We're on track to wipe out extreme poverty.¹ A new malaria vaccine is taking on one of humanity's biggest killers. And the once-endangered monarch butterfly is back from the brink.

Three good news stories from last week. Journalist Angus Hervey says we focus too much on the "stories of gloom" and not enough on the "stories of possibility."

Like renewable energy - on course to be our main source of electricity by 2025.² Or the agreement last year to protect 30% of the planet's ecosystems by 2030.³

The news is full of death and disaster. "Things can be bad," wrote the Swedish academic Hans RoslingSwedish physician, academic, and public speaker (1948-2017)., but "getting better." Violent deaths have declined for centuries.

"If it bleeds, it leads." The newsroom motto. Bad news sells, and research shows it is what people tune in for.⁴ During the pandemic, media consumption shot up 30%.⁵

But as Covid-19 hogged the headlines, TogoA nation in West Africa with a population of 8.6 million. became the first in the world to eliminate four neglected tropical diseases.⁶ And in an "outstanding" turnaround, Egypt now has one the lowest rates of Hepatitis C.⁷

Humans have a "negativity bias" that makes us pay more attention to negative information.⁸ Our Stone AgeA prehistoric age in which stones were used as tools. It ended around 4,000BC, when metal began to be used instead. brains kept us safe from predators. But in the era of doomscrolling, it can seriously affect our mental health.

Journalist Mark Rice-Oxley writes that people "are tired of the avalanche of awfulness." The Swiss writer Rolf Dobelli thinks we should ditch news altogether.

But others say no. Switching off is "dangerous", says expert John Jewell. There are real lives behind the news. And to be a caring and active citizen, you need to know "what reality looks like."

And sticking to feel-good stories is not the answer, argues writer Joanna Mang. It does nothing to help us understand the world's problems.

"The planet is complex," writes Rice-Oxley. This year, Uganda caused outrage when it passed harsh anti-gay laws. It is an important story. But so is news that Mauritius has legalised same-sex relations, following a positive trend across Africa.

Thinking clearly means looking at the good news as well as the bad. Or as Rosling put it: "There's no room for facts when our minds are occupied by fear."

Yes: The news reports everything that is wrong with the world. But there are so many reasons to be hopeful: new technology, medicines and ideas that are changing our lives for the better.

No: Positive news is dumb and delusional, a distraction from the enormous challenges that face the world. We cannot be complacent while there is still conflict, climate change, disease and poverty.

Or... The truth is neither positive nor negative. Critical thinking is about looking at all the facts. And the answer is often complex, with reasons to be cheerful and concerned.

Hans Rosling - Swedish physician, academic, and public speaker (1948-2017).

Togo - A nation in West Africa with a population of 8.6 million.

Stone Age - A prehistoric age in which stones were used as tools. It ended around 4,000BC, when metal began to be used instead.