← 15 May Tuesday 16 May 2023 · to 23:59 UTC 17 May →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
21,869 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 Dakar (Senegal), the cyclone in Myanmar and people injured in Iraq. Iraq's coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Taken together, the world's news read softer than usual.

Part of lifeHealth 33 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostU.S. Virgin Islands 65 in 100 of its 68 stories, usually 20
RegionOceania 22 in 100 of its stories, usually 18
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

Senegal

27 of its 45 stories (60%) were about people being harmed, usually 25%. Dakar accounted for 18 of Senegal's 27 stories about harm, carried by 42 outlets. 10 of Dakar's 18 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (16 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Myanmar

50 of its 67 stories (75%) were about people being harmed, usually 57%. Sittwe accounted for 22 of Myanmar's 50 stories about harm, carried by 52 outlets. Reports of refugees ran at about twice the usual rate (17 stories). Cyclone was named in 36 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual, with flooding, storm surge and hurricane. Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Iraq

38 of its 83 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Reports of people injured ran at about twice the usual rate (6 stories). Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Displacement

Sudan

Khartoum accounted for 88 of Sudan's 151 stories about harm, carried by 170 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about three times the usual rate (48 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Disasters & accidents

New Zealand

369 of its 949 stories (39%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Wellington accounted for 219 of New Zealand's 369 stories about harm, carried by 505 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about 10 times the usual rate (8 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's. Grief in its coverage rose to about twice its own usual.

Disasters & accidents

Bangladesh

157 of its 313 stories (50%) were about people being harmed, usually 37%. Reports of people displaced ran at about 4 times the usual rate (32 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Malawi

37 of its 77 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 35%. Reports of people affected ran at about twice the usual rate (20 stories). Fear in its coverage rose to about one and a half times its own usual.

Protests & strikes

Pakistan

392 of its 877 stories (45%) were about people being harmed, usually 38%. 88 of Islamabad's 166 stories were about protests or strikes. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Rights & justice

Iran

83 of its 170 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Ethiopia

Reports of people displaced ran at about twice the usual rate (7 stories). Drought was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about three times usual, with outbreaks.

Also named far more than usual: diphtheria in Vietnam (59 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); earthquake in Italy (37 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); bird flu in Brazil (17 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); drought in Syria (12 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); drought in Ethiopia (10 of its stories, about three times its usual).

17 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 18; 18 the day before
19 in 10017 in 10017 Apr24 Apr1 May8 May16 May17 Apr: 18 in 10018 Apr: 18 in 10019 Apr: 18 in 10020 Apr: 18 in 10021 Apr: 17 in 10022 Apr: 19 in 10023 Apr: 19 in 10024 Apr: 18 in 10025 Apr: 18 in 10026 Apr: 18 in 10027 Apr: 18 in 10028 Apr: 17 in 10029 Apr: 17 in 10030 Apr: 18 in 1001 May: 18 in 1002 May: 18 in 1003 May: 19 in 1004 May: 18 in 1005 May: 18 in 1006 May: 18 in 1007 May: 19 in 1008 May: 19 in 1009 May: 19 in 10010 May: 18 in 10011 May: 18 in 10012 May: 18 in 10013 May: 18 in 10014 May: 19 in 10015 May: 18 in 10016 May: 17 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 16 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 21,869 stories about harm among 125,868 counted on 16 May.

Read the day's briefing

Senegal stood out: 60% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 25%. 17 in every 100 of the day's 125,868 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. In Myanmar's news, mentions of the cyclone ran about 4 times their usual. On 16 May 2022, a year earlier, the share was 22 in every 100, against 17 today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Izmir, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 5 stories, carried by 78 outlets; harsh wording in 60 in 100Sao Paulo, Brazil -- disease & outbreaks: 6 stories, carried by 34 outlets; harsh wording in 67 in 100Espirito Santo, Brazil -- disease & outbreaks: 8 stories, carried by 19 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Dakar, Senegal -- protests & strikes: 18 stories, carried by 42 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Nsanje, Malawi -- accidents & disasters: 15 stories, carried by 35 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Seoul, South Korea -- attacks & violence: 35 stories, carried by 66 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Beledweyne, Somalia -- accidents & disasters: 9 stories, carried by 33 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Bakhmut, Ukraine -- attacks & violence: 34 stories, carried by 39 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Lahore, Pakistan -- protests & strikes: 66 stories, carried by 59 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Buffalo Narrows, Canada -- accidents & disasters: 8 stories, carried by 35 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- attacks & violence: 102 stories, carried by 79 outlets; harsh wording in 83 in 100Damascus, Syria -- protests & strikes: 25 stories, carried by 73 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Hiroshima, Japan -- attacks & violence: 21 stories, carried by 57 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Moscow, Russia -- attacks & violence: 87 stories, carried by 94 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Islamabad, Pakistan -- protests & strikes: 166 stories, carried by 86 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Doig River, Canada -- people displaced: 7 stories, carried by 75 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Sittwe, Myanmar -- accidents & disasters: 22 stories, carried by 52 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Riccione, Italy -- accidents & disasters: 10 stories, carried by 54 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Khartoum, Sudan -- people displaced: 88 stories, carried by 170 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Farmington, US -- attacks & violence: 60 stories, carried by 261 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Pompeii, Italy -- accidents & disasters: 32 stories, carried by 121 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kyiv, Ukraine -- attacks & violence: 177 stories, carried by 293 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Farmington, US -- attacks & violence: 188 stories, carried by 467 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Wellington, New Zealand -- accidents & disasters: 219 stories, carried by 505 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 softer than usual. Filled dot: today. Ring: usual.

● Angerabout as usual
● Warmthabout as usual
● Griefa little less than 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?

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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.