How the World Mood works

One number for the tone of the day's news. Here is what goes into it, and what it can and can't tell you.

At the top of the globe there is a single reading for the whole planet: the World Mood. At the time of writing it reads Uneasy: more setbacks than good news, but not overwhelmingly. Here is how it is made.

Every story gets a tone

Each story is rated from −1 to +1 using a fixed rubric. The rating judges the event itself, not how an outlet framed it: a ceasefire is positive, an attack is negative, a routine meeting is close to zero.

Bigger stories count for more

The day's score is the average of those tones, weighted by each story's importance. A major war counts for more than a minor dispute, and a medical breakthrough that helps millions counts for more than a small local win. The score is then placed on a scale of named levels, from very dark to bright.

What it is, and what it isn't

The World Mood describes the news, not the world. A quiet day in the news can hide real suffering, and a dark day can come alongside real progress that hasn't made headlines yet. It is a way to see the overall weight of a day at a glance, and to compare one day with another.

See the working

Tap the World Mood on the globe to see the formula, the levels, the stories that pulled it down or lifted it up, and the tone of each topic. The Stats view shows how it has changed day by day.

Written by One Turn for One Turn. Unlike the daily summaries, articles are written by a person.