← 7 Dec Sunday 8 December 2024 · to 23:59 UTC 9 Dec →
What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
9,401 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 Seoul (South Korea), violence in Damascus and the earthquake in the Netherlands. Syria's coverage was about twice as angry as the world's. Across the world, the tone of the words was much harsher than usual.

Reports of people displaced ran at about twice the usual rate, most often about Syria and Palestine → Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate, most often about Syria and the US →
Part of lifeConflict & violence 29 in 100 of the stories about harm · much more than usual Country that rose mostNetherlands 38 in 100 of its 146 stories, usually 15
RegionMiddle East & North Africa 55 in 100 of its stories, usually 40
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 →
Protests & strikes

South Korea

27 of Seoul's 40 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (8 stories). Extreme cold was named in 11 of its stories about harm, about 10 times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Syria

Damascus accounted for 1,273 of Syria's 1,597 stories about harm, carried by 1,022 outlets. Reports of arrests ran at about twice the usual rate (95 stories). Plane crash was named in 43 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with road crashes. Its coverage was about twice as angry as the world's.

Disasters & accidents

Netherlands

56 of its 146 stories (38%) were about people being harmed, usually 15%. Reports of evacuations ran at more than ten times the usual rate (13 stories). Earthquake was named in 16 of its stories about harm, about 8 times usual.

Rights & justice

Guyana

15 of its 68 stories (22%) were about people being harmed, usually 13%. Reports of people killed ran at about twice the usual rate (7 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as grief-stricken as the world's.

6 more places the news pointed at
Conflict & violence

Russia

121 of its 365 stories (33%) were about people being harmed, usually 22%. Moscow accounted for 73 of Russia's 121 stories about harm, carried by 77 outlets. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Afghanistan

34 of its 59 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 41%. Reports of refugees ran at about three times the usual rate (7 stories).

Conflict & violence

Vietnam

20 of its 80 stories (25%) were about people being harmed, usually 14%. Reports of people affected ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories).

Health

Belize

13 of its 28 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (6 stories).

Health

Philippines

Philippine accounted for 100 of the Philippines' 139 stories about harm, carried by 12 outlets. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.

Conflict & violence

Palestine

Gaza accounted for 35 of Palestine's 55 stories about harm, carried by 31 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as grief-stricken as the world's.

Also named far more than usual: power cuts in Ireland (27 of its stories, about 10 times its usual); power cuts in UK (103 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); covid in Nigeria (17 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); snowstorms in Canada (15 of its stories, about 4 times its usual).

20 in 100 stories were about harm

usually 17; 18 the day before
20 in 10016 in 1009 Nov16 Nov23 Nov30 Nov8 Dec9 Nov: 17 in 10010 Nov: 18 in 10011 Nov: 17 in 10012 Nov: 16 in 10013 Nov: 16 in 10014 Nov: 17 in 10015 Nov: 17 in 10016 Nov: 17 in 10017 Nov: 18 in 10018 Nov: 18 in 10019 Nov: 18 in 10020 Nov: 17 in 10021 Nov: 18 in 10022 Nov: 17 in 10023 Nov: 17 in 10024 Nov: 18 in 10025 Nov: 18 in 10026 Nov: 18 in 10027 Nov: 18 in 10028 Nov: 17 in 10029 Nov: 17 in 10030 Nov: 17 in 1001 Dec: 18 in 1002 Dec: 17 in 1003 Dec: 17 in 1004 Dec: 17 in 1005 Dec: 17 in 1006 Dec: 18 in 1007 Dec: 18 in 1008 Dec: 20 in 100 · this day

Stories about people being harmed, in every 100 stories, the 30 days to 8 Dec. 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 9,401 stories about harm among 47,879 counted on 8 Dec.

Read the day's briefing

No day had a higher share of stories about people being harmed since 10 October 2024. People displaced were reported at about twice the usual rate, most often about Syria and Palestine. 20 in every 100 of the day's 47,879 news stories were about people being harmed, above the usual 17. On 9 December 2023, a year earlier, the share was 19 in every 100, against 20 today. This week the news turned most often to Syria, on 6 of 7 days; help rose on 1 of them.

Written by code from the day's numbers.

Where it happened

feelings in full →
Feelings Events Harm Warmth
West Midlands, UK -- accidents & disasters: 33 stories, carried by 22 outlets; harsh wording in 79 in 100Copenhagen, Denmark -- protests & strikes: 6 stories, carried by 9 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Ankara, Türkiye -- attacks & violence: 6 stories, carried by 9 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Beirut, Lebanon -- attacks & violence: 11 stories, carried by 14 outlets; harsh wording in 91 in 100Killarney, Ireland -- accidents & disasters: 11 stories, carried by 19 outlets; harsh wording in 82 in 100Accra, Ghana -- attacks & violence: 23 stories, carried by 43 outlets; harsh wording in 74 in 100Porbandar, India -- protests & strikes: 12 stories, carried by 18 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Mariahoeve, Netherlands -- accidents & disasters: 28 stories, carried by 36 outlets; harsh wording in 93 in 100Paris, France -- accidents & disasters: 38 stories, carried by 89 outlets; harsh wording in 53 in 100Dhaka, Bangladesh -- protests & strikes: 62 stories, carried by 37 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Haryana, India -- protests & strikes: 33 stories, carried by 26 outlets; harsh wording in 88 in 100Tehran, Iran -- attacks & violence: 29 stories, carried by 31 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Jerusalem, Israel -- attacks & violence: 70 stories, carried by 43 outlets; harsh wording in 84 in 100Gaza, Palestine -- attacks & violence: 35 stories, carried by 31 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Tbilisi, Georgia -- protests & strikes: 12 stories, carried by 30 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Seoul, South Korea -- protests & strikes: 40 stories, carried by 48 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Kerem Shalom, Israel -- attacks & violence: 10 stories, carried by 77 outlets; harsh wording in 80 in 100Moscow, Russia -- attacks & violence: 73 stories, carried by 77 outlets; harsh wording in 97 in 100Melbourne, Australia -- attacks & violence: 63 stories, carried by 149 outlets; harsh wording in 90 in 100Manhattan, US -- attacks & violence: 85 stories, carried by 207 outlets; harsh wording in 84 in 100Washington, US -- attacks & violence: 224 stories, carried by 377 outlets; harsh wording in 82 in 100Kyiv, Ukraine -- attacks & violence: 50 stories, carried by 253 outlets; harsh wording in 98 in 100Aleppo, Syria -- attacks & violence: 117 stories, carried by 281 outlets; harsh wording in 100 in 100Damascus, Syria -- attacks & violence: 1,273 stories, carried by 1,022 outlets; harsh wording in 99 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.

● Angera little more than 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.