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Wikipedia, the world’s largest online crowdsourced encyclopedia, continues to serve as an indispensable resource for anyone seeking knowledge. As a living record of history and the present, Wikipedia remains central to how people worldwide access information.
The release of the Wikipedia Most-Read Articles for 2024 highlights the topics that captured global attention throughout the year. Like Spotify wrapped for the world, these trending Wikipedia pages showcase the events, people, and ideas that shaped our collective consciousness.
As one might expect, death was a major theme in 2024. Deaths in 2024 claimed the top spot in the Most Popular Wikipedia Articles list. This reflects how the world was preoccupied with the passing of key figures. Among them was Susan Wojcicki, the CEO of YouTube, who passed away in August.
A key figure in Google’s history, Wojcicki rented out her garage to Google’s founders, marking the beginning of one of the world’s most influential companies. Her family reposted her last blog and YouTube after she died, where she encouraged people to embrace the beauty of the ordinary. Every person has many unknowns in life. No matter how old they are, life is just uncertain for anyone. There is a lot of beauty in everyday life,” she wrote, leaving a beautiful message among the many problems.
Politics dominated the trending Wikipedia pages of 2024 to a great extent. As witnessed through political tension and effective polarization throughout the year, people sought information on candidates, elections, and politics from Wikipedia. The most-read Wikipedia article was about the 2024 United States Presidential Election, attracting 4.2 million views on election day. Reflected by the current popularity, this concern illustrates the international concern with the election and its result.
There were several politicians on this list as well, and the most popular article on the list was The Second Female Vice President of the United States of America, Kamala Harris, with 28.9+ million views. Others are Donald Trump, JD Vance, Joe Biden, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The latter’s page got many more hits after he recorded an X video that became popular on Twitter, telling an eerie story of finding a dead baby bear that intrigued people across the globe.
The political upset was harsh, but pop culture was a blessing, with several wiki articles trending in 2024. The two brothers, Lyle and Erik, the Menendez brothers, returned to the limelight. The Netflix series Monsters: Interest and visits to the now popular Lyle and Erik Menendez page were boosted by the rerun brought by The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. The brothers, convicted of murdering their parents after enduring years of abuse, are now at the center of a renewed debate, especially following the release of the Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed docuseries.
Other pop culture phenomena that made it to the Wikipedia Most-Read Articles list include Deadpool & Wolverine, Taylor Swift, and Dune: Part Two. Taylor Swift was 11th on the list with more than 17 million views, proving she still reigns supreme internationally. Again, subtopics such as Griselda Blanco and Sean Combs received the same improvement in pageviews, fully demonstrating that people continue to engage in news concerning celebrities and those within the entertainment and crime industries.
The trending Wikipedia page also got its feet wet in the sports articles of the year 2024. Users’ interest in the event remained high during the event's coverage, as the most popular sports-related topic of 2024 was the Summer Olympics. The other major news that attracted a lot of traffic was the Indian Premier League and Cristiano Ronaldo, proving that the world still loves football and cricket.
Meanwhile, in a year dominated by technological advancements, it is noteworthy that only one tech-related topic made the Most Popular Wikipedia Articles list: ChatGPT. The article on the AI chatbot was ranked as 12, providing insight into how artificial intelligence has increased population concept and usage. This is an indication of the increasing call for these AI tools and the ability of these tools to bring about changes.
The selected Wikipedia Most-Read Articles of 2024 give a glimpse of the Most-Read Articles in terms of interests and concerns of this year. Whether it was political instability, world pop culture, sports, or even the growing prominence of Artificial Intelligence, these Wikipedia articles mirror the broad spectrum of topics that dominated major conversations. It will be quite fascinating to see in 2025 which topics will continue to tide over the trending Wikipedia pages and what new issues, events, or personalities will mark their presence in the world. There is probably no person in the world who does not have an account on the famous Wikipedia, and the top articles correctly represent our collective conscience.
