Wikipedia:Top 25 Report/January 31 to February 6, 2016
The Top 25 Report
Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (31 January to 6 February 2016)
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Summary: It's a river of the reviled this week as some of the most hated men on Earth (or at least America, where most of our viewers live) lined up to be measured against the Zika virus. In fairness, some on this list, such as its leader, Donald Trump and his victorious opponent in the Iowa caucus, Ted Cruz, have almost as many followers as detractors, while others, such as Novak Djokovic and Cam Newton, are perhaps unduly disliked. But you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone outside his own deluded cult who admires Roosh V, self-confessed rapist and notorious "pick-up artist"; ditto Bernie Madoff, the Ponzi schemer who bilked billions before being sent to a well-deserved prison cell, or Martin Shkreli, who jacked the price of a vital AIDS medicine 5000% before being arrested for securities fraud. But the MVP, if you will, of this list, with four related slots, has to be O. J. Simpson, a man whom you, if you are over a certain age, will have a very definite personal opinion about whether he brutally murdered his wife. But I will not let shadows pall the exemplary lives of Frederick Douglass and Sir Terry Wogan, both of which were also celebrated this week, or Bernie Sanders, whom some may find misguided, but few would admit to disliking.
As prepared by Serendipodous, for the week of 31 January to 6 February 2016, the 25 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the report of the most viewed pages, were:
Rank Article Class Views Image Notes 1 Donald Trump 
3,083,806 
Donald Trump has so far sold his entire campaign on one word: win. He's the winner. Everyone else is a "loser". "We will have so much winning if I'm elected", he told a crowd in September, "that you may get bored with winning." Well, people certainly aren't bored yet because Trump failed to win his first test as a nominee, the Iowa caucus. And that lack of boredom may explain why he's number one on this list. 2 Iowa caucuses
1,781,879 
Since 1972, the Iowa caucuses have marked the traditional beginning of the US Presidential primaries, in which the members of each of America's two main parties vote state by state to elect their nominee for President. This has struck a lot of people as mildly odd, since Iowa, with its 97% white, heavily Christian population, is not especially representative of the US as a whole, and since 2000 (a political generation ago) no Republican who has won there has gone on to win the party's nomination. 3 Zika virus 
1,436,593 
This unassuming flavivirus had, since its discovery in in Uganda in 1947, been seen as meek when stood among its more formidable cousins, such as Dengue, Yellow fever and West Nile. Whereas those could often prove fatal, Zika symptoms mostly compared to a nasty case of flu. However, its sudden pandemic spread throughout the Americas has triggered a panic in the US, particularly after a potentially related spate of microcephalic childbirths in Brazil. 4 Bernie Sanders 
1,116,291 
The self-described democratic socialist has seen his numbers double since last week, and nearly triple those of his rival and ostensible vanquisher in the Iowa caucus, Hillary Clinton, who isn't even on this list. Wikipedia viewers, much like America as a whole it seems, have favoured outsiders like Bernie in this contest, but his hair's-breadth 0.3% loss to Clinton (equivalent to just 750 votes) has shot him to prominence as never before. While even some in his own party view his plans as quixotic at best and confrontational at worst, his idealism has proven catnip to disenchanted young voters. 5 Ted Cruz
1,051,037 
Since 2000, the Iowa caucus's Republican vote has been won by a Christian conservative, and it was also in 2000 that said Christian conservative (in the form of George W. Bush) last went on to win the party's nomination. If Ted Cruz bucks that trend, there will be a collective gasp from the Capitol, since before running for President, the Texas senator had a reputation as one of the most loathed men in Washington, at least among his Senate colleagues. John McCain called him a "whacko bird"; John Boehner called him a "jackass", and even fellow Texan and former boss George W. Bush admitted, "I just don't like the guy". He spearheaded a highly unpopular government shutdown in an ultimately failed attempt to stop Obamacare; he has openly embraced organizations that call for the execution of homosexuals and abortion doctors, and he actively disbelieves in the existence of man-made climate change. And yet it is this very antipathy he has generated that seems to have energised his popularity among America's most conservative voters, particularly those of a Christian fundamentalist bent, as voters across the political spectrum turn in rage against "the Establishment." Which goes some way towards explaining how he won this year's Republican Iowa Caucus. Well, that and some skulduggery involving his staffers deliberately releasing false reports of Ben Carson dropping out. 6 O. J. Simpson
1,019,172 
As if we didn't have enough to fret about, the scandal once thought safely tucked away in the 90s is back with a vengeance, thanks to, as with most things in this decade, popular entertainment. The former football player, Leslie Nielsen costar and alleged murderer got a doubtless undesired surge in the popular consciousness on 2 February when American Crime Story, the true-crime spinoff of American Horror Story, chose his trial as the focus for their first season, which means we will likely be seeing him on this list for months to come. Predictably this has also led to a surge in tabloid media coverage, which has upped the trial's currency by connecting it to the Kardashians. 7 Groundhog Day
957,194 
This idiosyncratic American not-really-holiday (I once tried to explain it to a Chinese exchange student in college and failed) fell, as it always does, on 2 February. Thanks to the movie, most people in the world probably think it involves doing the same thing over and over again, but they're wrong; that's an average workday. For the still-perplexed, let me explain: every year, on the second day of February, Americans watch a groundhog, which is a large, potbellied marmot, emerge from his burrow. If he sees his shadow, he goes back in; if he doesn't, he comes out. Coming out heralds an early spring; staying in means six more weeks of winter. The custom is strongest in Pennsylvania, where it originated, and particularly Punxsutawney, home of the world's most famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, who speaks his forecast in Groundhogese into the ear of the chairman of the Groundhog Club Inner Circle, who then translates for the audience. No, I did not make that up. 8 Bernard Madoff
908,819 
Television again raises a scandal from slumber this week, as the man who made off with tens of billions in a Ponzi scheme that cost the fortunes of, among many others, Kevin Bacon, got a biopic miniseries from ABC. Like any good actor, Richard Dreyfuss, who portrayed him in the bio, tried to find some way to sympathise with the man and his actions, but ultimately, could not. “I started out thinking he was an inexcusable monster, [and] that’s the only conclusion,” he told Forbes. “I have no desire to find sympathy. His ability to inflict pain on others was unbelievable.” 9 Martin Shkreli
833,443 
On 4 February, the former CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals was called in to testify before the US Congress, after having been arrested by the FBI in December on charges of securities fraud. The 32-year-old Shkreli was already the prime target for current dissatisfaction with corporate greed after Turing obtained the manufacturing license for an antiparasitic drug and jacked up the price by over five thousand percent. His behaviour at the hearing, described by The New Yorker as "nothing but theater", only increased the vitriol being spewed at him from all sides. Commentators mocked his repeated use of the phrase, “On the advice of counsel, I invoke my Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination and respectfully decline to answer your question,” even when asked to reaffirm the name of the Wu-Tang Clan. 10 Frederick Douglass
804,187 
Thank you, Google Doodle, for capping this parade of unrepentant reprobates with someone genuinely admirable and heroic. The former slave whose oratory and literary skills lit a flame under the cause of abolition and also undermined the slavers' claim that the Negro could never attain the intellectual level necessary for free thought received deserved recognition on his 198th birthday. We don't know exactly when Douglass was born, but it was in February, and so Google granted him the first of the month. 11 Grease: Live
755,391 
The Fox Network's risky attempt to stage the 1971 musical live on television and starring Vanessa Hudgens (pictured) has worked out for them, as it scored them their highest ratings in nearly six months. 12 Terry Wogan
751,085 
The soft-spoken, twinkle-eyed Irishman, who died this week at the age of 77, was a fixture on British television and radio for fifty years, known for his pleasant demeanor, wry sense of humour and light but incisive interviewing style. He was probably best known in his last years for his commentary over, and mild ribbings of, the annual schlockfest, the Eurovision Song Contest. 13 Deaths in 2016 
710,442 
We seem to have entered a new era of this article's popularity. The annual list of deaths has always been a fairly consistent visitor to this list, averaging about 500,000 views a week. However, since the death of David Bowie, this article's views have jumped to an average of 690,000 views a week and not come down. 14 O. J. Simpson murder case
694,292 See #6. 15 Dave Mirra
648,057 
An extreme sports champion is not the first person one would expect to commit suicide, but this 24-time X Games medalist was found dead this week of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. 16 The Revenant (2015 film)
636,982 
Alejandro González Iñárritu's Western survival epic continues to be popular, having earned nearly $330 million worldwide as of 12 February amid anticipation of an impending Oscar win for its star Leonardo di Caprio (pictured). 17 Super Bowl 50
636,927 
The fiftieth annual clash between the National Football Conference champions (Carolina Panthers this year) and American Football Conference champions (Denver Broncos this year) was held at the Levi's Stadium outside San Francisco (pictured), on 7 February; just beyond this list's time range. Expect it to destroy the list next week. 18 Marco Rubio
634,305 
The Cuban-American former chief whip and current Florida senator saw his poll numbers surge (largely at the expense of Donald Trump) after better-than-expected third place win in Iowa. With Jeb Bush's campaign seen as dead in the water, Rubio is widely considered to be the last "mainstream" Republican in the race, though he too is a climate change denier. 19 Robert Kardashian
628,576 
The now-deceased patriarch of the mediavorous Kardashian clan was a close friend of O. J. Simpson and played a role in the controversial trial that engulfed American pop culture in the 1990s. Of course, the sudden resurgence of interest in the case following the premiere of American Crime Story this week (pictured is his portrayer, David Schwimmer) led the less scrupulous end of the media to dredge up colorful supposed links between it and the current generation. 20 American Crime Story 
618,725 
The spinoff of American Horror Story catching the current craze for true crime stories stars Cuba Gooding Jr (pictured) as O J Simpson in the first season's dramatisation of the controversial trial (see #6) 21 Roosh V
597,977 
In an interesting turn on recent events, this odious "pick-up artist", who has long been decried as promoting misogyny and rape, found himself the victim of an online hate campaign as he attempted to arrange "masculinist" rallies in cities worldwide, but eventually dropped them due to safety concerns. It seems women aren't the only ones who need to fear doxxing, threats of violence, and attacks on their families online. Not that it makes doing so any better, of course. 22 Star Wars: The Force Awakens
571,580 
The reignition of the Star Wars franchise remains in the Top 25 for another week. 23 Cam Newton
517,482 
Cam Newton, the quarterback for the Carolina Panthers, who play in Superbowl 50 on 7 February, has garnered controversy over his behaviour, which has been described as arrogant, leading to charges of incipient racism. 24 Deadpool
498,917 
The Marvel Comics antihero surged in popularity in anticipation of his upcoming eponymous film starring Ryan Reynolds (pictured), which will be released on 12 February. 25 Novak Djokovic
475,455 
The world #1 Men's tennis player beat the #2, Andy Murray, to clinch his eleventh grand slam at the Australian Open this week.
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). Since mobile view data became available to the Report in October 2014, we also exclude articles that have almost no mobile views (~2% or less) or almost all mobile views (~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.
- Specific exclusions this week
- Pride and Prejudice: since the inclusion of mobile views, contestable removals from the list have become a rarity. But they must happen every now and again. While the article does have some currency, thanks to the release of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, its ludicrously low 5% mobile view count suggests artificial inflation.