Geopolitics Breaking News Alert System

Workflow Name: Geopolitics Breaking News Alert System
Author: Devjothi Dutta
Category: Productivity, News & Media, AI/Machine Learning
Complexity: Medium
Setup Time: 45-60 minutes

📖 Description

An intelligent geopolitical monitoring system that filters 200+ daily news articles down to only the critical breaking news that matters to you. This workflow uses smart keyword filtering and AI-powered scoring to eliminate noise, reduce AI costs, and deliver only high-priority geopolitical alerts to Telegram.

The Problem: Traditional news monitoring is overwhelming - hundreds of articles per hour, 95% irrelevant to your region of interest, no urgency prioritization, and critical breaking news gets buried in noise.

The Solution: This workflow combines dual-layer filtering (primary + secondary keywords) with AI scoring to distinguish actual breaking news from general news coverage. By filtering first and scoring second, you reduce AI API costs by 80-90% while ensuring you never miss critical geopolitical developments. Switch between monitoring India, China, Middle East, Russia-Ukraine, or any region by simply changing a configuration file.

Perfect for government analysts, corporate security teams, investment research firms, news organizations, or anyone who needs to stay informed about geopolitical developments without information overload.

👥 Who's it for

For Government & Defense Analysts:

• Monitor specific regions for military actions, diplomatic developments, and security threats
• Filter by mission-critical keywords to eliminate irrelevant news
• AI scoring identifies genuine breaking news vs routine coverage
• Reduce analyst workload by 90% through intelligent automation

For Corporate Security & Risk Teams:

• Track geopolitical risks affecting global supply chains and operations
• Custom keyword filters for industry-specific concerns (e.g., "semiconductor", "tariff", "sanctions")
• Real-time alerts for events impacting business continuity
• Cost-efficient monitoring with minimal AI API usage

For Investment Research Firms:

• Monitor emerging market geopolitical risks affecting portfolio companies
• AI scoring differentiates market-moving events from background noise
• Configurable alert thresholds based on investment strategy (conservative vs aggressive)
• Track multiple regions simultaneously with different configs

For News Organizations & Journalists:

• Monitor breaking geopolitical developments for editorial coverage
• Filter by urgency to prioritize assignment desk resources
• Aggregate multiple international news sources in one place
• Extend alerts to newsroom Slack channels or email

✨ Key Features

• 🎯 Smart Dual-Layer Filtering - Primary keywords ensure regional relevance, secondary keywords filter by event type (military, diplomatic, economic)
• 🤖 AI-Powered Urgency Scoring - GPT-4o-mini scores articles 1-10 based on geopolitical urgency, distinguishing breaking news from routine coverage
• 💰 Cost-Efficient Design - Filter first, score second approach reduces AI API calls by 80-90% (only ~5 articles analyzed out of 200)
• 🌍 Multi-Region Support - Monitor India, China, Middle East, Russia-Ukraine, or any region by switching config files
• 📰 Multi-Source RSS Aggregation - Combines 6 international news sources (NYT, BBC, Al Jazeera, SCMP, regional feeds)
• 🔄 Duplicate Detection - Persistent storage prevents re-analyzing same articles across multiple executions
• 📊 Consolidated Alerts - Single Telegram message with all breaking news, grouped by urgency score
• ⏰ Flexible Scheduling - Configure trigger interval per your needs (15min for active conflicts, 3hr for routine monitoring)
• 💾 Config-Driven Architecture - All filters, keywords, and scoring rules in Google Drive JSON file
• 🔒 Production Ready - Tested end-to-end with real-world India and China configurations
• 📈 Scalable Design - Run multiple regional configs in parallel, extend to Slack/WhatsApp/Email delivery

🛠️ Requirements

Required Services:

1. n8n (version 1.0+) - Workflow automation platform
   • Free tier: n8n cloud or self-hosted Docker
   • Required feature: Data Tables (for duplicate tracking)
2. OpenAI API (GPT-4o-mini) - AI scoring engine
   • Cost: ~$0.10/day for 30min intervals
   • Free tier: $5 credit for new accounts
3. Telegram Bot - Alert delivery
   • Free: Create via @BotFather on Telegram
   • Get chat ID via @userinfobot
4. Google Drive - Config file storage
   • Free: Any Google account
   • Used for publicly shared JSON config files

Required Credentials:

• OpenAI API Key - Get from platform.openai.com (GPT-4o-mini access)
• Telegram Bot Token - Create bot via @BotFather, get token
• n8n Data Table - Built-in n8n feature (no external credential)

Optional:

• Slack Webhook URL (for extending alerts to Slack)
• SMTP credentials (for email alerts)
• Twilio account (for WhatsApp/SMS alerts)

📦 What's Included

This workflow package includes:

• Complete n8n workflow JSON (ready to import)
• Complete setup guide - Detailed configuration with Data Table setup, troubleshooting
• Technical architecture documentation
• Use cases and customization guide
• 4 pre-built regional configs (India, China, Middle East, Russia-Ukraine)

🚀 Quick Start

Full setup takes 45-60 minutes. For detailed step-by-step instructions, see SETUP_GUIDE.md

Overview

1. Create n8n Data Table (analyzed_articles with 2 columns)
2. Upload config to Google Drive (choose region, share publicly, get file ID)
3. Import workflow (22 nodes ready to configure)
4. Configure nodes:
   • Update Google Drive config URL with your file ID
   • Update 6 RSS Feed URLs for your region
   • Link 3 Data Table nodes to analyzed_articles table
5. Add credentials (OpenAI API, Telegram Bot)
6. Set schedule (15min-daily based on monitoring needs)
7. Test workflow (verify filtering, scoring, alerts work)
8. Activate (workflow runs automatically on schedule)

Quick Start Result:

• ✅ 200+ articles processed → 5-7 filtered → 3-5 scored → 1-3 alerts sent
• ✅ Telegram receives consolidated breaking news message
• ✅ Workflow runs every 30min (or your chosen interval)
• ✅ Total monthly cost: $3-5 (OpenAI API only)

Need help? See detailed SETUP_GUIDE.md for complete instructions with screenshots and troubleshooting.

📊 Workflow Stats

• Nodes: 22
• Complexity: Medium
• Execution Time: ~30-60 seconds per run
• Monthly Cost: $3-5 (OpenAI API usage only)
• Maintenance: Minimal (update RSS feeds if sources change)
• Scalability: Handles 200+ articles per execution, easily scales to 10+ RSS feeds

🎨 Customization Options

• Add more regions: Create new config JSON files for North Korea, Taiwan, Africa, Latin America, etc.
• Multi-channel alerts: Extend to Slack, WhatsApp, Email, Discord, Microsoft Teams, SMS
• Severity-based routing: Send critical alerts (score 9-10) via SMS, others to Telegram
• Custom scoring models: Switch between GPT-4o-mini, GPT-4o, Claude based on config
• Exclude keywords: Add "exclude_keywords" array to filter out sports, entertainment, weather
• Alert digest mode: Aggregate alerts into daily/weekly summary emails instead of real-time
• Dashboard integration: Connect to Grafana or Metabase for visual trend analysis
• Webhook triggers: Use workflow output to trigger other n8n workflows or external systems
• Custom RSS feeds: Add industry-specific or regional news sources
• Adjust alert threshold: Change from score >= 6 to higher/lower based on notification preferences

🔧 How it Works

1. Schedule Trigger (Configurable):
   • Workflow runs at your configured interval (15min, 30min, 1hr, 3hr, daily, etc.)
   • Trigger frequency depends on use case: active conflicts need more frequent monitoring
2. Config Loading:
   • HTTP Request node fetches JSON config from Google Drive
   • Config contains: keywords, scoring rules, AI role, alert threshold, Telegram chat ID
3. RSS Aggregation:
   • 6 RSS Feed nodes fetch articles from international news sources
   • Merge node combines all feeds (~200 articles per execution)
   • RSS Cleanup node strips HTML and normalizes to 5 fields (60-75% size reduction)
4. Smart Filtering (Cost Optimization Layer 1):
   • Dynamic Filter checks PRIMARY keywords (geographic/entity: "india", "modi", "delhi")
   • Also checks SECONDARY keywords (event type: "military", "conflict", "trade deal")
   • Both conditions required: Article must mention at least one primary AND one secondary
   • Result: 200 articles reduced to ~5-7 relevant articles (95% reduction)
   • Why this matters: Eliminates noise BEFORE expensive AI scoring
5. Duplicate Detection (Cost Optimization Layer 2):
   • Queries Data Table for previously analyzed article links
   • Filters out articles already scored in last 7 days
   • Result: ~5-7 filtered articles reduced to ~3-5 new articles
   • Why this matters: Prevents redundant AI API calls (saves 80% on repeat articles)
6. Dynamic AI Prompt Generation:
   • Code node builds system prompt from config.ai_role and config.scoring_criteria
   • Instructs AI: "You are a geopolitical analyst for [REGION]. Score articles 1-10..."
   • Includes scoring rubric: 9-10 = Military Action, 7-8 = Trade/Economic, etc.
7. AI Urgency Scoring (Breaking News Detection):
   • Breaking News Analyzer (GPT-4o-mini) evaluates geopolitical urgency
   • Scores 1-10: Distinguishes genuine breaking news from routine coverage
   • Returns: score, category, reasoning, should_alert (true/false based on threshold)
   • Cost: ~$0.002 per article (only ~3-5 articles scored per execution)
8. Alert Decision:
   • IF node checks: should_alert === true (score >= config.alert_threshold)
   • Only high-priority alerts proceed to Telegram
   • Articles below threshold are logged but not sent
9. Alert Aggregation:
   • Consolidates multiple breaking news alerts into single Telegram message
   • Groups by urgency score with color-coded emojis (🔴 9-10, 🟠 7-8, 🟡 6-7)
   • Includes: score, category, title, link for each alert
10. Telegram Delivery:
    • Sends consolidated alert to configured Telegram chat
    • Uses HTML formatting for bold text and clickable links
    • Chat ID dynamically loaded from config (different regions → different chats)

💡 Pro Tips

• Start with Higher Threshold: Begin with alert_threshold = 7 to avoid alert fatigue, lower to 6 after tuning keywords
• Regional RSS Matters: Use region-specific news sources for better coverage (e.g., Times of India for India, not just BBC/NYT)
• Test Keywords First: Run workflow manually with "Test Workflow" to verify keyword filtering before activating schedule
• Monitor AI Costs: Check OpenAI usage dashboard after first week to confirm ~$0.10/day cost estimate
• Tune Secondary Keywords: Add domain-specific terms to secondary keywords (e.g., "semiconductor" for tech supply chain monitoring)
• Use Separate Configs for Critical Regions: Clone workflow for high-priority regions instead of switching configs manually
• Schedule Based on Time Zones: Align execution intervals with business hours in monitored region (e.g., 9AM-6PM IST for India)
• Clear Duplicates for Testing: Manually clear analyzed_articles Data Table when testing new configs for fresh results
• Backup Working Configs: Export and version control config files before making major keyword changes
• Consider Alert Fatigue: Score 9-10 events are rare (0-1 per day), score 6-8 events are common (2-5 per day) - set threshold accordingly

🔗 Related Workflows

• Multi-Region Geopolitics Dashboard - Combine multiple regional configs into single monitoring dashboard
• Geopolitical Risk Scoring for Portfolios - Integrate with stock portfolio data to assess investment risk
• Automated Geopolitical Intelligence Reports - Generate daily/weekly PDF reports from breaking news data
• Conflict Escalation Tracker - Track score trends over time to detect escalating tensions
• Supply Chain Risk Alerting - Focus on trade/sanctions news affecting global supply chains

📧 Support & Feedback

For questions, issues, or feature requests:

• GitHub: n8n-geopolitics-breaking-news-alert Repository
• n8n Community Forum: Tag @devdutta
• Email: [email protected]

📄 License

MIT License - Free to use, modify, and distribute

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