Trend · rank 29 of 250

Decline of independent journalism

Falling advertising revenue and political pressure are closing or capturing newsrooms, leaving nations with less original reporting, fewer trusted sources when facts are contested and weaker scrutiny of institutions.

Information & InfluenceInformation & trustinformationinstitutionspolitics

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

Sensitivity and network position

Rank
29of 250
Sensitivity
12.5rank 67
Breadth
1of 20 scenarios High or above
PageRank
65.0rank 14
Eigenvector
66.0
Betweenness
18.3
Links
22trends at Moderate similarity or above
Composite
39.3

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.

Now
93
Over a year
−2%Steady
Over three years
+0%
Peak
23528 Apr 2024
Sources
Bothagreement 0.49
Coverage
6languages · 34 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
English70%109+13%
German16%89−7%
Chinese8%86−7%
Spanish3%92+9%
Arabic2%87+14%
Portuguese1%116+36%

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.

United States

Philippines

India

Nigeria

Singapore

Canada

Nepal

Ghana

Kenya

Netherlands

South Korea

United Kingdom

100

83

67

67

67

50

50

33

33

33

33

33

The 12 highest of 34 nations with a reading.

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 English93−11%+4%−4%
EuropeGoogle in 5 countries + Wikipedia in German79−31%−1%−25%
Indo-PacificGoogle in 4 countries + Wikipedia in Chinese83−20%−6%−24%
South AsiaGoogle in 1 country90−28%+10%−19%
Gulf and Middle EastWikipedia in Arabic87−32%+14%−25%
Latin America and CaribbeanGoogle in 1 country + Wikipedia in Spanish, Portuguese104−8%+16%+5%

G20 members

PlaceRead fromNow90 days1 year3 yearsThree years
BrazilGoogle + Wikipedia in Portuguese111−2%+23%+15%
CanadaGoogle50−62%−30%−26%
FranceGoogle63−27%+28%−56%
GermanyGoogle + Wikipedia in German73−34%−19%−29%
IndiaGoogle90−28%+10%−19%
IndonesiaGoogle38−50%−22%−66%
ItalyGoogle57−40%−10%−50%
JapanGoogle95−30%+17%+12%
United KingdomGoogle116−14%+66%+21%
United StatesGoogle + Wikipedia in English98+0%+7%−7%

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 · HighA disputed transfer of power breaks effective government S05Geopolitical and security
3 · ModerateHybrid coercion ends in an infrastructure blackout S04Geopolitical and security
2 · LowA novel respiratory pathogen exceeds health surge capacity S10Health
2 · LowA public service platform reaches inclusive operation S18 ↗Technology and infrastructure
2 · LowA live outbreak proves rapid distributed pandemic defence S20 ↗Health
1 · Very lowA global funding seizure reaches sovereign balance sheets S02Economic and trade
1 · Very lowA major disaster disables the national economic core S07Energy, climate and resources
0 · Not relatedCritical trade divides into rival blocs S01Economic and trade
0 · Not relatedA regional war closes a globally important sea route S03Geopolitical and security
0 · Not relatedTwo breadbasket failures trigger a food availability crisis S06Energy, 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 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
5 · Very highDeclining institutional trustInformation & trust7
5 · Very highErosion of rights & civic freedomsState capacity & governance14
5 · Very highElection integrity & interferenceInformation & trust57
4 · HighExecutive overreach & emergency powersState capacity & governance4
4 · HighPublic communication in crisisInformation & trust10
4 · HighMisinformation & disinformationInformation & trust30
4 · HighConspiracy movements & science denialInformation & trust68
4 · HighForeign information manipulationInformation & trust91
4 · HighPlatform power over public discourseInformation & trust99
4 · HighCensorship & surveillanceInformation & trust103
4 · HighAI-mediated information accessInformation & trust118
3 · ModerateState capacity & deliveryState capacity & governance1
3 · ModerateRule of law & judicial independenceState capacity & governance3
3 · ModerateCorruption & state captureState capacity & governance5
3 · ModeratePolarisation & populismState capacity & governance15
3 · ModerateCitizen participation & deliberative democracyState capacity & governance60
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
3 · ModerateOnline harms & safetyInformation & trust202