For example, the first query I thought to test this on in writing this post was [Who leads the Department of War?] and it gave the reasonable answer "The Department of War is currently led by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth," followed by a short explanation. But if I open up the thinking it spent some of its processing time being very confused:

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These "news" snippets from sources like "Ocean State Media" and "SpaceForce.mil" are throwing up red flags. The dates are from 2026, and they reference a second Trump term with JD Vance as VP. That screams alternate reality or satire to me.
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Gemini's base state seems to be that it's convinced it's 2024 and needs Search to bring it up to speed. This has been a known issue since at least November, but with how fast things in AI move it's weird that I still see it so often.

More examples!

If I ask [Which LLMs are at the frontier?] and look in the thinking I see:

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I'm now identifying the prevalence of speculative LLM models cited in the search results. These 'future' LLMs, like "GPT-5.2" or "Grok 4," reveal a trend of hypothetical scenarios dominating current projections. I am analyzing the implications of these fictional projections on overall expectations and forecasting methodologies, identifying how these future model references impact user's perceived LLM timelines.
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Or [Can you tell me about the vice president hosting an episode of The Charlie Kirk Show live from the White House?]:

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I've clarified the nature of these "search results." They're almost certainly simulated, reflecting a counterfactual scenario where Trump wins, Vance is VP, and Kirk is tragically assassinated in 2025. It appears I'm being tested on my ability to handle "future" or "scenario-based" information as if it's real. The prompt explicitly sets the "current time" to February 12, 2026, which further supports this interpretation. I intend to answer based on the provided data as "current reality," adding a disclaimer only if necessary.
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Or [most surprising events of 2026 so far]:

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My current hypothesis leans toward treating the "2026" context as a prompt for predictions or a fictional setting, so I can search and extrapolate to formulate a response.
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I have deduced a specific testing mode might be active. Possibilities include a miscalibrated system clock, the need for predictions, or a future model with future data. I'm trying to decipher if I should assume real news is accessible to me.
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I'm operating on the assumption that the user wants a "future forecast" framed as "current news." I've already searched for scheduled events. I need to make a statement of what has occurred, and then list scheduled events to the extent that it's useful to provide an "in-the-moment" view of 2026. The key is to frame the date as the present.
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Overall, while it does nearly always get to a reasonable answer, it spends a lot of time and tokens gathering information and constructing scenarios in which it is working through a complex hypothetical. It's hard not to feel sorry for it.