← 16 May Tuesday 17 May 2022 · to 23:59 UTC 18 May →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
18,629 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 illness in Pyongyang, violence in Tunis and protests in Colombo (Sri Lanka). North Korea's coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's. Taken together, the world's news read about as usual.

Reports of people falling ill ran at about three times the usual rate, most often about the US and South Korea →
Part of lifeHealth 42 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostNorth Korea 82 in 100 of its 135 stories, usually 42
RegionEast Asia 30 in 100 of its stories, usually 26
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 →
Health

North Korea

111 of its 135 stories (82%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Pyongyang accounted for 79 of North Korea's 111 stories about harm, carried by 170 outlets. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (24 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Tunisia

20 of its 33 stories (61%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Tunis accounted for 20 of Tunisia's 20 stories about harm, carried by 82 outlets. Covid was named in 16 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

Protests & strikes

Sri Lanka

Colombo accounted for 85 of Sri Lanka's 125 stories about harm, carried by 86 outlets. 62 of Colombo's 85 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (24 stories). Power cuts were named in 19 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual.

Rights & justice

Cuba

Havana accounted for 50 of Cuba's 66 stories about harm, carried by 201 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (15 stories). Power cuts were named in 14 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual.

6 more places the news pointed at
Conflict & violence

Türkiye

128 of its 233 stories (55%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Ankara accounted for 77 of Türkiye's 128 stories about harm, carried by 141 outlets. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Taiwan

83 of its 185 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 33%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (50 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

Health

South Korea

90 of its 327 stories (28%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Reports of people falling ill ran at more than ten times the usual rate (25 stories). Outbreaks were named in 43 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with hunger.

Conflict & violence

Kashmir

Jammu accounted for 38 of Kashmir's 65 stories about harm, carried by 18 outlets. Covid was named in 18 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with landslides. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.

Health

India

Reports of evacuations ran at about three times the usual rate (11 stories). Landslides were named in 64 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with flooding and dengue. Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Health

Romania

37 of its 139 stories (27%) were about people being harmed, usually 12%. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (13 stories).

Also named far more than usual: outbreaks in South Korea (43 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); dust storm in Iraq (12 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); covid in Kashmir (18 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); landslides in India (64 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); train derailment in Spain (10 of its stories, more than ten times its usual).

23 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 22; 22 the day before
24 in 10020 in 10018 Apr25 Apr2 May9 May17 May18 Apr: 24 in 10019 Apr: 22 in 10020 Apr: 22 in 10021 Apr: 21 in 10022 Apr: 22 in 10023 Apr: 23 in 10024 Apr: 24 in 10025 Apr: 22 in 10026 Apr: 22 in 10027 Apr: 22 in 10028 Apr: 22 in 10029 Apr: 21 in 10030 Apr: 22 in 1001 May: 23 in 1002 May: 22 in 1003 May: 20 in 1004 May: 21 in 1005 May: 21 in 1006 May: 21 in 1007 May: 23 in 1008 May: 23 in 1009 May: 22 in 10010 May: 21 in 10011 May: 21 in 10012 May: 21 in 10013 May: 22 in 10014 May: 22 in 10015 May: 24 in 10016 May: 22 in 10017 May: 23 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 17 May. 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 18,629 stories about harm among 82,141 counted on 17 May.

Read the day's briefing

For the sixth day running, the news turned to North Korea. Stories about people being harmed made up 23 in every 100 of the day's 82,141 stories, as usual. Reports of people falling ill ran at about three times the usual rate, most often about the US and South Korea. In North Korea, 82% of the news was about people being harmed, where 42% is usual. A year earlier, on 17 May 2021, 25 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, against 23 today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Barcelona, Spain -- accidents & disasters: 15 stories, carried by 26 outlets; harsh wording in 80 in 100Kano, Nigeria -- attacks & violence: 43 stories, carried by 25 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Sokoto, Nigeria -- protests & strikes: 32 stories, carried by 20 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Jammu, Kashmir -- attacks & violence: 38 stories, carried by 18 outlets; harsh wording in 87 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- accidents & disasters: 14 stories, carried by 20 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Guangxi, China -- deaths, cause not given: 13 stories, carried by 24 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Helsinki, Finland -- attacks & violence: 23 stories, carried by 41 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Karachi, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 67 stories, carried by 40 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Mogadishu, Somalia -- attacks & violence: 31 stories, carried by 39 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- attacks & violence: 109 stories, carried by 69 outlets; harsh wording in 85 in 100Bamako, Mali -- attacks & violence: 15 stories, carried by 59 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Erie County, US -- attacks & violence: 51 stories, carried by 75 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Hezbollah, Iran -- protests & strikes: 9 stories, carried by 49 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Dima Hasao, India -- accidents & disasters: 48 stories, carried by 43 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Stockholm, Sweden -- attacks & violence: 37 stories, carried by 97 outlets; harsh wording in 57 in 100Beirut, Lebanon -- protests & strikes: 33 stories, carried by 82 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Colombo, Sri Lanka -- protests & strikes: 85 stories, carried by 86 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tunis, Tunisia -- attacks & violence: 20 stories, carried by 82 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Moscow, Russia -- attacks & violence: 132 stories, carried by 140 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Laguna Woods, US -- attacks & violence: 125 stories, carried by 223 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Seoul, South Korea -- disease & outbreaks: 60 stories, carried by 118 outlets; harsh wording in 87 in 100Ankara, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 77 stories, carried by 141 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Kharkiv, Ukraine -- attacks & violence: 52 stories, carried by 279 outlets; harsh wording in 94 in 100Azovstal, Ukraine -- people displaced: 226 stories, carried by 418 outlets; harsh wording in 96 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

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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.