Summary
- In February, the visibility of most of the international actors analysed was generated primarily by topics related to international security, especially developments connected to the war in Ukraine and its implications for the European and Euro-Atlantic security architecture. Toward the end of the month, another highly visible topic emerged: the escalation of tensions in the Middle East, marked by the attack launched by the United States and Israel against Iran.
- Beyond the security agenda, mentions and visibility for the international actors were also driven by EU decisions regarding financial support for Ukraine, as well as by internal political tensions within the Union and by mobility control measures, such as the introduction of the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) for the United Kingdom.
- The United States remains in first place in the ranking of mentions, at a considerable distance from the next-ranked actor – the European Union. Ukraine ranks third, followed by Russia. The distribution of mentions indicates two main axes of debate in the online space: the global role of the United States and the Russia–Ukraine war, together with its implications for European security.
- The United States also clearly dominates the ranking of views (estimated impact of mentions). It is followed by Ukraine and the EU, with similar values, while Russia ranks fourth. This hierarchy suggests that the international agenda (and the related public debate) is strongly polarized around major centres of power.
- Online press remains the dominant source of mentions for all international actors. Facebook and other types of sources account for a significantly smaller share of total mentions and generate a considerably lower estimated impact.
- The contribution of local sources to the total number of mentions has increased, reaching values such as 25% in the case of Germany, 24% for France, and 23% for Israel. The lowest shares of actor-specific mentions are recorded for Russia (around 13%) and China (approximately 14%).