This was a fun one to compile. The list this week is dominated by three events, with all three having their origins in the confluence of internet culture and wider entertainment. Perhaps unsurprisingly, #1 is occupied by The Last Jedi. More substantially for the report as a whole, however, the second season of The Crown was released on Netflix. Binge-watchers are spending ample time between episodes parsing the pages of the historical figures upon whom the show is based, and these views elevate an extraordinary number of British royals into the report.
Finally, and most pertinently, is politics. Firstly, many an editor relished the defeat of Roy Moore, with this curiosity driving multiple election-related articles into the Top 25. More extraordinarily was the death of net neutrality, which has inspired a massive reaction across the entire internet. People flocked to the article to determine what exactly the FCC is up to. If this continues to escalate, we may be headed towards a repeat of previous online anarchy. The report, once again, may be lacking in diversity between topics, but it is irrefutable that it is riveting.
For the week of December 10 to 16, the 25 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the WP:5000 report were:
Arguably the only item in the world more divisive than #2, the newest film in the space opera series has been unleashed on the world. People are warring over whether or not it is the greatest piece of art in history, or the worst atrocity ever committed. As a loyal cinephile, I can confirm that it is neither, but does feature Carrie Fisher(pictured) as Mary Poppins.
It's timeto talk about this issue again, despite John Oliver's stoic stand against it. The Verizon shill, and the most despised man on Reddit this week (take a breather, EA), Ajit Pai (#14) announced the FCC's intention to eliminate net neutrality and allow ISP's to destroy the free internet. We stopped this before, we can do it again. We need to take a stand.
Sister to the reigning British monarch, Margaret was a perennially controversial figure within the British royal family, renowned for her promiscuity. She has risen to recent fame as a result of her portrayal by Vanessa Kirby in The Crown (#21), which charts the marriage of the elegant princess to a photographer named Tony. (#10)
One of the most poised and powerful people on the planet, the queen occupies an unparalleled prominence and stature in media circles, which is often reflected in her appearances on the Top 25 Report. This week, as with many of her immediate family members, her high tally among the custodians of Wikipedia can be attributed to Claire Foy and the continuing period drama about her earlier life which occupies the 21st slot on the list. Or maybe it is that the internet shares her canine obsession.
The phenomenon continues, as the cryptocurrency passed the $20,000 dollar threshold this week. History indicates that the wings driving this meteoric rise will never melt.
The Bollywood actress, who gained prominence in a film of comparable scope to #1, drew the attention of Indian Wikipedians as a result of her extravagant wedding to Mr. Kohli (#8).
Kohli is one of the most prominent players of India's favorite sport, cricket, and the second half of the local power couple following his marriage to Anushka Sharma (#7). No word yet on the quantity of musical numbers at the reception, but one imagines, given the bride's pedigree, that it was high.
Rian Johnson(pictured) was in the director's chair for the eighth main series installment (#1) in the long-running saga. It appears that avid followers of the Jedi were cramming pre-show to catch up and find out exactly why Mark Hamill is standing on Skellig Michael.
Lord Snowdon was married to Margaret (#3), a tumultuous tying of the proverbial knot which ended in divorce in 1978. The controversial photo shoot where they made their acquaintance is depicted in the new season of #21.
Ecstatic to see this personal hero, pioneer in physics and champion of the small, sneak into the report as a result of a Google Doodle. This prompted many enthusiasts of theoretical physics to visit the encyclopedia, in order to pop by his article and give the German a wave. His student and friend will either tell you how many views his page received, or the speed with which he received them, but not both.
Even with staunch presidential support (birds of a feather flock together) and the backing of the most powerful party in the state, Roy Moore was unable to claim victory in Alabama, forfeiting the seat formerly occupied by Jeff Sessions. Yet he would rather secede than concede the results. When we next hear about this guy, it will be because Trump sacked the federal prosecutor investigating his alleged pedophilia. Sad!
This. Hopefully, I also still will have the right to (allegedly) tell this (alleged) piece of excrement where exactly he can place his (allegedly) obnoxious Reese's Peanut Butter Cupsmug. (It is at junctures like these that WP:BLP feels restrictive.)
The Democrat from Dixiecrat territory claimed a Senate seat in an unprecedented, and much documented victory over Roy Moore by a narrow but substantial margin of 1.5%. The result reduces the Republican hold on the famed chamber to a slim 51-49 majority. The attorney celebrated by defending an alleged sexual abuser, and I can feel the hope draining from me as I type. sigh
The prominent British broadcaster died this week, and triggered an avalanche of interest in his article. He implemented a strict ad-lib policy on his shows, and reportedly, no one ever wrote a word for him. That may make the epitaph difficult.
Son of #4, and all around unlikable individual, Prince Charles embodies every reason why many dislike the royal family with such vehemency. However, we does appear in #21 as a child, and all Netflix shows are highly buoyant for Wikipedia page views, even the family's car crash kids.
The Sith master is often excluded from the report due to the lack of views from mobile devices (indicative of inflated views due to bot activity). However, buoyed perhaps by the release of #1, in which his grandson continues desperately to emulate him, Anakin passes the threshold and sneaks onto the Report. All should fear his march.
A harrowing victim of online harassment, the pornographic actress committed suicide a fortnight ago having been the recipient of vast swathes of online abuse. Wikipedians, many of whom frequent the ever-excluded XHamster (*not me though, if my parents are reading this*), are still visiting her page in the wake of her demise.
The extravagant, exuberant, and extremely English series returned to Netflix recently. As a show that charts the early era of Elizabeth's reign, it excels, but I find it rather lacking as a documentary regarding the creation of the eponymous garment, now hoisted in a perennial ornamental role. But what have you?
This entry supplied by the fine folks over at Google, who celebrated the 174th birthday of the magnificent microbiologist with a Doodle. This drove immense interest amongst idle web searchers, who strove to learn about the micro-auric standard.
Da Vinci. Van Gogh. Kubrick. Wiseau. All of these bastions of artistic expressions created magna opera, which we unequivocally be held as some of humanity's greatest creations for centuries to come. Wiseau's masterpiece is experiencing a growth in fame due to the success of the film about it.
Oh vey! Another year goes by, another wave of gentiles flood the encyclopedia to find out what exactly lies behind the candelabra. Can the man upstairs help organize a cessation of Israel-Palestine edit wars to celebrate?
We round out the report with the joyous news that, contrary to polls, the people of Alabama are slightly more concerned by multiple cases of alleged sexual assault against minors than party loyalties. Yay? Gotta take the small victories, I guess.
This list excludes the Wikipedia main page, non-article pages (such as redlinks), and anomalous entries (such as DDoS attacks or likely automated views). Since mobile view data became available to the Report in October 2014, we exclude articles that have almost no mobile views (5–6% or less) or almost all mobile views (94–95% or more) because they are very likely to be automated views based on our experience and research of the issue. Please feel free to discuss any removal on the talk page if you wish.
Note: If you came here from the Signpost article, please take any discussion of exclusions to this article's talk page.
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