What the Data Tells Us
We analyzed 30,020 articles and 319,131 quotes from media coverage of the World Economic Forum (Jan 19–23, 2026). Our data window captured Jan 17–24.
The Trump Effect
How one man dominated Davos 2026
Donald Trump captured 37% of all Davos coverage. 118,477 quotes—6.5x more than Zelenskyy in second place.
The AI Coronation
The Musk empire dominated, but finance held its ground
Tesla/SpaceX/xAI topped corporate coverage with 443 articles. But finance giants JPMorgan (#2) and BlackRock (#3) held their ground. AI had four companies in the top 10.
Rise of the Middle Powers
The buzzword that defined a power shift
"Middle powers" became the defining phrase of Davos 2026. Mark Carney drove 625 mentions of the term with his keynote. He had 14,296 quotes at 90% positive.
Winners and Losers
Volume and sentiment tell different stories
Volume and sentiment are different metrics. Trump won on attention, Prabowo won on tone, and Ursula von der Leyen won on both.
Climate Crisis? What Crisis?
Climate policy was 0.4% of Davos coverage
The WEF puts climate at its mission center. At Davos 2026, climate policy was 0.4% of coverage. Geopolitics got 67.5%.
The New World Order
Geopolitics consumed two-thirds of all coverage
Greenland—a territory, not a country—topped the country mention rankings. Geopolitics consumed 67.5% of all coverage.