Measuring the Gap Between Media Coverage and Public Information Demand: Evidence from the 2026 Lebanon Conflict

This study provides a quantitative analysis of the gap between media coverage and public information demand during the March 2026 Lebanon conflict. Using 11,623 English-language news articles from the GDELT database and Google Trends search data from within Lebanon, the study compares media agenda-setting with real-time public information needs across four categories: Conflict, Economy, Living Conditions, and Emigration. The results show a major divergence: conflict dominates 94.9% of news coverage, while economic conditions, daily life, and emigration account for the majority of public search demand. Time series analysis confirms that non-conflict information needs remain consistently elevated throughout the conflict period. These findings contribute to agenda-setting research and provide empirical evidence of misalignment between media priorities and public demand during active conflict.Preprint available on arXiv.Related analysis.