In existence for only 21 years, Wikipedia is the world’s most popular internet information source, with 1.8 billion people visiting the site every year. Because its 58+ million articles are written by unpaid contributors, edited by other contributors, it is not considered a fully credible research tool and is much maligned by the academic community, which generally forbids students from relying on its content.
Nevertheless, Wikipedia is the go-to source for quick reference. It is a godsend for those who remember chasing down data or resolving a trivia dispute by spending time in the library, or, with luck, getting the reference librarian to do the work. And unlike the set of encyclopedias many people used to have in their homes, Wikipeidia is constantly being updated by its volunteer editors, and is able to tell you what has happened this week. (Libraries are still vital, of course. These are the best states for public libraries.)
To determine the most popular Wikipedia page every week for the past year, 24/7 Tempo reviewed Wikipedia’s Top 25 Report, a curated weekly report of the 25 most popular articles on the site. The tally, says Wikipedia, “exclude[s] articles for which high view counts appear to be overly influenced by non-human views.”
As it turns out, the most popular Wikipedia articles mostly relate to pop culture. Of the past 52 weeks, the most popular topics for 23 weeks were about TV shows, films, and actors – often following their deaths – and, for ten weeks, about sports figures and sports events, mainly relating to soccer. The popularity of the site in India may be seen from the fact that for eight weeks the No. 1 search was for an Indian celebrity or film.
Click here to see the most popular Wikipedia page every week for the past year
Hard news rarely took precedence, with the exception of three weeks dominated by Putin and his war against Ukraine, two relating to the Black Lives Matter movement, and one about the Taliban. None of the most popular pages in a given week addressed Covid, climate change, immigration, abortion, inflation, or U.S. politics. (These are 32 famous people you didn’t know were born in Ukraine.)
Source: Mario Tama / Getty Images News via Getty Images
Apr. 18 to Apr. 24, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Derek Chauvin
> Views: 2,221,610
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Source: Pool / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
Apr. 25 to May 1, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: 93rd Academy Awards
> Views: 1,571,338
Source: Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
May 2 to May 8, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Bill Gates
> Views: 1,371,353
Source: Chesnot / Getty Images
May 9 to May 15, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Elon Musk
> Views: 2,023,222
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May 16 to May 22, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Eurovision Song Contest 2021
> Views: 1,610,619
May 23 to May 29, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Army of the Dead (2021 film)
> Views: 1,584,244
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Source: John Phillips / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
May 30 to Jun. 5, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Mare of Easttown (TV series)
> Views: 1,232,548
Source: Laurence Griffiths / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
Jun. 6 to Jun. 12, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: UEFA Euro 2020 (soccer qualifying tournament)
> Views: 1,725,754
Source: Bastiaan Slabbers / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
Jun. 13 to Jun. 19, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Juneteenth
> Views: 2,615,582
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Jun. 20 to Jun. 26, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: UEFA Euro 2020
> Views: 3,826,236
Jun. 27 to Jul. 3, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: UEFA Euro 2020
> Views: 2,920,042
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Jul. 4 to Jul. 10, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Dilip Kumar (Indian film star)
> Views: 2,517,717
Jul. 11 to Jul. 17, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Black Widow (2021 film)
> Views: 1,640,488
Source: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images
Jul. 18 to Jul. 24, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Giannis Antetokounmpo (NBA star)
> Views: 2,034,685
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Source: winhorse / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
Jul. 25 to Jul. 31, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: 2020 Summer Olympics
> Views: 3,775,926
Source: Joel Papalini / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
Aug. 1 to Aug. 7, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: 2020 Summer Olympics
> Views: 3,278,702
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Aug. 8 to Aug. 14, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: The Suicide Squad (2021 film)
> Views: 2,004,116
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Source: ewg3D / iStock Unreleased via Getty Images
Aug. 15 to Aug. 21, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Taliban
> Views: 6,195,799
Source: Michael Regan / Getty Images
Aug. 22 to Aug. 28, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Cristiano Ronaldo (soccer star)
> Views: 1,857,188
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Source: Courtesy of Sidharth Shukla via Facebook
Aug. 29 to Sep. 4, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Sidharth Shukla (Indian film star)
> Views: 2,897,546
Sep. 5 to Sep. 11, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Emma Raducanu (tennis player)
> Views: 3,031,991
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Sep. 12 to Sep. 18, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Norm Macdonald (comedian)
> Views: 2,793,630
Sep. 19 to Sep. 25, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Squid Game (Korean TV series)
> Views: 2,508,476
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Sep. 26 to Oct. 2, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Squid Game
> Views: 4,675,856
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Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
Oct. 3 to Oct. 9, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Squid Game
> Views: 5,400,927
Source: Chung Sung-Jun / Getty Images News via Getty Images
Oct. 10 to Oct. 16, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Squid Game
> Views: 3,648,028
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Source: Photo by Drew Angerer / Getty Images
Oct. 17 to Oct. 23, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Colin Powell
> Views: 2,232,933
Oct. 24 to Oct. 30, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Puneeth Rajkumar (Indian film star)
> Views: 3,250,947
Oct. 31 to Nov. 6, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Eternals (2021 film)
> Views: 1,884,050
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Nov. 7 to Nov. 13, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Eternals
> Views: 1,669,266
Nov. 14 to Nov. 20, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Kenosha unrest shooting
> Views: 2,822,572
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Nov. 21 to Nov. 27, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Ralf Rangnick (soccer star)
> Views: 1,673,772
Nov. 28 to Dec. 4, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Virgil Abloh (fashion designer)
> Views: 1,740,726
Dec. 5 to Dec. 11, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Bipin Rawat (India’s chief of defense)
> Views: 3,257,899
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Source: Franco Origlia / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
Dec. 12 to Dec. 18, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021 film)
> Views: 4,812,556
Source: Elisabetta Villa / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
Dec. 19 to Dec. 25, 2021
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Spider-Man: No Way Home
> Views: 3,730,119
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Source: Michael Ochs Archives / Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images
Dec. 26, 2021 to Jan. 1, 2022
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Betty White
> Views: 6,250,441
Source: Rodin Eckenroth / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
Jan. 2 to Jan. 8, 2022
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Betty White
> Views: 2,084,339
Source: Leon Bennett / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
Jan. 9 to Jan. 15, 2022
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Bob Saget
> Views: 5,723,931
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Source: Keystone / Getty Images
Jan. 16 to Jan. 22, 2022
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Meat Loaf
> Views: 3,032,358
Jan. 23 to Jan. 29, 2022
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Ashleigh Barty (tennis player)
> Views: 942,625
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Source: Drew Angerer / Getty Images
Jan. 30 to Feb. 5, 2022
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Justin Trudeau
> Views: 2,338,088
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Feb. 6 to Feb. 12, 2022
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Lata Mangeshkar (Indian singer)
> Views: 3,532,616
Source: Dave Kotinsky / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
Feb. 13 to Feb. 19, 2022
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Anna Sorokin (Russian con artist)
> Views: 3,759,292
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Source: Silent_GOS / iStock via Getty Images
Feb. 20 to Feb. 26, 2022
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Ukraine
> Views: 6,749,176
Source: Chris McGrath / Getty Images News via Getty Images
Feb. 27 to Mar. 5, 2022
> Most popular Wikipedia page: 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
> Views: 7,647,610
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Source: WPA Pool / Getty Images News via Getty Images
Mar. 6 to Mar. 12, 2022
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Vladimir Putin
> Views: 3,815,361
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Mar. 13 to Mar. 19, 2022
> Most popular Wikipedia page: The Kashmir Files (2022 film)
> Views: 2,623,323
Source: 91170430@N05 / Flickr
Mar. 20 to Mar. 26, 2022
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters drummer)
> Views: 2,296,427
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Source: Amy Sussman / Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Images
Mar. 27 to Apr. 2, 2022
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Jada Pinkett Smith
> Views: 3,341,264
Apr. 3 to Apr. 9, 2022
> Most popular Wikipedia page: Wrestlemania 38
> Views: 2,205,071
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Apr. 10 to Apr. 16, 2022
> Most popular Wikipedia page: K.G.F: Chapter 2 (2022 film)
> Views: 2,505,301
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Apr. 17 to Apr. 23, 2022
> Most popular Wikipedia page: K.G.F: Chapter 2
> Views: 3,443,321
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