Global Risk Briefing, September 25, 2026: coverage of Ethiopia Conflict is surging

Analytical Briefing: Media Coverage Trends (September 25, 2026)

This briefing provides an analytical overview of media coverage trends as of September 25, 2026, based on data tracking 42 topics across 197 countries. Data is available for 40 of these topics.

Surging Topics

Five topics are identified as surging in media coverage. The topic of Ethiopia Conflict exhibits the highest surge metric (z) at 24.5, with a volume (vol) of 0.043. Semiconductor Geopolitics is the second highest surging topic with a z-score of 11.8 and a volume of 0.014. Venezuela–Guyana (Essequibo) shows a z-score of 8.5 and a volume of 0.011. South China Sea has a z-score of 6.0 and a volume of 0.007. Israel–Gaza is also surging with a z-score of 4.3, and notably has the highest volume among surging topics at 0.079.

Significant Movers

Five topics have shown significant week-over-week (wow) increases in coverage. Ethiopia Conflict rose by 1167.9%. Arctic Security rose by 201.0%. DR Congo Conflict rose by 174.5%. Israel–Iran Confrontation rose by 148.2%. South China Sea rose by 139.8%.

Most Covered Topics

The five most covered topics by volume are: Israel–Gaza with a volume of 0.079, Iran War & Succession with a volume of 0.076, NATO with a volume of 0.055, Ethiopia Conflict with a volume of 0.043, and Terrorism with a volume of 0.027.

Countries with Darkest Tonal Coverage

The five countries with the most negative tonal coverage are: Niger with a tone of -6.45, Dominica with a tone of -5.56, Equatorial Guinea with a tone of -4.46, South Sudan with a tone of -4.21, and Central African Republic with a tone of -4.17.