Summary
- In May, the visibility of the international actors analysed was driven primarily by developments related to the war in Ukraine and its regional implications, particularly following the Galați incident, where the crash of a Russian drone fuelled discussions on Romania’s security, NATO’s response and Russia’s responsibility.
- Euro-Atlantic security and NATO-related topics remained prominent on Romania’s online agenda, amid the Bucharest Nine (B9) Summit, discussions on the threat posed by Russia, military support for Ukraine and the possible reduction of the US military presence in Europe.
- Relations among major powers also contributed significantly to visibility, through negotiations between the US and Iran, dialogue between Washington and Beijing, trade tensions between the US and the EU, and growing China–Russia cooperation.
- Beyond geopolitical and security issues, visibility was also supported by cultural, social and sports-related topics, including the Eurovision Song Contest, the Cannes Film Festival, Romania’s performances in international robotics and minifootball competitions, and debates on public policies and social developments in the countries monitored.
- The United States continues to generate the highest number of mentions. The European Union remains a distant second, while Ukraine holds third place, slightly ahead of Russia. Compared with the previous month, the leading positions remain unchanged. Nearly all analysed actors recorded growth in the volume of mentions, with Israel standing out as the only actor to register a decline.
- The US also leads by views (estimated impact of mentions), despite a slight decline compared with the previous month. Ukraine, the EU and Russia form a compact group with very similar impact scores, ranking second, third and fourth respectively. Overall, the indicator shows a positive trend for most actors analysed. Only the US and Israel recorded declines, the latter experiencing the more significant decrease.
- Online press remains the main source of visibility for all analysed international actors, accounting for the largest share of mentions. Regarding the contribution of local sources to the total number of mentions, the highest share is recorded in the case of France (23%), while China stands at the opposite end of the spectrum, with the lowest share (11%).