What the world's news said happened to people.
Counts of coverage, not of suffering
We measure how the world's news covered people being harmed — and the help and hope within it.
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Most of the day's attention went to protests in Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), a disaster in Colombo and people killed in Rwanda. Rwanda's coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's. Over the whole world, the tone was softer than usual.
Protests & strikes
29 of its 63 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. 6 of Dar es Salaam's 9 stories were about protests or strikes. Reports of people affected ran at about 4 times the usual rate (7 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
Disasters & accidents
103 of its 144 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Colombo accounted for 42 of Sri Lanka's 103 stories about harm, carried by 134 outlets. Reports of people displaced ran at about 4 times the usual rate (20 stories).
Conflict & violence
42 of its 72 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (20 stories). Its coverage was about one and a half times as warm as the world's.
Health
Reports of evacuations ran at about 5 times the usual rate (20 stories). Earthquake was named in 46 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual, with volcanic eruption. Its coverage was about one and a half times as fearful as the world's.
6 more places the news pointed at
Conflict & violence
34 of its 58 stories (59%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Baghdad accounted for 20 of Iraq's 34 stories about harm, carried by 70 outlets. Its coverage was about twice as fearful as the world's.
Conflict & violence
Reports of people displaced ran at about 5 times the usual rate (5 stories). Poisoning was named in 45 of its stories about harm, more than ten times usual. Its coverage was about one and a half times as angry as the world's.
Conflict & violence
33 of its 58 stories (57%) were about people being harmed, usually 34%. Reports of people displaced ran at about twice the usual rate (9 stories).
Rights & justice
7 of its 13 stories (54%) were about people being harmed, usually 16%. Reports of arrests ran at about 10 times the usual rate (5 stories).
Rights & justice
20 of its 97 stories (21%) were about people being harmed, usually 10%. Reports of arrests ran at about three times the usual rate (5 stories).
Health
34 of its 162 stories (21%) were about people being harmed, usually 12%. Reports of people killed ran at about 4 times the usual rate (19 stories).
Also named far more than usual:
poisoning in Russia (45 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); plague in Italy (18 of its stories, more than ten times its usual); hiv in Kenya (15 of its stories, about 6 times its usual); storms in Greece (12 of its stories, about 4 times its usual); extreme cold in Canada (14 of its stories, about 5 times its usual).
Read the day's briefing
Russia's news mentioned poisoning more than ten times as often as usual. 17 in every 100 of the day's 88,323 news stories were about people being harmed, as usual. On the side of help, reports of vaccination ran at about one and a half times the usual rate. Tanzania stood out: 46% of its news was about people being harmed, usually 30%. On 4 December 2024, a year earlier, the share was 17 in every 100, the same as today.
17 in every 100 of the day's 88,323 news stories were about people being harmed (usually 16). Tanzania: 29 of its 63 stories (46%) were about people being harmed, usually 30%. Sri Lanka: 103 of its 144 stories (72%) were about people being harmed, usually 39%. Rwanda: 42 of its 72 stories (58%) were about people being harmed, usually 29%. UK: Reports of evacuations ran at about 5 times the usual rate (20 stories). Help and hope: reports of vaccination ran at about one and a half times the usual rate. Mentions of poisoning ran more than ten times their usual in Russia's news. Mentions of the plague ran more than ten times their usual in Italy's news. Across the world, the words of the day's news were softer than usual. A year earlier, on 4 December 2024, 17 in every 100 stories were about people being harmed, the same as today. Written by code from the day's numbers.
Zimbabwe: about as warm as its own usual or less Zambia: about as warm as its own usual or less Yemen: about as warm as its own usual or less Vietnam: about as warm as its own usual or less Venezuela: about as warm as its own usual or less Vanuatu: too little coverage to read Uzbekistan: too little coverage to read Uruguay: too little coverage to read Micronesia: about as warm as its own usual or less U.S. Virgin Islands: about as warm as its own usual or less Guam: about as warm as its own usual or less Puerto Rico: too little coverage to read United States: about as warm as its own usual or less South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands: too little coverage to read Falkland Islands: too little coverage to read Cayman Islands: about as warm as its own usual or less Isle of Man: too little coverage to read United Kingdom: about as warm as its own usual or less United Arab Emirates: about as warm as its own usual or less Ukraine: about as warm as its own usual or less Uganda: about as warm as its own usual or less Turkmenistan: too little coverage to read Turkey: about as warm as its own usual or less Tunisia: too little coverage to read Trinidad & Tobago: about as warm as its own usual or less Tonga: about as warm as its own usual or less Togo: too little coverage to read Timor-Leste: about as warm as its own usual or less Thailand: about as warm as its own usual or less Tanzania: about as warm as its own usual or less Tajikistan: about as warm as its own usual or less Taiwan: about as warm as its own usual or less Syria: about as warm as its own usual or less Switzerland: about as warm as its own usual or less Sweden: about as warm as its own usual or less Eswatini: too little coverage to read Suriname: too little coverage to read Sudan: about as warm as its own usual or less Spain: about as warm as its own usual or less South Korea: about as warm as its own usual or less South Africa: about as warm as its own usual or less Somalia: about as warm as its own usual or less Somaliland: too little coverage to read Solomon Islands: too little coverage to read Slovakia: about as warm as its own usual or less Slovenia: too little coverage to read Singapore: about as warm as its own usual or less Sierra Leone: too little coverage to read Seychelles: too little coverage to read Serbia: too little coverage to read Senegal: about as warm as its own usual or less Saudi Arabia: about as warm as its own usual or less São Tomé: too little coverage to read Samoa: about as warm as its own usual or less St Vincent: too little coverage to read St. Lucia: too little coverage to read Romania: about as warm as its own usual or less Qatar: about as warm as its own usual or less Portugal: too little coverage to read Poland: about as warm as its own usual or less Peru: about as warm as its own usual or less Paraguay: about as warm as its own usual or less Papua New Guinea: too little coverage to read Panama: about as warm as its own usual or less Palau: too little coverage to read Pakistan: about as warm as its own usual or less Oman: too little coverage to read Norway: about as warm as its own usual or less North Korea: too little coverage to read Nigeria: about as warm as its own usual or less Niger: too little coverage to read Nicaragua: about as warm as its own usual or less New Zealand: about as warm as its own usual or less Niue: too little coverage to read Netherlands: about as warm as its own usual or less Curaçao: too little coverage to read Nepal: about as warm as its own usual or less Namibia: about as warm as its own usual or less Mozambique: about as warm as its own usual or less Morocco: about as warm as its own usual or less Western Sahara: too little coverage to read Montenegro: too little coverage to read Mongolia: too little coverage to read Moldova: about as warm as its own usual or less Mexico: about as warm as its own usual or less Mauritius: about as warm as its own usual or less Mauritania: about as warm as its own usual or less Malta: about as warm as its own usual or less Mali: too little coverage to read Malaysia: about as warm as its own usual or less Malawi: about as warm as its own usual or less Madagascar: too little coverage to read North Macedonia: too little coverage to read Luxembourg: about as warm as its own usual or less Lithuania: about as warm as its own usual or less Libya: about as warm as its own usual or less Liberia: about as warm as its own usual or less Lesotho: about as warm as its own usual or less Lebanon: about as warm as its own usual or less Latvia: about as warm as its own usual or less Laos: too little coverage to read Kyrgyzstan: about as warm as its own usual or less Kuwait: about as warm as its own usual or less Kosovo: too little coverage to read Kiribati: too little coverage to read Kenya: about as warm as its own usual or less Kazakhstan: about as warm as its own usual or less Jordan: about as warm as its own usual or less Japan: about as warm as its own usual or less Jamaica: about as warm as its own usual or less Italy: about as warm as its own usual or less Israel: about as warm as its own usual or less Palestine: about as warm as its own usual or less Ireland: about as warm as its own usual or less Iraq: about as warm as its own usual or less Indonesia: about as warm as its own usual or less India: about as warm as its own usual or less Iceland: about as warm as its own usual or less Hungary: about as warm as its own usual or less Honduras: about as warm as its own usual or less Haiti: about as warm as its own usual or less Guyana: about as warm as its own usual or less Guinea-Bissau: about as warm as its own usual or less Guinea: about as warm as its own usual or less Guatemala: too little coverage to read Grenada: about as warm as its own usual or less Greece: about as warm as its own usual or less Ghana: about as warm as its own usual or less Germany: about as warm as its own usual or less Georgia: about as warm as its own usual or less Gambia: about as warm as its own usual or less Gabon: about as warm as its own usual or less France: about as warm as its own usual or less St Pierre & Miquelon: too little coverage to read French Polynesia: too little coverage to read New Caledonia: too little coverage to read French Southern Territories: too little coverage to read Åland Islands: too little coverage to read Finland: about as warm as its own usual or less Fiji: about as warm as its own usual or less Ethiopia: about as warm as its own usual or less Estonia: too little coverage to read Eritrea: about as warm as its own usual or less Equatorial Guinea: too little coverage to read El Salvador: too little coverage to read Egypt: about as warm as its own usual or less Ecuador: about as warm as its own usual or less Dominican Republic: too little coverage to read Dominica: too little coverage to read Djibouti: about as warm as its own usual or less Greenland: about as warm as its own usual or less Faroe Islands: about as warm as its own usual or less Denmark: about as warm as its own usual or less Czech Republic: about as warm as its own usual or less N. Cyprus: too little coverage to read Cyprus: about as warm as its own usual or less Cuba: about as warm as its own usual or less Croatia: about as warm as its own usual or less Côte d'Ivoire: about as warm as its own usual or less Costa Rica: about as warm as its own usual or less DR Congo: about as warm as its own usual or less Comoros: too little coverage to read Colombia: about as warm as its own usual or less China: about as warm as its own usual or less Hong Kong: about as warm as its own usual or less Chile: about as warm as its own usual or less Chad: about as warm as its own usual or less Central African Republic: about as warm as its own usual or less Cape Verde: about as warm as its own usual or less Canada: about as warm as its own usual or less Cameroon: about as warm as its own usual or less Cambodia: about as warm as its own usual or less Myanmar: about as warm as its own usual or less Burundi: too little coverage to read Burkina Faso: too little coverage to read Bulgaria: about as warm as its own usual or less Brunei: about as warm as its own usual or less Brazil: about as warm as its own usual or less Botswana: about as warm as its own usual or less Bosnia and Herzegovina: about as warm as its own usual or less Bolivia: about as warm as its own usual or less Bhutan: too little coverage to read Benin: about as warm as its own usual or less Belize: about as warm as its own usual or less Belgium: about as warm as its own usual or less Belarus: about as warm as its own usual or less Barbados: about as warm as its own usual or less Bangladesh: about as warm as its own usual or less Bahrain: about as warm as its own usual or less Bahamas: about as warm as its own usual or less Azerbaijan: about as warm as its own usual or less Austria: about as warm as its own usual or less Australia: about as warm as its own usual or less Heard & McDonald Islands: too little coverage to read Armenia: about as warm as its own usual or less Argentina: about as warm as its own usual or less Antigua & Barbuda: too little coverage to read Angola: too little coverage to read Andorra: too little coverage to read Algeria: too little coverage to read Albania: about as warm as its own usual or less Afghanistan: about as warm as its own usual or less Jammu & Kashmir: too little coverage to read Aksai Chin: about as warm as its own usual or less Gaza: about as warm as its own usual or less West Bank: about as warm as its own usual or less Western Sahara (Moroccan-controlled): too little coverage to read Western Sahara (Free Zone): too little coverage to read Azad Kashmir & Gilgit-Baltistan: too little coverage to read Siachen Glacier: too little coverage to read Crimea: about as warm as its own usual or less East Jerusalem: about as warm as its own usual or less Azad Kashmir & Gilgit-Baltistan: too little coverage to read Vatican City: too little coverage to read Marshall Islands: too little coverage to read Northern Mariana Islands: too little coverage to read American Samoa: too little coverage to read Chagos Islands: too little coverage to read St. Helena: too little coverage to read Pitcairn: too little coverage to read Anguilla: about as warm as its own usual or less Bermuda: about as warm as its own usual or less British Virgin Islands: too little coverage to read Turks & Caicos Islands: too little coverage to read Montserrat: about as warm as its own usual or less Jersey: about as warm as its own usual or less Guernsey: about as warm as its own usual or less San Marino: too little coverage to read St Kitts & Nevis: too little coverage to read Cook Islands: too little coverage to read Aruba: too little coverage to read Nauru: about as warm as its own usual or less Monaco: too little coverage to read Maldives: about as warm as its own usual or less Liechtenstein: too little coverage to read Wallis & Futuna: too little coverage to read St. Martin: too little coverage to read St. Barthélemy: too little coverage to read Macao: about as warm as its own usual or less Norfolk Island: too little coverage to read Sint Maarten: too little coverage to read Christmas Island: too little coverage to read Gibraltar: too little coverage to read Mayotte: too little coverage to read South Sudan: warmth about one and a half times its own usual Sri Lanka: warmth about its own usual Rwanda: warmth about its own usual Russia: warmth about its own usual Philippines: warmth about its own usual Iran: warmth about its own usual Congo: warmth about one and a half times its own usual Kigali, Rwanda -- conflict & violence: 13 stories, carried by 13 outlets Edun, Nigeria -- rights & justice: 14 stories, carried by 13 outlets Guwahati, India -- conflict & violence: 10 stories, carried by 14 outlets Wisconsin, US -- disasters & accidents: 13 stories, carried by 15 outlets Kansas, US -- health: 11 stories, carried by 27 outlets Swindon, UK -- health: 17 stories, carried by 14 outlets Rome, Italy -- rights & justice: 14 stories, carried by 33 outlets Kivu, Rwanda -- conflict & violence: 15 stories, carried by 26 outlets
Each country shaded by the warmth in its news — care, help, gratitude — against its own last 30 days. Stronger colour: further above. Dots: the events whose coverage carried the most warmth, even where the event itself began as harm. Warm words, not good outcomes. Click a country or a dot.
The day in three measures
harsh warm
The words in the day's stories were softer 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?
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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.