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What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
9,763 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 →

Violence in Kafra, landslides in the Philippines and people displaced in the Maldives drew the news. Lebanon's coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's. Across the world, the tone of the words was harsher than usual.

Part of lifeHealth 24 in 100 of the stories about harm · less than usual Country that rose mostSyria 85 in 100 of its 91 stories, usually 57
RegionEurope 24 in 100 of its stories, usually 21
Tone of the words Harsher than usual across the world's stories about harm

What the world's news was about today

how these are picked →
Conflict & violence

Lebanon

35 of its 51 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 51%. Kafra accounted for 29 of Lebanon's 35 stories about harm, carried by 154 outlets. Reports of people injured ran at about three times the usual rate (14 stories). Outbreaks were named in 17 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Health

Philippines

Reports of evacuations ran at about 4 times the usual rate (7 stories). Landslides were named in 16 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual, with flooding. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Conflict & violence

Syria

77 of its 91 stories (85%) were about people being harmed, usually 57%. Damascus accounted for 66 of Syria's 77 stories about harm, carried by 74 outlets. Reports of abductions ran at about 4 times the usual rate (13 stories). Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Iraq

79 of its 114 stories (69%) were about people being harmed, usually 57%. Baghdad accounted for 40 of Iraq's 79 stories about harm, carried by 47 outlets. Illness was named in 40 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Russia

191 of its 479 stories (40%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Reports of evacuations ran at about twice the usual rate (9 stories). Plane crash was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 5 times usual.

Health

Austria

18 of its 44 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 21%. Illness was named in 10 of its stories about harm, about 4 times usual.

Conflict & violence

Ukraine

149 of its 336 stories (44%) were about people being harmed, usually 36%. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Cambodia

12 of its 29 stories (41%) were about people being harmed, usually 23%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (6 stories).

Also named far more than usual: illness in Iraq (40 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); illness in Austria (10 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); storms in UK (119 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); plane crash in Afghanistan (16 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); storms in Ireland (34 of its stories, about 6 times its usual).

19 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 20; 19 the day before
21 in 10018 in 10023 Dec30 Dec6 Jan13 Jan21 Jan23 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 1004 Jan: 19 in 1005 Jan: 20 in 1006 Jan: 21 in 1007 Jan: 20 in 1008 Jan: 19 in 1009 Jan: 20 in 10010 Jan: 19 in 10011 Jan: 19 in 10012 Jan: 20 in 10013 Jan: 20 in 10014 Jan: 20 in 10015 Jan: 20 in 10016 Jan: 19 in 10017 Jan: 19 in 10018 Jan: 19 in 10019 Jan: 18 in 10020 Jan: 19 in 10021 Jan: 19 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 21 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 9,763 stories about harm among 50,839 counted on 21 Jan.

Read the day's briefing

Mentions of outbreaks ran more than ten times their usual in Lebanon's news. of the day's 50,839 news stories, 19 in every 100 were about people being harmed, as usual. Lebanon stood out: 69% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 51%. On 21 January 2023, a year earlier, the share was 19 in every 100, the same as today.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
Ottawa, Canada -- accidents & disasters: 28 stories, carried by 41 outlets; harsh wording in 75 in 100Berlin, Germany -- protests & strikes: 27 stories, carried by 23 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Merapi, Indonesia -- accidents & disasters: 6 stories, carried by 21 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Zebak, Afghanistan -- accidents & disasters: 25 stories, carried by 54 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Houston, US -- deaths, cause not given: 52 stories, carried by 73 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Pilbara, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 10 stories, carried by 32 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Oklahoma City, US -- accidents & disasters: 14 stories, carried by 74 outlets; harsh wording in 71 in 100Dakar, Senegal -- protests & strikes: 8 stories, carried by 37 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Ayodhya, India -- attacks & violence: 77 stories, carried by 149 outlets; harsh wording in 74 in 100Sydney, Australia -- accidents & disasters: 54 stories, carried by 111 outlets; harsh wording in 85 in 100Baghdad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 40 stories, carried by 47 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 52 stories, carried by 66 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Damascus, Syria -- attacks & violence: 66 stories, carried by 74 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Donegal, Ireland -- accidents & disasters: 24 stories, carried by 127 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Gaza, Palestine -- attacks & violence: 144 stories, carried by 157 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Inverness, UK -- accidents & disasters: 6 stories, carried by 153 outlets; harsh wording in 83 in 100Kyiv, Ukraine -- attacks & violence: 37 stories, carried by 147 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Ain al-Asad, Iraq -- attacks & violence: 8 stories, carried by 112 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Petersburg, Russia -- attacks & violence: 50 stories, carried by 301 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- attacks & violence: 156 stories, carried by 220 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Moscow, Russia -- attacks & violence: 84 stories, carried by 207 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Kafra, Lebanon -- attacks & violence: 29 stories, carried by 154 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Northern Ireland, UK -- accidents & disasters: 73 stories, carried by 197 outlets; harsh wording in 96 in 100Tel Aviv, Israel -- attacks & violence: 61 stories, carried by 303 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 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

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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.