Dem
51
GOP
49
We say again, it's a slow week for political news, so we have to work extra hard to find interesting things to talk about. For example, Wikipedia just released its list of the most viewed articles of 2023. Here it is:
| Rank | 2023 |
| 1 | ChatGPT |
| 2 | Deaths in 2023 |
| 3 | 2023 Cricket World Cup |
| 4 | Oppenheimer (film) |
| 5 | J. Robert Oppenheimer |
| 6 | Cricket World Cup |
| 7 | Jawan (film) |
| 8 | Taylor Swift |
| 9 | The Last of Us (TV series) |
| 10 | Pathaan (film) |
| 11 | Barbie (film) |
| 12 | Premier League |
| 13 | The Idol (TV series) |
| 14 | Cristiano Ronaldo |
| 15 | United States |
| 16 | Matthew Perry |
| 17 | Lionel Messi |
| 18 | Animal (2023 film) |
| 19 | Elon Musk |
| 20 | India |
| 21 | Avatar: The Way of Water |
| 22 | Lisa Marie Presley |
| 23 | Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 |
| 24 | Leo (2023 Indian film) |
| 25 | Andrew Tate |
Clearly, people are most interested in popular entertainment, sports, dead celebrities and scandalous celebrities.
Now, let us add in the lists for 2020 and 2016:
| Rank | 2023 | 2020 | 2016 |
| 1 | ChatGPT | COVID-19 pandemic | Donald Trump |
| 2 | Deaths in 2023 | Donald Trump | Deaths in 2016 |
| 3 | 2023 Cricket World Cup | Deaths in 2020 | Prince (musician) |
| 4 | Oppenheimer (film) | Kamala Harris | United States presidential election, 2016 |
| 5 | J. Robert Oppenheimer | Joe Biden | Suicide Squad (film) |
| 6 | Cricket World Cup | Coronavirus | List of Bollywood films of 2016 |
| 7 | Jawan (film) | Kobe Bryant | David Bowie |
| 8 | Taylor Swift | COVID-19 pandemic by country and territory | Melania Trump |
| 9 | The Last of Us (TV series) | Elizabeth II | Captain America: Civil War |
| 10 | Pathaan (film) | 2020 United States presidential election | Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice |
| 11 | Barbie (film) | Spanish flu | Hillary Clinton |
| 12 | Premier League | Elon Musk | Deadpool (film) |
| 13 | The Idol (TV series) | 2016 United States presidential election | Elizabeth II |
| 14 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Coronavirus disease 2019 | United States |
| 15 | United States | Michael Jordan | Muhammad Ali |
| 16 | Matthew Perry | COVID-19 pandemic in the United States | Pablo Escobar |
| 17 | Lionel Messi | COVID-19 pandemic in India | Barack Obama |
| 18 | Animal (2023 film) | Sushant Singh Rajput | Game of Thrones |
| 19 | Elon Musk | QAnon | The Revenant (2015 film) |
| 20 | India | Chadwick Boseman | UEFA Euro 2016 |
| 21 | Avatar: The Way of Water | Parasite (2019 film) | Star Wars: The Force Awakens |
| 22 | Lisa Marie Presley | United States | Game of Thrones (season 6) |
| 23 | Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 | Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon | 2016 Summer Olympics |
| 24 | Leo (2023 Indian film) | YouTube | Carrie Fisher |
| 25 | Andrew Tate | United States Electoral College | O.J. Simpson |
We often observe that, until the election cycle really heats up, most people aren't paying attention. This struck us as an opportunity to back that with at least a smidgen of data. We put overtly political articles in purple; none such appear in the 2023 list, but several appear in the two election year lists. Of course, even in election years, politics is just another item on the "interest" list, along with the evergreens of dead celebrities, popular movies and sports.
We could have added extra purple cells if we had included politics-related stuff, like the COVID articles. It starts to get tricky, though, because there are some entries that seem like they might be about following politics, but really aren't. For example, every time a British royal shows up, it's not because of U.K. politics, but instead because of people watching the show The Crown.
Anyhow, this is hardly a doctoral dissertation when it comes to rigor, but we think it's interesting nonetheless. (Z)