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.

Now
107
Over a year
+11%Steady
Over three years
+23%
Peak
16710 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%100−5%
Russian11%99+9%
French6%93−16%
Chinese4%139+37%
German2%97+3%
Spanish2%172+82%

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.

Iraq

Singapore

Canada

Ethiopia

Azerbaijan

Jordan

Kenya

United States

China

Georgia

Australia

South Korea

100

85

77

77

65

65

65

62

55

50

45

42

The 12 highest of 67 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 English88−0%+3%+0%
EuropeGoogle in 1 country + Wikipedia in German, French83−10%−9%−30%
Indo-PacificGoogle in 5 countries + Wikipedia in Chinese109−4%+10%+9%
South AsiaGoogle in 1 country132−23%+109%+146%
Gulf and Middle EastGoogle in 1 country5−87%−69%−98%
Latin America and CaribbeanGoogle in 2 countries + Wikipedia in Spanish138+16%+56%+56%
Russia and EurasiaWikipedia in Russian99+4%+9%−24%

G20 members

PlaceRead fromNow90 days1 year3 yearsThree years
AustraliaGoogle93−40%+5%+52%
BrazilGoogle136+32%+67%+49%
CanadaGoogle48−28%+231%−7%
FranceWikipedia in French93−7%−16%−6%
GermanyWikipedia in German97−1%+3%+4%
IndiaGoogle132−23%+109%+146%
IndonesiaGoogle39−45%−46%−73%
ItalyGoogle72−16%−7%−49%
JapanGoogle96+15%−8%−35%
South KoreaGoogle96−17%−33%+31%
MexicoGoogle63−42%−25%−47%
RussiaWikipedia in Russian99+4%+9%−24%
TürkiyeGoogle5−87%−69%−98%
United StatesGoogle + Wikipedia in English93+2%−2%−0%

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