← 1 Nov Tuesday 2 November 2021 · to 23:59 UTC 3 Nov →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
20,893 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 plane crash in South Sudan, people affected in Nigeria and violence in Kabul. Afghanistan's coverage was about three times as angry as the world's. Taken together, the world's news read softer than usual.

Part of lifeHealth 58 in 100 of the stories about harm · more than usual Country that rose mostNigeria 41 in 100 of its 1,121 stories, usually 32
RegionCentral Asia 43 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 →
Disasters & accidents

South Sudan

15 of its 20 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 54%. Juba accounted for 14 of South Sudan's 15 stories about harm, carried by 28 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (14 stories). Plane crash was named in 10 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Rights & justice

Nigeria

460 of its 1,121 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 32%. Reports of people affected ran at about 5 times the usual rate (158 stories). Building collapse was named in 39 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Afghanistan

258 of its 399 stories (65%) were about people being harmed, usually 58%. Kabul accounted for 209 of Afghanistan's 258 stories about harm, carried by 308 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (129 stories). Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Conflict & violence

Burkina Faso

18 of its 20 stories (90%) were about people being harmed, usually 52%. Reports of abductions ran at about 8 times the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Ethiopia

109 of its 181 stories (60%) were about people being harmed, usually 50%. Tigray accounted for 85 of Ethiopia's 109 stories about harm, carried by 177 outlets. Its coverage was about three times as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Mali

20 of its 30 stories (67%) were about people being harmed, usually 48%. Reports of abductions ran at about three times the usual rate (6 stories).

Conflict & violence

Central African Republic

10 of its 14 stories (71%) were about people being harmed, usually 47%. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (6 stories).

Protests & strikes

Poland

6 of Warsaw's 12 stories were about protests or strikes. Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Health

Japan

Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (9 stories). Grief in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Also named far more than usual: wildfires in France (12 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); tsunami in Indonesia (10 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); storms in China (33 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); power cuts in South Africa (15 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); flu in Russia (10 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).

24 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 25; 24 the day before
28 in 10024 in 1004 Oct11 Oct18 Oct25 Oct2 Nov4 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 10022 Oct: 25 in 10023 Oct: 26 in 10024 Oct: 26 in 10025 Oct: 26 in 10026 Oct: 25 in 10027 Oct: 24 in 10028 Oct: 24 in 10029 Oct: 24 in 10030 Oct: 25 in 10031 Oct: 28 in 1001 Nov: 24 in 1002 Nov: 24 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 2 Nov. 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 20,893 stories about harm among 88,718 counted on 2 Nov.

Read the day's briefing

It was the lowest share of stories about people being harmed since 4 August 2021. In South Sudan's news, mentions of plane crash ran more than ten times their usual. South Sudan stood out: 75% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 54%. 24 in every 100 of the day's 88,718 news stories were about people being harmed, below the usual 25.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Bamako, Mali -- attacks & violence: 10 stories, carried by 14 outlets; harsh wording in 60 in 100Maiduguri, Nigeria -- attacks & violence: 6 stories, carried by 6 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Ajit, India -- attacks & violence: 5 stories, carried by 6 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Mbabane, Eswatini -- protests & strikes: 5 stories, carried by 8 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Jammu, Kashmir -- attacks & violence: 14 stories, carried by 11 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Qingtongxia, China -- protests & strikes: 5 stories, carried by 8 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Beirut, Lebanon -- attacks & violence: 14 stories, carried by 16 outlets; harsh wording in 86 in 100Qorban, Afghanistan -- protests & strikes: 9 stories, carried by 21 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tripoli, Libya -- people displaced: 6 stories, carried by 18 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Quetta, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 8 stories, carried by 15 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Markoye, Burkina Faso -- attacks & violence: 8 stories, carried by 15 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Marib, Yemen -- attacks & violence: 14 stories, carried by 16 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Haverfordwest, UK -- deaths, cause not given: 13 stories, carried by 75 outlets; harsh wording in 46 in 100Warsaw, Poland -- protests & strikes: 12 stories, carried by 49 outlets; harsh wording in 92 in 100Juba, South Sudan -- accidents & disasters: 14 stories, carried by 28 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Khartoum, Sudan -- protests & strikes: 40 stories, carried by 38 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- attacks & violence: 86 stories, carried by 98 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Lagos, Nigeria -- accidents & disasters: 181 stories, carried by 148 outlets; harsh wording in 87 in 100Henan, China -- accidents & disasters: 7 stories, carried by 49 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100La Palma, Spain -- accidents & disasters: 9 stories, carried by 75 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tigray, Ethiopia -- attacks & violence: 85 stories, carried by 177 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tule River, US -- accidents & disasters: 6 stories, carried by 116 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kabul, Afghanistan -- attacks & violence: 209 stories, carried by 308 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Kenosha, US -- protests & strikes: 122 stories, carried by 496 outlets; harsh wording in 95 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.