What do Taylor Swift, Andrew Tate and Robert Oppenheimer all have in common? They were the most searched articles on Wikipedia this year.
The platform shared a fascinating report revealing the topics most interested people in English-speaking countries.
Collectively, we racked up more than 84 billion views on Wikipedia this year.
The site’s page for ChatGPT was the top article, with more than 49 million views, following its breakout year that sparked curiosity and concern worldwide.
Curiosity and concern also played a part in the second most viewed Wikipedia article of the year: ‘Deaths in 2023’ ‘ which HAD over 42 million views.
Wikipedia keeps tabs on what the world searches for on its platform each year and has shared the top viewed pages of 2023
This year’s themes include more cinematic searches than in previous years, with Opennheimer and Barbie ranking fifth and 13th, respectively.
HBO’s ‘The Last of Us,’ ‘Avatar’ and ‘Guardians of the Galaxy 3’ also made the top 25 list, ranking 11th, 20th and 23rd.
And the Indian film, ‘Jawan,’ beat them all in eighth place.
Sports also took front and center this year, with soccer stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi also making the list.
People were interested in more serious topics, such as the Russian Invasion of Ukraine and the United States, which ranked 24th and 18th.
‘The most-viewed Wikipedia articles of 2023 tell the story of you and society at large seeking out knowledge about our ever-changing world from the world’s largest encyclopedia,’ the platform shared in an announcement.
The website, a free-content online encyclopedia, racked in more than 84 billion views this year, but ChatGPT was the top article with more than 49 million views
Meanwhile, the highly anticipated 2023 Cricket World Cup took third place – alongside three other cricket-related entries in Wikipedia’s top 25 articles this year, including the Indian Premier League in fourth, marking the first time cricket content has made the list since the Wikimedia Foundation started tracking in 2015.
HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ came in at number 11 with over 19 million views. The popular apocalyptic show debuted on January 15, instantly receiving acclaim from critics and viewers.
Controversial Andrew Tate is in last place with over 12 million page views, likely due to his numerous criminal investigations.
This year’s themes include more cinematic searches than in previous years, with Opennheimer and Barbie ranking fifth and 13th, respectively
Tate is currently after being charged with rape, human trafficking and forming a criminal gang to exploit women in 2022.
The late Matthew Perry was searched over 16 million times on Wikipedia.
Most of the page views came flooding in following the death of the Friends star in October when he was found unresponsive in his hot tub.
He was 54 years old at death.
Another celebrity death came in 22nd place – Lisa Marie Presley with over 22 million views.
Sports also took front and center this year, with soccer stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi also making the list
Presley was also 54 years old when she died of cardiac arrest in January.
But the list of celebrities is not all doom and gloom.
Taylor Swift was announced as Time’s Person of the Year, ranked 12th with more than 19 million views.
According to the Wikimedia Foundation, this top 25 list was created using English Wikipedia data as of November 28.
The nonprofit’s Numbers for the entire year are set to be updated on January 3, 2024.
The top countries that accessed English Wikipedia overall to date in 2023 are the United States (33.2 billion) and the United Kingdom (nine billion) – followed by India (8.48 billion), Canada (3.95 billion) and Australia (2.56 billion), according to Wikimedia Foundation data shared with The Associated Press.
