Top 25 Report: Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (August 30 to September 6, 2014)
edit← Last week's report – Next week's report →
Summary: Even though it's not quite 3/4 over, it's safe to say that 2014 will go down as a year of war, mass murder, plane crashes and terrible diseases, and so, while certainly paying it some heed, it's not surprising that Wikipedia viewers this week to find any alternative to that litany of tragedy and pain, and their chosen method of escape was, as usual, celebrity. The death of comedienne Joan Rivers led to much attention to both her and her family, while the leaks of the private photographs of dozens of celebrities led to much condemnation, as it is the kind of atrocity most people can get their heads around.
As prepared by Serendipodous, for the week of August 30 to September 6, 2014, the 25 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the report of the 5,000 most viewed pages, were:
Rank Article Class Views Image Notes 1 Joan Rivers 
2,024,356 
The brassy, pioneering comedienne died this week at 81. Many comedians are lazily described as "shocking"; Joan Rivers actually was. Her acerbic barbs at her fellow celebrities, most recently displayed on her cable TV show Fashion Police, were witty, caustic and often downright cruel- to the point when some threatened to sue her for defamation. A lifelong plastic surgery fan, she tended to view physical imperfections as optional and would mercilessly dig celebrities about excess hair, ageing, and weight gain. "If Kate Winslet would've just lost five pounds, Leo would've been able to fit on the raft," she said of the Titanic star, or, on Cate Blanchett: "Her movie is about Middle Earth, which is exactly where Cate's boobs have settled." But for all that, you can't deny her indomitability; after achieving fame on the talk show circuit in the 80s, she faced ruin when a failed attempt to launch her own show led to an irreparable break from her mentor Johnny Carson and, she said, her husband's suicide. But she rebounded, reinventing herself as a red carpet commentator and fashion maven, and was still working until the day she died. 2 2014 celebrity pictures hack 
895,417* 
An event so controversial that Wikipedia can't even decide what to name it; both its most popular titles this week are now redirects. The hack into dozens of personal files that celebrities (including Jennifer Lawrence, pictured) unwittingly stored on Apple's iCloud, which led to the mass publication of their private nude selfies, has acted as a sharp reminder of the fragility of personal privacy in the age of Web 2.0. A handy warning to any and all contemplating a bout of private exhibitionism: if you want to take a nude selfie, use a normal camera, not a phone; or, if you must use a phone, remember, just because you delete a picture, that doesn't mean it's gone. *Number includes views for its monumentally insensitive nickname, "The Fappening".
3 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant 
635,031 
Numbers are up again for this almost absurdly brutal jihadist group, which proudly posts mass executions it carries out on Twitter and has been disowned even by al-Qaeda. The surge is likely due to the fallout from Barack Obama's decision to take US troops into Iraq, (despite having campaigned on the promise of troop withdrawal from the country) including the execution of journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff. 4 Jennifer Lawrence
560,678 The princess of Wikipedia returns to the list as the most notable victim of the celebrity photo leak scandal. 5 Ariana Grande
546,039 
The singer and onetime Nickelodeon actress may have released her most recent album My Everything on August 25, but she's most likely on this list as another victim of the photo leak scandal. 6 Harry Houdini
488,448 
A performer from the age of nine, the Hungarian-Jewish immigrant with the intense eyes and the bodybuilder's physique worked his way to becoming the most successful escape artist and magician in the world, and, along with Charlie Chaplin, one the first modern celebrities. Aware of the power of illusion, he used his fame to debunk fraudulent mediums and other bogus psychics, a tradition his fellow magicians continue to this day. Interest in his life was piqued by a two-part miniseries based on his life written by Nicholas Meyer and starring Adrian Brody in the title role. 7 Melissa Rivers
444,539 
The actress daughter of Joan Rivers (see #1), who took her mother's stage name and eventually followed her into red carpet reportage, gained interest in the wake of her mother's death. 8 Deaths in 2014 
431,671 
The list of deaths in the current year is always a popular article. 9 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup
428,295 
The only world sport that the US can truly claim as its own, basketball, as Carl Sagan noted, is younger than the cinema. But in its relatively short life, the game has risen to become the third most popular in the world (after soccer and cricket) and to see its world cup garner a global audience of over 800 million. 10 Radamel Falcao
424,441 
The Colombian striker, currently on loan to Manchester United from AS Monaco scored a record-breaking 17 goals in a single season in 2011. Interest was raised this week due to concerns over a past injury and controversial claims that he lied about his age. 11 And the Sea Will Tell N/A 394,544 
The true crime book tells the story of a married couple who expected to get away from it all on the isolated Palmyra Atoll (pictured), were instead murdered by a fugitive. This story was listed on the Facebook page "Oh My God Facts!" where it became very popular. 12 Ice Bucket Challenge
392,908 
Down after two weeks at #1, this global viral phenomenon to arise awareness and funding for research on ALS was not launched by any particular charity, but seems to have grown on its own. While it certainly has achieved its goals, some commentators have criticized the whole movement as collective act of slacktivism. But given that most viral phenomena have no redeeming social value whatsoever (has Grumpy Cat raised millions for disease research?), things could be much worse. Wikipedia did its part to keep things focused on substance by deleting the celebrity-fest page "List of Ice Bucket Challenge participants" on 29 August, after a lengthy deletion debate. 13 Labor Day
380,277 
The first Monday in September is the traditional end of the US summer season, and, for some people, the last time of the year it is in any way excusable to wear white. 14 Teachers' Day
350,624 
When Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (see below) was asked by his followers and friends if they could celebrate his birthday on 5 September, he requested that it be declared Teachers' Day, and it has been celebrated as such in India ever since. 15 Facebook
339,748 
A perennially popular article, though not as popular as it once was. 16 Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
330,917 
The renowned scholar of religious philosophy and second President of India requested that, if you were to celebrate his birthday, you make it Teachers' Day, and it was (see #14). 17 Shweta Prasad 
322,223 
Those American actresses who might (justifiably) feel a bit sexually violated by recent events could still spare a thought for their sisters in Bollywood, many of whom have turned to prostitution after their stars faded, as this former child star revealed this week. 18 Ebola virus disease
314,714 
The 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak continues to draw attention to this horrific disease. 19 Kate Upton
313,168 
The Sports Illustrated swimsuit model was another victim of the photo leak scandal (see above) 20 List of Bollywood films of 2014
310,105 
A regular visitor to the Top 25 21 Corona (satellite)
291,196 
This spy satellite is possibly on the list due to a viral video of a plane capturing its dropped camera footage in mid-air, though its provenance is a bit iffy. 22 2014 in film
281,751 
An infrequent visitor to the top 25 flits back in. 23 Edgar Rosenberg
267,378 The husband of Joan Rivers, whose tragic suicide was a pivotal moment in her life, gained attention in the wake of his wife's death 24 Guardians of the Galaxy (film)
267,346 
The biggest film of a poor year at the US box office, Guardians of the Galaxy remained at the top spot in its fifth weekend, and worldwide has already surpassed Iron Man as Marvel Studios' most popular franchise début. 25 Danny Welbeck
265,555 
This English footballer was transferred from Manchester United to Arsenal FC this week for a reported £16 million ($26 million). His subsequent double against Switzerland suggests that may have been a bargain.
.jpg)
.JPG)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Exclusions
edit- This list excludes the Wikipedia main page, non-article pages (such as redlinks), and anomalous entries (such as DDoS attacks or likely automated views). Please keep in mind that the explanations given for these articles' popularity are, fundamentally, educated guesses. Just because one can't find a reason for an article to be included doesn't mean there isn't one; conversely, just because a plausible reason is found for a view spike, that doesn't mean it wasn't due to a bot.
- There are a number of articles that reappear frequently in the raw top 25 for no determined reason, and have been excluded as likely being due to automated views. Please feel free to discuss any removal on the talk page if you wish.
- Alive/Alive!: Links to disambigs with no apparent reason for being.
- Undefined. A common error message in computing, these are automated visits by a buggy computer program.
- Ddd: Hello? Spambot here. Just checking in.
- Amazon.com. Scepticism has been raised about the recent large jump in viewcounts for this article.
- Rock music. No explanation for its continued popularity.
- Specific exclusions this week
- LASIK: Always difficult to search for a topic so popular, but no obvious reasons for it to be here.
- TIDEL Park, Coimbatore: Seems like an ideal topic for a Reddit thread, but apparently not.
- Daboase: An article on a small town in Ghana currently comprising just 22 words, there is no human reason for it to have drummed up this much interest.