azerbaijan
35 of its 96 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Reports of refugees ran at about 9 times the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
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.
Most of the day's attention went to refugees in Azerbaijan, people displaced in Myanmar and protests in Geneva (Switzerland). Afghanistan's coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's. In the world's news as a whole, the wording was softer than usual.
Part of lifeHealth
60 in 100 of the stories about harm · more than usual
Country that rose mostAzerbaijan
36 in 100 of its 96 stories, usually 22
RegionCentral Asia
38 in 100 of its stories, usually 34
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 →Myanmar
31 of its 40 stories (78%) were about people being harmed, usually 60%. Reports of people displaced ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Switzerland
63 of its 207 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. 7 of Geneva's 14 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (9 stories).
Afghanistan
Kabul accounted for 152 of Afghanistan's 272 stories about harm, carried by 178 outlets. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
6 more places the news pointed at
St Vincent
14 of its 19 stories (74%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories). Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Cambodia
28 of its 46 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 50%. Phnom Penh accounted for 17 of Cambodia's 28 stories about harm, carried by 20 outlets. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.
Palestine
12 of Beita's 14 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.
Belarus
28 of its 66 stories (42%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (7 stories).
Armenia
41 of its 114 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 24%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (8 stories).
Ethiopia
34 of its 50 stories (68%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. Tigray accounted for 27 of Ethiopia's 34 stories about harm, carried by 49 outlets.
Also named far more than usual: illness in Poland (13 of its stories, about three times its usual); flooding in Nigeria (29 of its stories, about three times its usual); hypothermia in Russia (14 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); tsunami in China (11 of its stories, about 7 times its usual); drought in UK (12 of its stories, about three times its usual).
27 in 100 stories were about harm
usually 29; 27 the day beforeStories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 24 Sep. 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 22,077 stories about harm among 82,697 counted on 24 Sep.
Read the day's briefing
Mentions of flooding ran about three times their usual in Nigeria's news. In Azerbaijan, 36% of the news was about people being harmed, where 22% is usual. Stories about people being harmed made up 27 in every 100 of the day's 82,697 stories, below the usual 29. A year earlier, on 24 September 2020, 26 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 27 today.
- 27 in every 100 of the day's 82,697 news stories were about people being harmed (usually 29).
- Azerbaijan: 35 of its 96 stories (36%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%.
- Myanmar: 31 of its 40 stories (78%) were about people being harmed, usually 60%.
- Switzerland: 63 of its 207 stories (30%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%.
- Afghanistan: Kabul accounted for 152 of Afghanistan's 272 stories about harm, carried by 178 outlets.
- Mentions of flooding ran about three times their usual in Nigeria's news.
- Mentions of the hypothermia ran more than ten times their usual in Russia's news.
- Across the world, the words of the day's news were softer than usual.
- A year earlier, on 24 September 2020, 26 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 27 today.
Written by code from the day's numbers.
Where harm was most of the news all →
Ethiopia68 in 100 of its 50 stories · usually 54 · mostly health Syria54 in 100 of its 74 stories · usually 56 · mostly rights & justice Bangladesh52 in 100 of its 137 stories · usually 47 · mostly health Haiti51 in 100 of its 315 stories · usually 56 · mostly disasters & accidents Palestine51 in 100 of its 59 stories · usually 54 · mostly conflict & violenceCountries with at least 50 stories that day.
Where people protested
Washington US171 stories about protests or strikes, of its 987 Melbourne Australia48 stories about protests or strikes, of its 87 London UK46 stories about protests or strikes, of its 307 Delhi India42 stories about protests or strikes, of its 259 Beijing China40 stories about protests or strikes, of its 172Stories, 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
● Dover UK protests & strikes · 40 stories, 207 outlets ● Collierville US attacks & violence · 124 stories, 343 outlets ● Giant Forest US accidents & disasters · 26 stories, 119 outlets ● Ciudad Mexico protests & strikes · 6 stories, 139 outlets ● Port-au-Prince Haiti protests & strikes · 21 stories, 175 outlets ● Kabul Afghanistan attacks & violence · 152 stories, 178 outlets ● Alghero Italy protests & strikes · 30 stories, 122 outlets ● La Palma Spain accidents & disasters · 43 stories, 70 outletsThe day in three measures
Parts of life 30 days →
Health60% 12,990 stories · more than usual (usually 55%) Rights & justice16% 3,551 stories · more than usual (usually 13%) Disasters & accidents8% 1,847 stories · less than usual (usually 11%) Conflict & violence7% 1,464 stories · less than usual (usually 11%) Deaths & injuries, cause not given3% 630 stories · about as usual Food & livelihood2% 522 stories · about as usual Shelter & services2% 443 stories · about as usual Displacement2% 380 stories · less than usual (usually 4%)Of the stories about people being harmed, what part of life each was about. The mark is usual.
Harm reported 30 days →
Stories reporting people killed4,348 at about the usual rate Stories reporting people affected1,583 at about the usual rate Stories reporting arrests1,540 at about the usual rate Stories reporting people injured1,017 at about the usual rate Stories reporting refugees200 at about two-thirds of the usual rate · most about the US and Afghanistan Stories reporting evacuations130 at about a third of the usual rate · most about the US and Spain Stories reporting people displaced101 at about the usual rate Stories reporting abductions91 at about two-thirds of the usual rate · most about Nigeria and India Stories reporting people falling ill11 at about half the usual rate · most about the US and ChinaStories 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
● 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
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These are counts of stories, not counts of suffering. Most of what happens to people is never reported at all.