2017 was crazy year, and it seems we spent most of it searching for any possible distraction from reality, according to an annual ranking of the most-read articles on Wikipedia.
Certainly, the Top 50 report is filled with newsmakers. President Trump ranks second, though his views shrank dramatically. And the first lady ranks number 37. Bitcoin’s bubble also helped push it into the Top 10. As usual, Deaths ranked first as people sought information about notable passings.
But otherwise, shows from Netflix and HBO, as well as movies from Marvel, DC Comics, and the Star Wars franchise revealed our real priority for the year. Netflix’s growing prominence was particularly notable as shows like 13 Reasons Why and Stranger Things made the list. And it seemed like interest in Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret surged around the release of Season 2 of Netflix’s The Crown. The same was true for Pablo Escobar, number 41, when Netflix released Season 3 of Narcos.
Google, YouTube, Facebook, and Elon Musk also made the list. It’s a little bit surprising that Apple missed the cut, given its release of the much-hyped iPhone X, its new campus, and the fact it’s the world’s most valuable company.
Here is the full top 50 most-read articles on Wikipedia in 2017.
1. Deaths in 2017 (37,387,010)
2. Donald Trump (29,644,764)
3. Elizabeth II (19,290,956)
4. Game of Thrones(season 7) (18,792,746)
5. Meghan Markle (16,944,130)
6. Game of Thrones (16,833,302)
7. List of Bollywood films of 2017 (16,391,427)
8. United States (15,763,915)
9. Bitcoin (15,026,561)
10. 13 Reasons Why (14,934,202)
11. Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (14,607,282)
12. It (2017 film) (14,539,123)
13. Queen Victoria (14,164,451)
14. List of highest-grossing Indian films (14,091,348)
15. Gal Gadot (14,034,958)
16. Logan (film) (14,030,384)
17. Millennials (13,417,915)
18. Riverdale (2017 TV series) (13,360,398)
19. 2017 in film (13,298,613)
20. Stranger Things (13,132,129)
21. Wonder Woman(2017 film) (13,062,375)
22. Dwayne Johnson (12,444,987)
23. Star Wars: The Last Jedi (12,442,644)
24. Justice League(film) (12,048,341)
25. Elon Musk (11,968,362)
26. Facebook (11,851,106)
27. Cristiano Ronaldo (11,640,221)
28. Get Out (film) (11,618,096)
29. India (11,571,438)
30. Barack Obama (11,421,965)
31. YouTube (11,322,747)
32. O. J. Simpson (11,301,016)
33. Conor McGregor (11,265,283)
34. Charles Manson (11,131,106)
35. Ed Sheeran (11,010,941)
36. Melania Trump (10,788,288)
37. Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (10,758,796)
38. Split (2016 American film) (10,483,770)
39. Thor: Ragnarok (10,443,757)
40. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (10,432,043)
41. Pablo Escobar (10,422,263)
42. World War II (10,347,358)
43. Spider-Man: Homecoming (10,289,999)
44. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (10,217,057)
45. Star Wars (10,196,172)
46. Ariana Grande (10,100,281)
47. Dunkirk (2017 film) (9,987,866)
48. Adolf Hitler (9,872,486)
49. Google (9,829,170)
50. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (9,771,127)