Methodology

How we collect, score, and present crisis intelligence

Data Sources

RedAlertDirect aggregates crisis data from the following verified public sources:

GDELT 2.0 — Global news event database, updated every 15 minutes from 100+ news organisations
ReliefWeb API — UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) humanitarian reports
ACLED — Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, covering 250+ countries
USGS — US Geological Survey for earthquake and geological event data
NASA EONET — Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker for natural disasters
UNHCR — UN Refugee Agency for displacement and refugee data

All sources are publicly available and free to access. We do not rely on anonymous or unverified sources.

AI Summarisation

Raw event data is processed using Anthropic's Claude AI model to generate structured summaries, timelines, and context. The AI is instructed to:

Cite only verified primary sources
Avoid speculation or editorialising
Flag uncertainty or conflicting reports explicitly
Maintain neutrality across all political, ethnic, and national perspectives

All AI-generated content is reviewed and labelled. We acknowledge AI systems can make errors — if you spot an inaccuracy, please contact us.

Severity Scoring (0–100)

Each crisis is assigned a severity score based on a weighted composite of the following factors:

Factor	Weight	Data Source
Displacement scale (IDPs + refugees)	30%	UNHCR, OCHA
Civilian casualty rate	25%	ACLED, news aggregation
Escalation trajectory (30-day trend)	20%	GDELT, ACLED
Humanitarian aid access	15%	ReliefWeb, OCHA
Regional spillover risk	10%	AI assessment

Scores are recalculated with each data refresh. A score of 90+ indicates a critical humanitarian emergency.

Update Cadence

Crisis summaries are updated daily via automated data ingestion. Breaking developments may trigger more frequent updates. The "last updated" timestamp on each crisis card reflects the most recent data refresh, not necessarily a change in the situation.

What We Don't Do

We do not fabricate or estimate statistics — all figures are sourced from named organisations
We do not publish unverified social media reports
We do not take political positions on any conflict
We do not accept payment to feature or suppress any crisis

Limitations

Crisis data is inherently incomplete. Access restrictions, reporting delays, and political sensitivities mean some situations are underreported. Severity scores are models, not ground truth. Always cross-reference with official sources before making decisions.