News just in: The world is back on track to eliminate extreme poverty.¹ A cheap and effective malaria vaccine is set to take on one of humanity's biggest killers. And the once-endangered monarch butterfly is back from the brink in North America.

These are three stories from last week's Future Crunch, an online report of positive news. Founder Angus Hervey says we focus too much on the "stories of gloom" and ignore evidence the world is getting better, not worse.

Signs like the transition to renewable energy - on course to be the main source of the world's electricity by 2025.² Or the "landmark" agreement last year to protect 30% of the planet from biodiversity loss by 2030.³

Recent violence in the Middle East has killed thousands. Almost half a million are dead or injured in Ukraine.⁴ "Things can be bad," wrote the Swedish academic Hans RoslingSwedish physician, academic, and public speaker (1948-2017)., but also "getting better." Violent deaths have declined for centuries as countries become more democratic and literacy rises.

Rosling argued we are "more safe" than ever, but the news paints a picture of a "dangerous world". So, should we read more good news?

"If it bleeds, it leads." The American newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst coined this saying in the 1890s. Death and disaster sells newspapers, and evidence suggests we switch off from good news and tune in for bad.⁵ At the start of the global pandemic, media consumption shot up 30%.⁶

But as Covid-19 hogged the headlines, Togo became the first in the world to eliminate four tropical diseases - including Trachoma, the leading infectious cause of blindness.⁷ And in an "outstanding" reversal, Egypt now has one the lowest rates of Hepatitis C.⁸

Studies show humans have a "negativity bias" that makes us pay more attention to negative information.⁹ Our Stone Age brains kept us safe from predators. But in the era of doomscrolling, this natural pessimism 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 calls it "sugar" for the mind and says our lives would be better without it.

But others are unconvinced. Switching off is "dangerous", says academic John Jewell. There are real lives behind the news. And to be compassionate and active citizens, we need to know "what reality looks like".

And sticking to feel-good stories is not the answer, argues writer Joanna Mang. It may "restore" your faith in humanity, but it does nothing to "identify" and solve the world's problems.

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

Thinking clearly about events may mean taking the long view and a wider perspective. 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.