The <i>E</i> in <i>GDELT</i> in quite misleading, since it's about the media footprint of events not about the magnitude or relevance of the events themselves.<p>Recommended reading in this context:<p><a href="http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/mapping-kidnappings-in-nigeria/" rel="nofollow">http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/mapping-kidnappings-in-ni...</a><p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2014/05/27/covering-only-a-part-of-war/" rel="nofollow">http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2014/05/2...</a>
This is great news! I actually worked with Kalev on this in 2007-2009 in collecting the event database at University of Illinois, and it was one of the most interesting experiences of my life. Glad to see it finally opened up for general public/researchers.