Spotify has redefined annual roundups with “Spotify Wrapped,” and several other brands and outlets are trying their own version.
To show what the world was looking for in 2023, the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit organization that runs the world-famous information website Wikipedia, released its own version of “Spotify Wrapped” that lists the site's most popular English pages in 2023.
The Wikimedia Foundation said the English Wikipedia had received more than 84 billion views during the year and published the 25 Wikipedia pages that garnered the most views. These covered a variety of topics such as technology, film and television, celebrities and sports.
While some of the entries on the list probably won't be a surprise to anyone, like Taylor Swift and Elon Musk! — the order of the terms in the list can be a reminder that the world is much bigger than what the Internet feeds into our individual algorithms. As the Wikimedia Foundation post points out, this is an indication of the knowledge “you and society” seek.
Below are the five most viewed pages. Before you scroll down, try to guess who or what the top five might be.
Related: 'Buy now, pay later' is more popular and riskier than ever
5. Oppenheimer (film): 28.3 million page views
The films “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” conquered the world in the summer. The two films were released at the same time in late July, but had opposite themes: “Oppenheimer” was the grim biopic of the creator of the atomic bomb that was used for mass bombings, and “Barbie” was a feel-good movie. about an iconic fictional doll.
The two were so close that fans plastered the “Barbenheimer” brand on the two films and the idea of watching both films back to back in one day was a trend that spread around the world.
“Barbie,” the shorter and much happier film, won at the box office, grossing a whopping $1.4 billion worldwide, compared to the still impressive $900 million-plus that “Oppenheimer” grossed. But “Oppenheimer” received more Wikipedia page views: 28.3 million to Barbie's 18.1 million, putting her in 13th place on the list.
4. Indian Premier League: 32 million page views
Soccer is the most popular sport in the world, soccer is the most popular sport in the United States, but cricket was by far the most searched sport on Wikipedia in 2023. The sport is one of the most popular sports in the world despite of not having made great progress on American soil, and the Indian Premier League is considered the most important professional league in the world.
If it's not clear how popular the sport is around the world: there were four cricket-related pages that were in the top 10 page views of Wikipedia. (Spoiler: There's one more in the top 3!)
It also partly indicated the volume of searches in India, which also had two Bollywood films (“Jawan” and “Pathaan”) in the top 10 most searched stories, behind Oppenheimer but ahead of other Hollywood films such as “Barbie.” and “Avatar.” : The Way of Water.”
3. Cricket World Cup 2023: 38.2 million page views
The only thing related to cricket that is more popular than the most prestigious league is the most prestigious tournament. The tournament ran from October 5 to November 19 and was the first tournament in which all matches were played in India.
But while India's Virat Kohli won the Player of the Tournament award at home, the hosts failed to secure the all-important trophy as Australia defeated India in the final.
The Wikimedia Foundation said the 2023 Cricket World Cup generated 304% more interest than the last iteration of the topic, which was in 2019.
Cricket's dominance in the Wikipedia list is new, but it also conveys the popularity of the sports around the world. The same third place spot that the 2023 Cricket World Cup had this year was the 2022 FIFA World Cup last year, while soccer stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were in the top 15 for the last two years.
2. Deaths in 2023: 42.7 million page views
The Wikimedia Foundation said the death list is always a popular page on Wikipedia and ranked fourth in 2022 with 46.5 million page views. The company indicates that the lists are divided into lists month by month to keep their length low.
Matthew Perry, who played Chandler Bing in the world-famous 90s sitcom Friends, was one of the most famous figures to pass away this year after his death was announced in October. His own Wikipedia page ranked 17th on the list with 16.5 million page views.
1. ChatGPT: 49.5 million page views
artificial intelligence has taken over. Granted, it hasn't taken over the world (yet!), but it's one of the most discussed topics in technology and society, and the most popular platform for the everyday consumer to access the power of technology is ChatGPT.
According to the Wikimedia Foundation, ChatGPT, which launched in November 2022, recorded between 100,000 and 400,000 page views almost every day during the first half of this year. And across all Wikipedia languages, ChatGPT-related stories garnered more than 78 million page views.
Other notables on the list:
J. Robert Oppenheimer (7), “The Last of Us” (TV series) (11), Taylor Swift (12), Cristiano Ronaldo (14). Lionel Messi (15), Elon Musk (19), Russian invasion of Ukraine (24)
Simplify the pulse of the market landscape with brief insights from the masters. Real Money Pro is your dynamic financial ally, transforming market insights into strategic moves. Start your membership to improve your portfolio.
