How do you access GDELT data?

GDELT is labeled “Open download” on this guide. Open the access portal or documentation links on the record for the current host process—do not assume open download if registration or a DUA is required.

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GDELT

GDELT — Global Database of Events, Language, and Tone (India filter)

Name: GDELT — Global Database of Events, Language, and Tone (India filter)
Creator: GDELT Project

GDELT is used for large-scale event and media-tone research with India-filtered extracts.

Open downloadCore referenceVery large

conflict protest international governance

Host / institution

GDELT Project · GDELT Project

Geography

global including India, geocoded when available

Time coverage

From 1979 (1.0) / modern GDELT 2.0 continuous

Update frequency

Near real-time (15-minute updates historically)

What this is best for

High-frequency machine-coded news events mentioning India when volume and latency matter more than hand-coding

Main limitations

Huge files; false positives and media bias; not expert-validated like ACLED/UCDP; India extracts need careful filtering

Quick answers

Short research-facing answers derived from this catalog record.

What is GDELT used for?: High-frequency machine-coded news events mentioning India when volume and latency matter more than hand-coding
How do you access GDELT data?: GDELT is labeled “Open download” on this guide. Open the access portal or documentation links on the record for the current host process—do not assume open download if registration or a DUA is required.
What geography and time does GDELT cover?: Geography: global including India, geocoded when available. Time coverage: From 1979 (1.0) / modern GDELT 2.0 continuous.
What are the main limitations of GDELT?: Huge files; false positives and media bias; not expert-validated like ACLED/UCDP; India extracts need careful filtering

Background & previous rounds

GDELT machine-codes global news into CAMEO-style events plus a Global Knowledge Graph. For India, researchers typically filter on location/actor fields in BigQuery or daily files. ACLED’s methodological notes caution that full India-year extracts can require stitching many files. Prefer ACLED/UCDP for curated conflict research; use GDELT for nowcasting and media-attention studies.

Guides for using this data

Official portals, user guides, codebooks, and tutorials for access and analysis.

2 links

Variables6

Representative fields from GDELT Project materials (confirm full dictionary on the official portal). Representative fields for the page table — verify the full dictionary on the official site.

Open official dictionary

Name / code	Description	Group
CAMEO event codes	CAMEO event codes	Representative fields
actors	Actors	Representative fields
Goldstein scale	Goldstein scale	Representative fields
tone	Tone	Representative fields
locations	Locations	Representative fields
source URLs	Source URLs	Representative fields

Formats

BigQuery · raw CSV dumps · DOC 2.0 / GKG

Technical tags

machine-coded eventsBigQuerynews firehose

Example uses

Media-attention shocks; protest keyword spikes; cross-border event networks

Open access portal Documentation

Pairs well with

Many Indian data problems need survey + administrative combinations.