← 20 Oct Thursday 21 October 2021 · to 23:59 UTC 22 Oct →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
23,746 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 Mbabane (Eswatini), landslides in Nepal and violence in Tigray. Nepal's coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Over the whole world, the tone was softer than usual.

Reports of people falling ill ran at about 5 times the usual rate, most often about the US and Mexico →
Part of lifeHealth 57 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostNepal 75 in 100 of its 55 stories, usually 42
RegionSouth Asia 39 in 100 of its stories, usually 37
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

Eswatini

25 of its 29 stories (86%) were about people being harmed, usually 56%. Mbabane accounted for 18 of Eswatini's 25 stories about harm, carried by 20 outlets. 17 of Mbabane's 18 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people injured ran at about 4 times the usual rate (16 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Nepal

41 of its 55 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Reports of people displaced ran at more than ten times the usual rate (5 stories). Landslides were named in 32 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with flooding, heavy rain and snowstorms. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Ethiopia

45 of its 77 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. Tigray accounted for 29 of Ethiopia's 45 stories about harm, carried by 42 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about 6 times the usual rate (16 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

Health

Mexico

142 of its 364 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of people falling ill ran at more than ten times the usual rate (22 stories). Outbreaks were named in 79 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with food poisoning.

6 more places the news pointed at
Protests & strikes

Haiti

74 of its 99 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 58%. Port-au-Prince accounted for 48 of Haiti's 74 stories about harm, carried by 253 outlets. 27 of Port-au-Prince's 48 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of abductions ran at about three times the usual rate (63 stories).

Protests & strikes

Nigeria

450 of its 1,160 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. 60 of Lagos' 98 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (9 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Syria

Damascus accounted for 50 of Syria's 107 stories about harm, carried by 54 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (19 stories). Wildfires were named in 16 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Conflict & violence

Niger

22 of its 24 stories (92%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Rights & justice

Türkiye

117 of its 330 stories (35%) were about people being harmed, usually 28%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (36 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Health

UK

Reports of people displaced ran at about twice the usual rate (5 stories). Drought was named in 20 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with tornadoes. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: wildfires in Syria (16 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); road crashes in Netherlands (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flu in Ireland (19 of its stories, about three times its usual); volcanic eruption in Japan (12 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); gas explosion in China (29 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

25 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 25; 25 the day before
27 in 10025 in 10022 Sep29 Sep6 Oct13 Oct21 Oct22 Sep: 27 in 10023 Sep: 27 in 10024 Sep: 27 in 10025 Sep: 27 in 10026 Sep: 26 in 10027 Sep: 25 in 10028 Sep: 25 in 10029 Sep: 25 in 10030 Sep: 25 in 1001 Oct: 25 in 1002 Oct: 26 in 1003 Oct: 26 in 1004 Oct: 25 in 1005 Oct: 25 in 1006 Oct: 25 in 1007 Oct: 25 in 1008 Oct: 25 in 1009 Oct: 25 in 10010 Oct: 26 in 10011 Oct: 25 in 10012 Oct: 25 in 10013 Oct: 25 in 10014 Oct: 25 in 10015 Oct: 26 in 10016 Oct: 26 in 10017 Oct: 25 in 10018 Oct: 25 in 10019 Oct: 25 in 10020 Oct: 25 in 10021 Oct: 25 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 21 Oct. 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 23,746 stories about harm among 93,451 counted on 21 Oct.

Read the day's briefing

Reports of people falling ill ran at about 5 times the usual rate, most often about the US and Mexico. of the day's 93,451 news stories, 25 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. Eswatini stood out: 86% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 56%.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Peshawar, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 15 stories, carried by 24 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Marib, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 15 stories, carried by 18 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Gezi, Türkiye -- protests & strikes: 10 stories, carried by 19 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Groningen, Netherlands -- accidents & disasters: 7 stories, carried by 14 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Chamoli, India -- accidents & disasters: 10 stories, carried by 14 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Lahore, Pakistan -- protests & strikes: 23 stories, carried by 37 outlets; harsh wording in 78 in 100Kaduna, Nigeria -- attacks & violence: 32 stories, carried by 22 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Dereham, UK -- deaths, cause not given: 9 stories, carried by 69 outlets; harsh wording in 67 in 100Mbabane, Eswatini -- protests & strikes: 18 stories, carried by 20 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Latakia, Syria -- accidents & disasters: 13 stories, carried by 22 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tillaberi, Niger -- attacks & violence: 8 stories, carried by 21 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Beirut, Lebanon -- protests & strikes: 45 stories, carried by 38 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Nainital, India -- accidents & disasters: 25 stories, carried by 37 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Shenyang, China -- accidents & disasters: 42 stories, carried by 54 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Damascus, Syria -- attacks & violence: 50 stories, carried by 54 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Tigray, Ethiopia -- attacks & violence: 29 stories, carried by 42 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Gorongosa, Mozambique -- attacks & violence: 9 stories, carried by 63 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Lagos, Nigeria -- protests & strikes: 98 stories, carried by 77 outlets; harsh wording in 83 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 95 stories, carried by 112 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Minneapolis, US -- protests & strikes: 37 stories, carried by 116 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100Khartoum, Sudan -- protests & strikes: 19 stories, carried by 102 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100La Palma, Spain -- accidents & disasters: 24 stories, carried by 109 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Sierra Nevada, US -- accidents & disasters: 20 stories, carried by 106 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Port-au-Prince, Haiti -- protests & strikes: 48 stories, carried by 253 outlets; harsh wording in 98 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.