← 2 Jan Wednesday 3 January 2024 · to 23:59 UTC 4 Jan →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
19,022 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 violence in Tehran, landslides in Japan and refugees in Pakistan. Iran's coverage was about 4 times as grief-stricken as the world's. Language across the world's news ran much harsher than usual.

Part of lifeHealth 28 in 100 of the stories about harm · about as usual Country that rose mostJapan 53 in 100 of its 1,494 stories, usually 16
RegionEast Asia 28 in 100 of its stories, usually 17
Tone of the words Much harsher than usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Conflict & violence

Iran

503 of its 596 stories (84%) were about people being harmed, usually 46%. Tehran accounted for 216 of Iran's 503 stories about harm, carried by 537 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (349 stories). Its coverage was about 4 times as grief-stricken as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Japan

788 of its 1,494 stories (53%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Reports of people injured ran at more than ten times the usual rate (197 stories). Landslides were named in 174 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with heavy rain, volcanic eruption and extreme cold.

Rights & justice

Pakistan

Reports of refugees ran at about twice the usual rate (12 stories). Covid was named in 14 of its stories about harm, about three times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Conflict & violence

Russia

220 of its 578 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 26%. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (140 stories). Power cuts were named in 27 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Ukraine

261 of its 544 stories (48%) were about people being harmed, usually 31%. Reports of arrests ran at about 5 times the usual rate (27 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Lebanon

136 of its 276 stories (49%) were about people being harmed, usually 42%. Beirut accounted for 127 of Lebanon's 136 stories about harm, carried by 176 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Djibouti

The Red Sea accounted for 77 of Djibouti's 77 stories about harm, carried by 95 outlets. Reports of people killed ran at about three times the usual rate (32 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Sierra Leone

44 of its 70 stories (63%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Freetown accounted for 29 of Sierra Leone's 44 stories about harm, carried by 60 outlets.

Disasters & accidents

Sweden

55 of its 164 stories (34%) were about people being harmed, usually 20%. Flooding was named in 15 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with storms and extreme cold.

Also named far more than usual: earthquake in Indonesia (20 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); flooding in Sweden (15 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); power cuts in Russia (27 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); flooding in France (10 of its stories, about 5 times its usual); drownings in South Africa (10 of its stories, about 6 times its usual).

20 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 19; 20 the day before
20 in 10018 in 1005 Dec12 Dec19 Dec26 Dec3 Jan5 Dec: 18 in 1006 Dec: 18 in 1007 Dec: 19 in 1008 Dec: 18 in 1009 Dec: 19 in 10010 Dec: 20 in 10011 Dec: 18 in 10012 Dec: 18 in 10013 Dec: 18 in 10014 Dec: 18 in 10015 Dec: 18 in 10016 Dec: 19 in 10017 Dec: 19 in 10018 Dec: 19 in 10019 Dec: 19 in 10020 Dec: 19 in 10021 Dec: 18 in 10022 Dec: 18 in 10023 Dec: 19 in 10024 Dec: 19 in 10025 Dec: 19 in 10026 Dec: 19 in 10027 Dec: 20 in 10028 Dec: 20 in 10029 Dec: 20 in 10030 Dec: 20 in 10031 Dec: 20 in 1001 Jan: 20 in 1002 Jan: 20 in 1003 Jan: 20 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 3 Jan. 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 19,022 stories about harm among 96,447 counted on 3 Jan.

Read the day's briefing

20 in every 100 of the day's 96,447 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. On 3 January 2023, a year earlier, the share was 21 in every 100, against 20 today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Crumlin, Ireland -- deaths, cause not given: 9 stories, carried by 33 outlets; harsh wording in 89 in 100North Waziristan, Pakistan -- attacks & violence: 14 stories, carried by 20 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Adiyaman, Türkiye -- accidents & disasters: 6 stories, carried by 25 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Golaghat, India -- deaths, cause not given: 38 stories, carried by 37 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Swindon, UK -- accidents & disasters: 35 stories, carried by 109 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Saheb, Iran -- attacks & violence: 29 stories, carried by 50 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Connecticut, US -- accidents & disasters: 51 stories, carried by 121 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Red Sea, Djibouti -- attacks & violence: 77 stories, carried by 95 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Kyiv, Ukraine -- attacks & violence: 112 stories, carried by 121 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Blue Mountains, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 10 stories, carried by 86 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Moscow, Russia -- attacks & violence: 43 stories, carried by 150 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Nardoo Creek, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 7 stories, carried by 79 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Rochester, US -- attacks & violence: 26 stories, carried by 109 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Shifa, Israel -- attacks & violence: 49 stories, carried by 177 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Busan, South Korea -- protests & strikes: 24 stories, carried by 165 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100West Midlands, UK -- accidents & disasters: 74 stories, carried by 213 outlets; harsh wording in 86 in 100Nikkaluokta, Sweden -- accidents & disasters: 17 stories, carried by 118 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Gaza, Palestine -- attacks & violence: 160 stories, carried by 229 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Beirut, Lebanon -- attacks & violence: 127 stories, carried by 176 outlets; harsh wording in 95 in 100Tokyo, Japan -- accidents & disasters: 205 stories, carried by 337 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Tel Aviv, Israel -- attacks & violence: 345 stories, carried by 376 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Belgorod, Russia -- attacks & violence: 87 stories, carried by 478 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Wajima, Japan -- accidents & disasters: 224 stories, carried by 521 outlets; harsh wording in 99 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 216 stories, carried by 537 outlets; harsh wording in 100 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 much harsher 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

Read the week →

Unlock a year of trends, free. Follow up to 5 countries, with a bell when their news changes, and 👍 vote for Pro — ten years of the archive, any period, daily alerts.

Create a free account

Sign in · a username, an email and a password.

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.