Trend · rank 91 of 250

Foreign information manipulation

State-run campaigns are combining covert funding, local intermediaries, platforms and targeted messaging more effectively to shape opinion in other nations, increasing exposure to manipulation that is hard to identify and attribute.

Information & InfluenceInformation & trustinformationpoliticsconflict

Second pass: Carried forward from the first pass unchanged. Held by all three panel models.

Sensitivity and network position

Rank
91of 250
Sensitivity
10.8rank 93
Breadth
2of 20 scenarios High or above
PageRank
42.8rank 75
Eigenvector
34.1
Betweenness
0.1
Links
15trends at Moderate similarity or above
Composite
24.5

Attention over three years

How much this trend is read about on Wikipedia and searched for on Google, week by week, set against the typical trend in the list so that what moves every trend at once is taken out. 100 is this trend's own three-year average. The score measures public attention, which is not the same as the strength of the force: a trend can deepen unnoticed, and a news event can lift attention for a fortnight.

Share of attention
0.04%rank 237 of 250 · a year earlier 0.04%
Now
105
Over a year
+9%Steady
Over three years
+23%
Peak
17310 May 2026
Sources
Bothagreement 0.05
Coverage
6languages · 67 nations

Trailing 4-week average. 100 is this trend’s three-year average.

By language

Wikipedia reading in each language edition where the trend’s pages are read enough to measure (6 of 28). Share is of all the readers counted.

LanguageShareNowOver a yearThree years
English77%102−4%
Russian10%98+5%
French6%95+2%
Chinese4%143+41%
German2%98+4%
Spanish2%176+85%

By country

Google search interest over the three years, as a share of each country’s searching. 100 is the nation where interest is highest. The search terms are English, which favours countries that search in English.

The 12 highest of 67 nations with a reading. All countries (CSV).

By region and G20 member

Attention to this trend inside each place, from Google searches made in its countries and Wikipedia reading in the languages mostly read there, averaged where both exist. Each line compares the trend with its own past in that place; the lines do not compare places.

Regions

PlaceRead fromNow90 days1 year3 yearsThree years
North AmericaGoogle in 2 countries + Wikipedia in English90+2%+3%+6%
EuropeGoogle in 2 countries + Wikipedia in German, French124+11%+70%+36%
Indo-PacificGoogle in 5 countries + Wikipedia in Chinese112+2%+11%+13%
South AsiaGoogle in 1 country115−30%+31%+59%
Gulf and Middle EastGoogle in 1 country14−62%·−95%
Latin America and CaribbeanGoogle in 2 countries + Wikipedia in Spanish140+21%+59%+61%
Russia and EurasiaWikipedia in Russian980%+5%−21%

G20 members

PlaceRead fromNow90 days1 year3 yearsThree years
AustraliaGoogle90−33%−19%+44%
BrazilGoogle136+51%+56%+62%
CanadaGoogle54−18%+170%+14%
FranceWikipedia in French95−3%+2%−5%
GermanyWikipedia in German98+3%+4%+3%
IndiaGoogle115−30%+31%+59%
IndonesiaGoogle43−32%−44%−70%
ItalyGoogle73−12%−3%−49%
JapanGoogle101+20%−2%−31%
South KoreaGoogle107−12%−17%+58%
MexicoGoogle64−47%−15%−45%
RussiaWikipedia in Russian980%+5%−21%
TürkiyeGoogle14−62%·−95%
United KingdomGoogle223+35%+657%+665%
United StatesGoogle + Wikipedia in English94+2%−2%+4%

Share of attention by region

GINC Share of Attention: this trend's share of all the public attention the trends in the list draw, worldwide and in each region, week by week (a 4-week average). Each place is read from the Wikipedia languages mostly read there and Google searching in its countries; where a place's language is shared with others, as English is, Google stands alone.

PlaceShare, last 13 weeksRank thereA year earlierRead from
World0.04%237 of 2500.04%Wikipedia reading in all 28 languages, and Google searching worldwide
Asia Pacific0.02%243 of 2500.02%Wikipedia reading in the region's own languages, not English; Google searching in 15 countries, not China
Europe0.02%246 of 2500.02%German, French, Italian, Polish, Dutch and Swedish reading; Google searching in 10 countries, the UK among them
Africa0.01%239 of 2500.01%Google searching in 7 countries; Afrikaans and Swahili reading reaches too few trends to count
South America0.02%239 of 2500.01%Spanish and Portuguese reading, Spanish also read in Spain; Google searching in 5 countries
North America0.01%241 of 2490.01%Google searching in the United States, Canada and Mexico; English reading cannot be split by country
Oceania0.03%204 of 2490.04%Google searching in Australia and New Zealand; English reading cannot be split by country
United States0.01%231 of 2490.02%Google searching; English reading cannot be split by country
United Kingdom0.01%229 of 2490.01%Google searching; English reading cannot be split by country
India0.01%212 of 2490.00%Google searching; Hindi, Bengali and Tamil reading reaches too few trends to count, and English cannot be split by country
China···Wikipedia and Google are blocked in China; no open source counts reading there
Russia0.12%168 of 2030.12%Russian reading, which is also done across the former Soviet states; Google's figures for Russia cannot be bought
Japan0.03%232 of 2500.03%Japanese reading and Google searching
Germany0.01%249 of 2500.01%German reading and Google searching
France0.03%234 of 2500.04%French reading, also done in Africa and Canada, and Google searching
Italy0.01%248 of 2500.02%Italian reading and Google searching
South Korea0.02%230 of 2500.02%Korean reading and Google searching
Indonesia0.00%244 of 2500.00%Google searching; Indonesian reading reaches too few trends to count
Brazil0.01%242 of 2500.01%Portuguese reading and Google searching
Türkiye0.00%239 of 2500.00%Google searching; Turkish reading reaches too few trends to count

Relation to each scenario

A trend relates to a scenario when it changes how likely the scenario is, how hard it lands, or is itself sharply changed by it. Each score is the median of three scores given separately by the members of the model panel.

RelationScenarioFamily
4 · HighHybrid coercion ends in an infrastructure blackout S04Geopolitical and security
4 · HighA disputed transfer of power breaks effective government S05Geopolitical and security
2 · LowA regional war closes a globally important sea route S03Geopolitical and security
2 · LowA novel respiratory pathogen exceeds health surge capacity S10Health
1 · Very lowA live outbreak proves rapid distributed pandemic defence S20 ↗Health
0 · Not relatedCritical trade divides into rival blocs S01Economic and trade
0 · Not relatedA global funding seizure reaches sovereign balance sheets S02Economic and trade
0 · Not relatedTwo breadbasket failures trigger a food availability crisis S06Energy, climate and resources
0 · Not relatedA major disaster disables the national economic core S07Energy, climate and resources
0 · Not relatedAn AI deployment step causes abrupt labour displacement S08Technology and infrastructure
0 · Not relatedA cryptographic breakthrough invalidates digital trust S09Technology and infrastructure
0 · Not relatedA creditor agreement releases fiscal capacity S11 ↗Economic and trade
0 · Not relatedA cross-regional market access compact redirects investment S12 ↗Economic and trade
0 · Not relatedA great-power agreement lowers economic security barriers S13 ↗Geopolitical and security
0 · Not relatedA verified Middle East settlement restores access S14 ↗Geopolitical and security
0 · Not relatedCheap firm clean power becomes available at scale S15 ↗Energy, climate and resources
0 · Not relatedA validated farming package raises water-efficient output S16 ↗Energy, climate and resources
0 · Not relatedAI-directed research produces a reproducible discovery step S17 ↗Technology and infrastructure
0 · Not relatedA public service platform reaches inclusive operation S18 ↗Technology and infrastructure
0 · Not relatedAffordable preventive treatments reduce chronic illness S19 ↗Health

Similarity = 0.3 × shared tags (Jaccard) + 0.3 × likeness of scenario profiles (cosine) + 0.3 × likeness of names and descriptions (TF-IDF cosine) + 0.1 if in the same capability domain, cut into seven levels at 0.12, 0.22, 0.33, 0.45, 0.58, 0.72. Shown at Moderate and above.

SimilarityTrendThemeRank
4 · HighDecline of independent journalismInformation & trust29
4 · HighMisinformation & disinformationInformation & trust30
4 · HighElection integrity & interferenceInformation & trust57
4 · HighConspiracy movements & science denialInformation & trust68
4 · HighPlatform power over public discourseInformation & trust99
4 · HighCensorship & surveillanceInformation & trust103
4 · HighAI-mediated information accessInformation & trust118
3 · ModerateDeclining institutional trustInformation & trust7
3 · ModeratePublic communication in crisisInformation & trust10
3 · ModerateErosion of rights & civic freedomsState capacity & governance14
3 · ModerateOpen-source intelligence & transparencyInformation & trust79
3 · ModerateSynthetic media & deepfakesInformation & trust87
3 · ModerateMedia provenance & authenticationInformation & trust100
3 · ModerateReligious & identity nationalismInformation & trust122
3 · ModerateDiaspora politics & transnational repressionInformation & trust176