Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2020-08-02/Traffic report

Traffic report

Now for something completely different

By Igordebraga, Rebestalic, Kingsif, Thatoneweirdwikier

This traffic report is adapted from the Top 25 Report, prepared with commentary by Igordebraga (June 21 to July 25), Rebestalic (June 21 to July 4), Thatoneweirdwikier (June 28 to July 4) and Kingsif (July 5 to July 25).

We're halfway through this year that seems to be lasting a decade ever since COVID-19 went global in March. This Report opens and ends with particularly slow weeks (the last one in particular has the first #1 with lower than a million views since 2018), and features many celebrity deaths and a solution to being trapped at home during the pandemic: streaming content, especially the filmed version of a Broadway hit.

(data provided by the provisional Top 1000)

Said, hey old man how can you stand, to think that way (June 21 to 27, 2020)

Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (June 21 to 27, 2020)

Rank	Article	Views	Notes/about
1	Bubba Wallace	1,156,946	American NASCAR racer Bubba Wallace is currently in the news for many reasons, including the discovery of a noose in Wallace's garage stall, as well as his heated exit from a video game simulation of a motor race. He's the only African-American driver in top level NASCAR racing, which is why the noose is a big deal.
2	The Last of Us Part II	948,138	This PlayStation 4 exclusive, featuring the return of Ellie and Joel in a post-apocalyptic United States, has already become a best-seller, with 4 million copies in the first weekend alone.
3	Sushant Singh Rajput	927,970	Still well-positioned in the list is the Bollywood star who took his own life.
4	Death of Elijah McClain	917,613	The current Black Lives Matter social outcry convinced Colorado Governor Jared Polis to order the reexamination of this crime from last year, where a 23-year-old African-American massage therapist was killed after an encounter with police while walking home.
5	COVID-19 pandemic	785,442	This world event has now caused the deaths of half a million, and the infection of over ten million. That's more people than the whole populations of some countries.
6	Deaths in 2020	738,121	Deja vu or what you please Follows true to all who do or die
7	365 Days (2020 film)	736,731	In spite of being torn apart by everyone - even recommendations are like "it's bad, but watch it!" - the "Polish 50 Shades of Grey" (or "Stockholm syndrome in Warsaw") is still popular, if only for being the closest thing to porn on Netflix.
8	Ken Miles	531,502	For some better movie-related content, one of the main characters of Ford v Ferrari, which won two Oscars and had its television premiere on HBO.
9	Steve Bing	528,098	An American businessman who founded Shangri-La Entertainment and had a son with Elizabeth Hurley, Bing jumped to death from his apartment at the age of 55, reportedly being very depressed in these social isolation days (#5).
10	The Undertaker	466,366	After 30 years in the professional wrestling business, Mark William Calaway has hinted at a possible retirement, in the last episode of the appropriately titled show Undertaker: The Last Ride.

Alexander Hamilton, When America sings for you (June 28 to July 4)

Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (June 28 to July 4, 2020)

Rank	Article	Views	Notes/about
1	Alexander Hamilton	2,834,549	In short: You can picture Alexander Hamilton as a guy that did lots to shape the financial system of the United States as we know it today. The #2-ranked musical of the same name (well almost) will tell you all about it, with some minor historical inaccuracies for sake of theatrical smoothness. More about the musical: the compositional and lyric bits of it were made possible by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who also features as main character Alexander Hamilton in a recent Disney+ production of it. Apparently this particular production has been made kid-friendly? Don't know for sure, I don't have Disney+.
2	Hamilton (musical)	1,861,563
3	Ghislaine Maxwell	1,220,429	Look, someone bouncing back onto the list. Some time after appearing in Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich, this British socialite was arrested by the FBI exactly because of her connections to that deceased criminal, allegedly enticement of minors, sex trafficking of children and perjury.
4	Dark (TV series)	1,169,397	The third and final season of this sci-fi German-language Netflix original series was recently released to critical acclaim.
5	Carl Reiner	1,039,964	An American actor, comedian, director, screenwriter, and author with a long and storied career – he had a comedy duo with Mel Brooks, launched the film career of Steve Martin with The Jerk and more recently played an elderly member of Danny Ocean's gang – and a successful filmmaker son, Rob Reiner, Carl Reiner died at the age of 98 of natural causes.
6	Marsha P. Johnson	1,016,154	This American drag queen (who happened to be African-American) received a Google Doodle in late June this year. They played a reportedly important role in the Stonewall LGBT+ riots, and passed away shortly after the start of the 90s after a long spell of poor mental health (what she died by is still unknown).
7	Golden State Killer	1,003,826	Known variously as 'Diamond Knot Killer', 'EARONS', 'East Area Rapist', 'East Bay Rapist', 'East Side Rapist', 'Golden State Killer', 'Night Stalker', 'Original Night Stalker, Visalia Ransacker', Joseph James DeAngelo Junior is 'an American serial killer, serial rapist, burglar, and former police officer who committed at least 13 murders, more than 50 rapes, and over 100 burglaries in California between 1974 and 1986'. Seems intimidating. Some, if not most or all, of the crimes he is now alleged of committing were spread out in three distinct sprees. Originally, it was believed that each of the sprees were carried out by different people. In the end, DNA science brought DeAngelo to light. He pleaded guilty to 'multiple' of these crimes this June.
8	Sushant Singh Rajput	1,000,359	This Indian actor recently committed suicide, sparking a 10 million+ weekly pageview count in the immediate aftermath of his passing.
9	Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga	949,461	Netflix again gave fans of something screwed over by the pandemic a replacement, after a Michael Jordan documentary when basketball had halted: the Eurovision Song Contest was cancelled? Watch the comedy where Will Ferrell and Rachel McAdams (pictured) are two Icelandic musicians who eventually fulfill their dream to reach said competition! Even if the jokes are hit-or-miss and the script has some problems, the flashy musical numbers are still very present.
10	Saroj Khan	926,764	This Indian choreographer, apparently referred to sometimes as the 'mother of choreography in India', passed away on the third of July this year. An uncited claim (Ooh, uncited claims, huh?) in her Wikipedia article states that she played a major choreographic role in more than three thousand songs. Three thousand. Apparently, her career lasted forty years; so, that's one song done every 4.87 days, assuming leap years didn't exist.

Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (July 5 to 11, 2020)

Listen to the music playing in your head (July 5 to 11)

Rank	Article	Views	Notes/about
1	Naya Rivera	3,919,003	On July 8, this Glee star was declared missing, presumed dead, after she didn't return from swimming in a lake. As of this writing, the search is still underway. While her co-stars from a near 30-year career send supportive messages that she will be found alive, Glee fans have noted that she would not be the first of the young cast to face a tragic death, with the latest entry being at #25.
2	Alexander Hamilton	3,692,204	This bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman became one of the founding fathers of the United States of America after using his wits to make the best of that situation. He was husband of #10, and killed by #5 (but probably not how it happened as portrayed by #6 in #3).
3	Hamilton (musical)	2,203,846	The 2015 musical about #2, #5 and #10, written by and starring #6 alongside #19 and #22, was recently released digitally as #21. It's proving popular on Wikipedia (no shit, Sherlock) as people around the globe realize they don't know very much about this important part of US history.
4	Nick Cordero	1,525,484	The second musical actor on this week's list is another not-Hamilton entry. It's a Waitress (theatre pictured) entry. Cordero died on July 5 from medical complications after being infected by #11 nearly four months ago.
5	Aaron Burr	1,244,169	Another historical figure featured heavily in #3 and #21, Burr ran away from the east coast after killing #2, only to be charged with treason a few years later. He was already charged with (though never tried for) murder, so hiding out in Europe for a few years and never returning to public office was probably a wise choice.
6	Lin-Manuel Miranda	1,116,135	If you love musicals, you'll love this guy, who wrote #3 (starring in it as #2) among others. If you don't like musicals, then this is the guy you blame for making Moana so catchy. You're welcome.
7	Ghislaine Maxwell	1,036,223	Slipping down the list from last week is the lady with the name all the newscasters pretend they can say. The recently-arrested associate of #13 was born in France, which is where the name comes from.
8	Mary Kay Letourneau	1,001,528	This sex offender recently died of cancer (pictured), with her husband/former student at her side. With such an old case, I assume that more recent high-profile cases of pedophilia like #13 contributed to the fascination getting her a million views this week.
9	Vikas Dubey	990,245	I can't say I know much about Dubey, but it seems he was a criminal who became a politician who became a criminal again, who got arrested this week before being released and then being involved in a traffic collision on July 10. Attempting to run away, he was shot dead. I can see why this has a lot of views now.
10	Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton	916,606	Making her way up the list is the philanthropist and socialite Eliza, wife of #2, who is currently known for #22's performance in #3 and #21, though her final power song does list the many accomplishments she achieved in her long life.

Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (July 12 to 18, 2020)

Death, hear me call your name (July 12 to 18, 2020)

Rank	Article	Views	Notes/about
1	Naya Rivera	3,738,808	The actress was found dead in Lake Piru on July 13. This day marked the seventh anniversary of the death of her Glee co-star at #12. With her position this week, she becomes the first of the cast to spend more than a week in the number one spot (and only the third actress to do so). The Ventura County sheriff suggested that Rivera, like Shad Gaspard before her, drowned saving her son in a strong current.
2	Kelly Preston	3,593,242	This actress/model (among other movies, Jerry Maguire) died on July 12, from cancer. Pandemic aside, her family (including husband at #5) have said they were all in her Texas hospital room.
3	Grant Imahara	1,854,968	The robotics host is another recent death entry – he passed on July 13 from a ruptured brain aneurysm. While best known for his work on MythBusters, he also did a lot of technical work behind-the-scenes on a lot of the Star Wars movies.
4	The Old Guard (2020 film)	1,335,976	In the streaming services battle, Netflix has finally prospered over Disney+ as their 2020 film The Old Guard is now taking over the list. A comic book adaptation, the film is Highlander meets The A-Team (though most reviewers compare it to The Avengers instead), featuring a team of immortal mercenaries led by Charlize Theron, who continues to be as present as Scarlett Johansson in girls with guns movies.
5	John Travolta	1,311,028	So this is another actor famous for musicals, but he's neither current or dead; he appears after the death of his wife (#2).
6	Alexander Hamilton	1,307,611	People still want to know about this founding father and the subject of #10, though after a few weeks dominating the list after a live recording of the show was launched on Disney+, traffic is slowing. If you're like me, you're now trying (failing) to learn the rap about the Revolutionary War, which is a more embarrassing way to learn about history than just reading Wikipedia.
7	Pizzagate conspiracy theory	888,643	I don't think I'm old, but I'm still lost on the resurgence of this trend. It happened in 2016 but recently became a hit on TikTok. In late June, Robbie Williams said it could be true, so this may have caused all the happily ignorant British people to want to learn about it?
8	John Lewis (civil rights leader)	885,991	Another recent death, but one in politics, an American congressman who even wrote graphic novels about his fight for civil rights and died at the age of 80 of pancreatic cancer.
9	Deaths in 2020	862,341	People are still dying, but it's always interesting to see where this list fluctuates. It usually means a few more famous people have died this week, which our top 3 spots support. This painting is The Death of Lucretia by Guido Reni, and my favorite part is her dramatic eye-roll.
10	Hamilton (musical)	806,876	The 2015 musical about #6 was given a live recording movie that hit Disney+ on July 3. It's starting to drop off the list, but not into obscurity, with other shiny things appearing on streaming.

Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (July 19 to 25, 2020)

July, July, July, July, Oh me, oh me, oh me, oh my (July 19 to 25, 2020)

Rank	Article	Views	Notes/about
1	Dil Bechara	992,310	This Indian film was released July 24; based on The Fault in Our Stars, their Ansel Elgort is played by recently-deceased actor Sushant Singh Rajput (#20). His love interest is played by Sanjana Sanghi (pictured).
2	Regis Philbin	990,535	The American television host and national treasure passed away on July 24. He spent many decades of his 88 years hosting every kind of show, holding the world record for most hours on US TV.
3	QAnon	903,777	This conspiracy is a mainstay of certain factions of Trump supporters. It is, then, talked about so much when discussing the president that everyone outside of these little groups has to come to Wikipedia to try and understand it. It's the belief that there is a covert anti-Trump group operating within the US government. And I thought that was just the Democratic party.
4	Deaths in 2020	878,394	Beyond the door there's peace I'm sure And I know there'll be no more Tears in Heaven
5	Alexander Hamilton	812,860	Founding Father, subject of Hamilton, was a great writer of his time. Our thanks to musical role originator Lin-Manuel Miranda.
6	John Lewis (civil rights leader)	769,352	The Freedom Rider died last week; the continued article views may be because the news is now making it to other parts of the world, where he wasn't known.
7	COVID-19 pandemic	731,002	This report would've probably been heavy on the 2020 Summer Olympics and Tenet if this year hadn't been totally derailed by SARS‑CoV‑2. 16 million people have been infected, with 645,482 of those cases fatal. The top two most afflicted countries are those with very unhelpful leaders, whose supporters are probably making things worse.
8	Folklore (Taylor Swift album)	695,294	The pandemic prevented musicians from touring, but not recording. A great example of this can be seen in how Taylor Swift took the postponement of her Lover Fest by doing a whole album in isolation, which was revealed only 16 hours before its release. Reviews are saying it may be her best album yet, which shows what can happen when you actually lock one of the 21st century's greatest songwriters at home for a few months.
9	Jeffrey Epstein	667,797	Though she's now missing from the list, Epstein's (perhaps literal) partner-in-crime Ghislaine Maxwell was recently arrested. The news this week is that she's being moved from cell to cell while in custody, possibly to prevent an assassination attempt.
10	Cursed (2020 TV series)	609,204	Netflix continues to hold strong here, especially in these days of #7. This time it's an adaptation of a Frank Miller illustrated novel retelling the Arthurian legend through the eyes of Nimue as the Lady of the Lake – portrayed by Katherine Langford (pictured), who owes her career to another Netflix show.

Exclusions

These lists exclude 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 exclude articles that have almost no mobile views (5–6% or less) or almost all mobile views (94–95% 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 Top 25 Report talk page if you wish.

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2 August 2020 (all comments)

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The Golden State Killer got on trial, and I'm still waiting for Elizabeth Holmes to get out of the "Upcoming trials" sidebar on Current events -Gouleg (Talk • Contribs) 13:44, 3 August 2020 (UTC)[reply]
The Marsha P. Johnson description uses pronouns they and she but due to the complexity of the situation it's probably better to avoid pronouns altogether and just refer to Marsha as "Johnson". — Bilorv (talk) 18:04, 3 August 2020 (UTC)[reply]

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