Wikipedia:Top 25 Report/August 26 to September 1, 2018

The Top 25 Report

This page contains material that is kept because it is considered humorous.
Such material is not meant to be taken seriously.

Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (August 26 to September 1, 2018)[edit]

Prepared with commentary by Stormy clouds

← Last week's report – Next week's report →

Courage is not the absence of fear[edit]

Once again, we have a report dominated by death. The omnipresent, inescapable reaper, bound to strike each and every person reading this down with the same ferocious, fearsome, fatal, fall. The looming specter, lurking in the shadows of our collective existence, waiting for the moment to capitalise upon our unpreparedness, and unwillingness to let go of life. This week's report in particular, is spearheaded by one prominent death - that of Senator John McCain, whose demise has propelled not only his own (formerly) BLP to an enormous viewcount, but also those of his extended family. Various subjects interject between the McCain bios, from the ongoing sporting bonanza over in Asia to the latest young adult hit streaming on Netflix. Owing to McCain's seismic impact on Wikipedia views, the report is considerably more lobsided than normal, but that neither detracts from nor diminishes its inherent, intrinsic intrigue.

Thus, for the week of August 26 to September 1, 2018, the 25 most popular articles on Wikipedia, as determined from the WP:5000 report were:

Rank	Article	Views	About
1	John McCain	6,187,238	We begin with the biggest news of the week, and the fourth-highest views of the year - the death of John McCain, one of the most prominent members of the United States Senate, and leaders of the Grand Old Party, over the past few decades. McCain first rose to fame following his torturous tenure as a prisoner-of-war with the Viet Cong, and subsequently rose the political ranks. He was denied the head job by a certain charismatic Democrat, and he never served in a cabinet position either, but rather remained a massively influential voice in the Senate, especially in recent years as he rejected Trumpian proposals on issues such as healthcare. Diagnosed with glioblastoma last year, the news of his passing was perhaps an inevitability in the interim, yet this didn't prevent him making seismic waves in terms of page views amongst the dogged denizens of Wikipedia, whose intrigue led them to tunnel through various familiar links, including McCain's widow Cindy (#2), and divorced wife Carol (#3).
2	Cindy McCain	1,308,386
3	Carol McCain	1,193,628
4	2018 Asian Games	1,152,563	Aside from the aforementioned death of a senator, the other recurrent story at the apex of this iteration of the report is the Asian Games, which have drawn to a close as of the time of writing. Held in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia, the games shone a spotlight upon the very best Asian athletes, as, like the alchemists of yonder, they transformed their blood, sweat, and tears, along with their incredible athletic aptitudes, into some precious metals. Evidently, their sporting endeavours engrossed a cohort of our readers, landing the event in the top 5 once again.
5	Meghan McCain	1,148,650	As with a large number of massive deaths, McCain's demise seems to have inspired a large amount of link-clicking, as denizens of Wikipedia click through all the family members of a deceased person, discovering all they can on a curiosity-fuelled binge. In the case of Meghan, McCain's daughter, they would have discovered her burgeoning television career, which has thus far culminated with a gig co-hosting The View alongside Whoopi Goldberg and co.
6	2018 Asian Games medal table	1,042,412	A list recounting all of the medals awarded to the participants of #4. With an astonishing 289 medals, it was China who reigned supreme. This shouldn't have come as too much of a surprise to avid fans of the Games, given that they have achieved this feat on ten consecutive occasion. Perhaps more impressive was the fact that 46% of their medals were of the aureate inclination, which bodes well for Chinese prospects in the next games, which they will host in Hangzhou.
7	India at the 2018 Asian Games	982,059	Once again, a large amount of the attention paid towards the Asian Games came from India, as people from Uttar Pradesh to Kerala browsed the information superhighway to check up on their country's progress. India only placed eighth on the medal table, so one has to imagine that the swarm of page views stems not from their performance, but from the fact that the nation has the second most anglophones worldwide. Nonetheless, there were some highlights, such as the victory of Rohan Bopanna (pictured) and his partner Divij Sharan in the tennis.
8	Deaths in 2018	771,880	People die.^{[citation needed]} Some of those people have attracted attention from reliable sources, and have Wikipedia articles. Upon their deaths, their names coalesce and convene on a list for the deceased. The morbid among us love this list, and ensure that it never leaves the Top 25. Bad news sells, after all. The numbers observing this week's voyage down the River Styx was additionally buoyant courtesy of #1.
9	Aretha Franklin	726,044	The musically-inclined on Wikipedia are evidently still reeling from the death of the "Queen of Soul", as she still attracts swathes of views a fortnight past her untimely passing. However, in a very odd convergence of topics, the Special One inadvertedly honoured Franklin's legacy during a ridiculous meltdown following his team's 3-0 defeat to 'arry and Co. Personally, I think that all any of us can ask for in our prayers is a little respect when we're at home.
10	Crazy Rich Asians (film)	722,067	Hollywood doesn't exactly have a spotless record when it comes to the portrayal of minorities on the silver screen. This has been particularly true of roles of Asian origin. Just ask Cowboy Khan or Puck the Stereotype for evidence. Nonetheless, diversity pays these days, and the latest surprise hit has proven this once more, as Warner Bros. makes significant bank off the back of the film, which looks likely to three-peat at #1 in the box office. No word on its quality, as it isn't out in the Emerald Isle just yet, but my more stately friends have assured me that it is quite entertaining.
11	Roberta McCain	716,781	Similarly to #2, #3, #5, and #20, John McCain's death has inspired a wide swathe of interest and intrigue in the McCain clan, including the 106-year-old matriarch of the dynasty. Roberta, despite being the Senator's mother and a centenarian to boot, is still going strong. Unlike her descendants, she is not particularly engaged in politics, nor the intricacies of life in Washington, D.C. Recently, she has been passing the time memorialising her son, both at his living requiem and the display of his remains in the United States Capitol rotunda.
12	Nandamuri Harikrishna	580,993	Another death, and one which originates from Tollywood, as Harikrishna, an actor who attracted acclaim for his roles in Telugu language films. He received his break as a child actor, having portrayed Bala Krishna, and subsequently leveraged his fame to pursue a career in politics, eventually rising to a cabinet ministry. Ironically enough, given that he ultimately died in a car crash, his ministerial portfolio was road transport.
13	Noah Centineo	527,638	The person photographed to the left is not Noah Centineo, but rather Jake T. Austin, his co-star on The Fosters. One has to improvise when there are no copyright free images in the archives, after all. Centineo perseveres in the report due to his appearance in #15, the Netflix adaptation of #25, alongside #21. Having finally succumbed and watched the film, I really don't understand the furore for what is, by my book, a mediocre adaptation of a moderately interesting story, but binge-watchers seems habitually driven to binge-wiki, like moths to the flame. And so I have been wrought the role of Prometheus, castigated to the constant coverage of YA tripe, tormented with the banality of bland, predictable, boring films. Having already blown my Camila Cabello fact last week, we're stuck with Austin for the photo. If you're to continue obsessing over this actor, please, for the love of all that is good, I beseech you, take his damn photograph!!!
14	Don Bradman	524,423	Finally. They have returned. We lit the Warning Beacons of r/Lotr given their prolonged absence from the report, and the riders have returned. Today I Learned that Reddit has become our reporting revenant, sans l'ours, with a ...wait for it... cricket story. Sigh. Small steps. Anyway, all joking aside, it is an interesting case of confuddled, intertwinned nicknames, and it drove hundreds of thousands to this article, about arguably the greatest batsman of all time. Welcome home, you beautiful lunatics.
15	To All the Boys I've Loved Before (film)	503,494	Rom-coms and YA fiction are likely two of the most derided genres of film and literature respectively, so surely their confluence would inspire quality. Right? Not really. The new film, starring #13 and #21, and adapted from Jenny Han's novel (#25), has lit up Netflix, and avid streamers are venturing on wiki after watching the flick. In my opinion, it is an aggressively mediocre film, and that is arguably worse than being outright atrocious. Anyway, it is not the first time that a middling Netflix production has drummed up a giant following and found itself in the report for weeks on end. Testament to the strength of the streaming platform, I guess, that they can spring an original directly into the Top 25.
16	Ariana Grande	441,379	Another recurrent entry in recent weeks, Grande has overcome intense hardship and tragedy in the past eighteen months to return to the scrunity of the public eye. After her tour was heinously interrupted, she (understandably) retreated for some time, before returning with a resurgent new album, wherein she dried her eyes, saw the silver light, and declared a female deity. However, the recent focus has been on her engagement to #24, which leaves her with one less problem.
17	Henry Kissinger	440,162	The controversial Secretary of State return to the American consciousness this week as he delivered a eulogy at the funeral of his fellow Republican positioned at #1 in this report. Kissinger's legacy, like that of McCain, is intrinsically tied to the Vietnam War, in which he was responsible for ending American involvement with the Paris Peace Accords. For his role as a peacebroker, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 amid turmoil. The committee underwent a schism, given Kissinger's decision to extend the war into Cambodia. Kissinger remains one of the most divisive figures in the US history of the 20th century, and the eulogy he eloquently delivered returned him to the report.
18	Neil Simon	435,255	One of the greatest playwrights of his generation, Neil Simon died during the week. Having authored plays such as Come Blow Your Horn and The Odd Couple, Simon cemented his place amongst the greats in the 1960s, but never hung up the typewriter until 2003, when his final play bombed. However, this will not be his ultimate legacy, given that he has secured more Oscar and Tony nominations than any of his peers. Amongst artistic circles, Simon will not be soon forgotten or forsaken, nor will the dense themes he approached in his work. Like his namesake, Simon deployed words to lay bridges over troubled water, and Wikipedians flocked to his page to recall his sublime work.
19	Michael Jackson	433,486	The "King of Pop" was the biggest star of his generation, and revolutionised music single-handedly to a gargantuan degree, thrusting himself into a pantheon of superstardom and greatness. Jackson saw a spike in popularity on his article for many reasons during the week, most pertinently that August 29 would have been his 60th birthday, if not for his death by overdose some nine years ago. Moreover, Matt Groening propelled additional interest in Jackson by confirming the long-held rumour that Jackson had appeared in my favourite episode of The Simpsons, and the song that sparked the Golden Age of the show.
20	John S. McCain Jr.	426,291	A further ramification of the headline death here, as people investigated his father. Like McCain, his father was an active participant in conflict, fighting under the Star-Spangled Banner, serving as an admiral in the US Navy in three consecutive conflicts. Mr. Seapower was never apprehended by the enemy, so even the Commander-in-Chief couldn't deny his status as a war hero.
21	Lana Condor	404,667	Condor, along with Centineo (#13), stars in #15, and looks positioned to join Katherine Langford in the realm of young actresses to spring into stardom courtesy of a Netflix Original. Condor's youthful fame indicates that her career will only journey from strength to strength in the future, a journey of growth which begins in December as she stars in Alita: Battle Angel, directed by Robert Rodriguez (pictured). Condor is no stranger to blockbuster fare, having portrayed Jubilee in X-Men: Apocalypse.
22	Kamikaze (Eminem album)	397,294	Guess who's back, back again - Shady's back, tell a friend. He's gone and copied The Carters, 'cause nobody wants to see release dates no more, they want surprises, on iTunes and Deezer. Well if you want a shock, listen to this 8 Mile geezer, still dropping rhymes decades after his first teaser. A storm jump-started his career quicker than the shock that GLAAD got shocked with by Elton John when he started co-operating, when Em was rocking the stage as he was contemplating. You waited one year, so stop complaining, cause he's back, he's on the mic, and dominating. He knows he's gotta fight for his job, Mr. Scarano, so his lyrical acrobatics are complicating. The times are a'changin' yet they're staying the same, and the critics say Mathers is back on his game. The trick to longevity, so it seems, is to name albums for Japanese suicidees.
23	Eminem	396,685
24	Pete Davidson	376,847	Pete Davidson has been another perennial entry on the Report in the past few weeks, as the purveyors of Wikipedia seem utterly captivated by his relationship with Ariana Grande (#16). The comedian has seen his star undergo a meteoric rise in the media owing to their engagement, yet I was familiar with him before all that owing to his stellar work under the guidance of Lorne Michaels (pictured) on Saturday Night Live. The Staten Island native may soon be known to Internet folk as Mr. Ariana Grande, but to me he will remain the clueless, inexplicably attractive Chad - OK?
25	To All the Boys I've Loved Before	371,318	Jenny Han's novel, loosely based upon her own obsession with love letters, was adapted into the rampantly successful Netflix Original that occupies our #15 spot this week. I must confess that I am not overly familiar with the intricacies of Han's work as an author (alas, there are not enough dragons for my liking), but she seems to be adept at crafting cinematic tales. Her second hit, P.S. I Still Love You, will doubtless be adapted in the near future, given the hooplah around the first film.

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 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 talk page if you wish.

BTS (band), artificial boosts - we are onto you, and you will not make the report if you perpetuate this malevolent gaming of the system. Perhaps heed this quote from your band - "Live your life. It’s yours anyway. Don’t try too hard. It’s okay to lose."
EXO (band), ditto - You might only care for the other ranking where your shenanigans count, but that won't stop us from removing your idols from our list.

Note: If you came here from the Signpost article, please take any discussion of exclusions to this article's talk page.