Wikipedia's most-read articles of 2025 reach 2.4 billion hours

Wikipedia users spent an estimated 2.4 billion hours reading English Wikipedia articles in 2025, according to data released by the Wikimedia Foundation on December 2, 2025. The nonprofit organization operates Wikipedia and related free knowledge projects, maintaining the online encyclopedia through contributions from nearly 250,000 volunteers who update content, add citations, and build consensus daily.

The top 20 most-read English Wikipedia articles of 2025 focused primarily on politics, popular culture, and loss, according to the foundation's analysis. Data covered the period from January 1 through November 10, 2025, using pageview metrics screened for false positives through cross-referencing against desktop device percentages and non-referrer pageviews.

Charlie Kirk, a US political activist, entrepreneur, and media personality, generated 44,907,789 pageviews to claim the top position. Kirk was assassinated in September at a university campus debate he organized. In the day following his death, people viewed the article about Kirk nearly 15 million times, averaging over 170 views per second. About 43 percent of the views on Kirk's article came from outside the United States.

The "Deaths in 2025" article ranked second with 42,508,846 pageviews. This annual article has never fallen below third position in the foundation's annual list of most-read articles since tracking began in 2015. English Wikipedia's volunteer editors update the page when they find published obituaries following notable deaths. The foundation's privacy policy prevents tracking repeat visitors, though the organization assumes a substantial portion of views come from regular readers returning for daily updates. Volunteers split the article into monthly lists to maintain reasonable length, with the page redirecting to "Lists of deaths by year" after completion of each year.

Ed Gein, the US serial killer, accumulated 31,232,285 pageviews to capture third position. Interest in Gein's article resulted from Netflix's latest season of Monster. Only about half of the views came from inside the United States, demonstrating the show's global reach despite focusing on US crimes. Previous Monster seasons featuring Jeffrey Dahmer and Lyle and Erik Menendez generated similar Wikipedia traffic spikes in 2024 and 2022 respectively.

Donald Trump ranked fourth with 25,127,616 pageviews. The US President entered office for the second time on January 20, 2025, marking his eighth appearance on English Wikipedia's annual most-read articles list since 2015. Trump's article has appeared every year except 2022 and 2023.

Pope Leo XIV received 22,052,502 pageviews after the Catholic Church selected him as successor to Pope Francis, who served 12 years before passing away in April. Traffic to all Wikimedia projects peaked around 800,000 hits per second when people rushed online to learn about Leo, representing more than six times normal traffic levels and establishing a new all-time record for the foundation. Pope Francis's English Wikipedia article received 15,281,541 pageviews to rank 11th for the year.

"The 20 most-read articles on Wikipedia in 2025 show just how much people rely on it to understand the events that shape our lives," said Anusha Alikhan, Wikimedia Foundation Chief Communications Officer, in the announcement. "Built by a global community of volunteers, each article is a reminder that facts, context, and careful sourcing by humans matter deeply to everyone seeking a trusted place for knowledge."

Film and television content occupied eight positions in the top 20 most-read articles, continuing a decade-long pattern of entertainment dominating Wikipedia's annual rankings. The foundation attributes this phenomenon partially to the "second screen effect," where viewers open Wikipedia while watching content to learn about production details, actors, or plot developments. Some readers access Wikipedia's plot summaries specifically to obtain spoilers.

Ryan Coogler's Sinners accumulated 18,230,654 pageviews while Zach Cregger's Weapons generated 11,753,018 views, representing the first horror films to appear in the foundation's annual lists since tracking began. Both films achieved strong US box office performance throughout 2025.

The second season of Severance, an Apple TV show, garnered 13,892,847 pageviews. The show's cultural impact increased substantially from its 2022 debut, when the English Wikipedia page received only five million hits, nearly tripling that figure in 2025.

Adolescence, a British Netflix show, achieved 11,571,799 pageviews. The series attracted attention for episodes shot as single continuous takes with no hidden cuts. Pageviews peaked ten days after the show's release as more viewers discovered the content.

Superman received 17,007,716 pageviews while The Fantastic Four: First Steps accumulated 10,768,070 views. Thunderbolts*, Marvel's attempt to craft new Avengers-style content, generated 12,864,839 pageviews.

Political content accounted for five of the top 20 articles beyond Charlie Kirk and Donald Trump. Elon Musk generated 20,179,628 pageviews while serving as former senior advisor. Zohran Mamdani accumulated 20,118,615 views. Vice President JD Vance received 11,617,451 pageviews.

Pop culture figures unrelated to film and television included Ozzy Osbourne, MrBeast, and Cristiano Ronaldo. Osbourne, the rock singer and reality show star known as the "Prince of Darkness," passed away in July, generating 17,787,997 pageviews. MrBeast, the internet personality with the most-popular YouTube channel globally, entered the list for the first time with 11,475,681 pageviews. Views to his Wikipedia biography spiked in January after he expressed interest in buying TikTok. Cristiano Ronaldo accumulated 10,827,510 pageviews as the only sporting figure on the list.

The data screening methodology included removing articles with extreme desktop device percentage values less than 2 percent or more than 80 percent, which correlates strongly with spam, botnets, or other concerns. This affected articles about Cleopatra, XXXTentacion, and .xxx. The foundation also removed articles with extremely high pageviews lacking referrers, impacting coverage of large websites such as Facebook and browsers like Google Chrome, which analysts suspect viewers accidentally access while attempting to reach those services.

Wikipedia approaches its 25th anniversary on January 15, 2026. The free encyclopedia's importance extends beyond direct readership, as research shows Wikipedia serves as a primary citation source for artificial intelligence systems including ChatGPT. Analysis reveals ChatGPT referral traffic citations shifted dramatically toward Reddit and Wikipedia starting July 21, 2025, with Wikipedia reaching nearly 13 percent citation share.

Platform traffic dynamics continue reshaping how audiences access information across the internet. Research tracking 44,421 websites found ChatGPT capturing 0.19 percent traffic share with 5.3 percent monthly growth versus Google's 41.9 percent dominance and 1.4 percent growth, demonstrating the broader transformation in content discovery patterns.

The foundation maintains archives of most-read English Wikipedia articles dating to 2015, allowing analysis of evolving information consumption patterns. Historical data reveals shifts in public interest corresponding to major cultural, political, and entertainment events throughout the decade.

Volunteer editors maintain Wikipedia's content through strict neutrality policies and citation requirements linking claims to reliable sources. This editorial process operates continuously across the platform's vast network of articles, with contributors monitoring recent changes, addressing disputes, and expanding coverage of emerging topics.

The United States article generated 13,040,217 pageviews to rank 13th, representing sustained interest in general reference content alongside event-driven topics. This pattern demonstrates Wikipedia's dual function as both news reference and comprehensive encyclopedia.

The foundation operates as a nonprofit organization funded primarily through donations rather than advertising revenue. This funding model supports the platform's commitment to providing free access to knowledge without commercial influences affecting editorial decisions or content priorities.

Wikipedia's infrastructure handles massive traffic spikes during major news events, as demonstrated by the 800,000 hits per second recorded during Pope Leo XIV's selection. This technical capacity enables real-time information access during moments of peak global interest, supporting the platform's role as primary reference source for developing stories.

The platform's volunteer model creates resilience through distributed expertise and continuous monitoring. Editors specializing in specific subject areas maintain watchlists of relevant articles, enabling rapid response to vandalism, misinformation, or incomplete coverage as events unfold.

Content consumption patterns reflect broader shifts in how audiences engage with information across multiple platforms. Research examining Generation Z content preferences shows declining traditional media consumption alongside increased reliance on peer-created content offering participatory entertainment experiences and authentic community engagement.

The foundation's data collection methodology ensures comprehensive representation of internet traffic flows while maintaining user privacy protections. Analysis utilizes pageview metrics that capture both direct and indirect navigation patterns without tracking individual user behavior or creating persistent identifiers.

Wikipedia's citation practices establish standards for reliable sourcing that extend beyond the platform itself. Articles require attribution to verifiable published sources, creating accountability mechanisms that distinguish encyclopedia content from unreferenced claims circulating across social media and less rigorous platforms.

The "Deaths in 2025" article's consistent high ranking demonstrates Wikipedia's function as authoritative obituary index. The page serves as centralized reference point for notable deaths worldwide, with volunteer editors adding entries based on published obituaries from recognized news organizations rather than unverified reports.

Entertainment content's dominance in the most-read list reflects Wikipedia's integration into viewing experiences. Audiences increasingly rely on the platform for immediate access to cast information, production details, plot explanations, and critical reception data while consuming or shortly after watching content.

Traffic measurement challenges intensify across digital platforms as attribution complexity increases. Publishers now require sophisticated analytics to understand visitor origins, evaluate platform performance, and optimize content strategies across increasingly fragmented traffic sources.

The screening methodology removing false positives demonstrates the foundation's commitment to accurate traffic reporting. By filtering spam, botnets, and accidental misnavigation, the organization ensures published statistics represent genuine reader interest rather than technical anomalies or malicious activity.

KPop Demon Hunters, the animated musical released in June, generated significant traffic but fell just outside the top 20 ranking. According to Netflix, the film became their "most watched original animated film of all time," demonstrating how streaming content drives encyclopedia engagement even when not appearing in top position rankings.

The foundation emphasized that nearly 250,000 volunteers contribute daily to maintaining Wikipedia's content quality. These contributors generously provide time and energy to update articles, add citations, build consensus, and perform other editorial functions keeping knowledge accessible and reliable for billions of readers worldwide.

Political content's prominence reflects 2025 as election year in the United States. The concentration of political figures among most-read articles demonstrates Wikipedia's role as reference source during campaigns, transitions, and major political developments requiring public understanding of key personalities and their backgrounds.

The absence of Olympic athletes from the top 20 represents shift from 2024, when sporting figures achieved more prominent positions. This variation illustrates how major sporting events drive temporary interest spikes in athlete biographies, with non-Olympic years seeing reduced sports-related traffic concentration.

Timeline

• January 20, 2025: Donald Trump enters office for second term, driving sustained Wikipedia pageviews throughout year
• April 2025: Pope Francis passes away after 12 years of service, triggering record Wikipedia traffic
• July 2025: Ozzy Osbourne dies, generating significant encyclopedia pageviews
• July 21, 2025: ChatGPT citation patterns shift dramatically toward Wikipedia, reaching 13% citation share
• September 2025: Charlie Kirk assassinated at university campus debate, becoming most-read Wikipedia article of 2025
• November 10, 2025: Data collection period ends for Wikimedia Foundation's annual analysis
• December 2, 2025: Wikimedia Foundation announces 2025 most-read articles covering January through November
• January 15, 2026: Wikipedia celebrates 25th anniversary

Summary

Who: The Wikimedia Foundation released data on Wikipedia's most-read articles, which are created and maintained by nearly 250,000 volunteers worldwide who contribute daily to update content, add citations, and build consensus on the free online encyclopedia.

What: English Wikipedia articles accumulated an estimated 2.4 billion hours of reading time in 2025, with the top 20 most-read articles focusing on politics, popular culture, and loss. Charlie Kirk's assassination generated 44,907,789 pageviews to claim first position, followed by the "Deaths in 2025" page with 42,508,846 views and serial killer Ed Gein with 31,232,285 pageviews.

When: The analysis covered the period from January 1 through November 10, 2025, with the Wikimedia Foundation announcing results on December 2, 2025. Key traffic events included Pope Francis's death in April, Ozzy Osbourne's passing in July, and Charlie Kirk's assassination in September.

Where: Traffic originated globally, with Charlie Kirk's article receiving 43 percent of views from outside the United States. The data encompasses English Wikipedia specifically, though the foundation operates multiple language versions and related knowledge projects worldwide. Wikipedia experienced record traffic of 800,000 hits per second during Pope Leo XIV's selection.

Why: Wikipedia serves as the backbone of knowledge on the internet, providing reliable, cited information for billions of readers seeking facts about current events, entertainment, politics, and general reference topics. The platform's volunteer-maintained content, strict neutrality policies, and comprehensive citation requirements establish it as primary reference source during major news events and ongoing public interest in notable figures and cultural phenomena.