Filter breaking geopolitical news with AI scoring & Telegram alerts

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 SETUPGUIDE.md Overview 1. Create n8n Data Table (analyzedarticles 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 analyzedarticles 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 SETUPGUIDE.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 "excludekeywords" 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.airole and config.scoringcriteria - 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, shouldalert (true/false based on threshold) - Cost: $0.002 per article (only 3-5 articles scored per execution) 8. Alert Decision: - IF node checks: shouldalert === true (score >= config.alertthreshold) - 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 alertthreshold = 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 analyzedarticles 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: devjothi@gmail.com 📄 License MIT License - Free to use, modify, and distribute --- ⭐ If you find this workflow useful, please share your feedback and star the workflow! ---