Wikipedia:Wikipedia Signpost/2022-04-24/Traffic report

Traffic report

Justice Jackson, the Smiths, and an invasion

By Igordebraga, TheJoebro64, Benmite, and YttriumShrew

This traffic report is adapted from the Top 25 Report, prepared with commentary by TheJoebro64, Igordebraga, Benmite, and YttriumShrew.

Why'd you have to go and let it die (March 20 to 26, 2022)

Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (March 20 to 26, 2022)

Rank	Article	Views	Notes/about
1	Taylor Hawkins	2,296,427	The rock world was caught by surprise by the death of the long-time drummer of the Foo Fighters, one of the few who could live up to frontman Dave Grohl behind the kit, at the age of 50. Hawkins, who was also a part of Sass Jordan and Alanis Morissette's bands, and had side project Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders, was found dead in his hotel room on the same day his band would play in Bogota. No official cause of death was revealed, but ten substances were found in his body.
2	2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine	2,241,789	As the invasion drags on into the fifth week of what was meant to be a few days, it continues to be awful.
3	RRR (film)	1,404,414	Courtesy of Tollywood, RRR (short for Roudram Ranam Rudhiram) tells a fictional story of two Indian folk heroes fighting against the British Raj. Critics have broadly praised the film, and it seems set to do well at the box office.
4	Vladimir Putin	1,319,495	There's not much more to say about Russia's dictator-president, so just enjoy this photo, which for some reason was the first thing that came up on Commons when I searched up "Vladimir Putin falling over".
5	The Kashmir Files	1,270,790	Another recent Indian historical drama, The Kashmir Files tells a fictionalised version of the Exodus of Kashmiri Hindus. Some have called said fictionalisation an attempt to stir up communal tensions.
6	Ketanji Brown Jackson	1,203,010	Following her nomination by President Joe Biden, Jackson's confirmation hearings for the U.S. Supreme Court took place this week. The hearings basically went how you might expect, with the Democrats touting her qualifications and emphasising the historic nature of her confirmation and most Republicans mounting vigorous opposition.
7	Madeleine Albright	1,019,434	A native Czech who served as United States Secretary of State during the second Clinton administration (the first woman to occupy that role) and died at the age of 84.
8	The Batman (film)	891,176	The latest Batman film continues to rake in money: with over $600 million in box office receipts worldwide, it became the highest-grossing film of the year this week. Discussions of The Batman were also reignited when director Matt Reeves released a deleted scene featuring Robert Pattinson's Caped Crusader meeting none other than the Clown Prince of Crime himself, portrayed by Barry Keoghan. (in the film itself, only his voice is heard in Arkham Asylum)
9	Deaths in 2022	864,841	Let's put in a song #1 wrote: There's nothing that you couldn't say 'Cause you've said it all before I think it's time you walked this lonely road All on your own
10	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification	691,300	The spots for football's greatest competition are being sorted out. Japan, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador and Uruguay punched their tickets, #2 caused Poland to win by W/O over Russia and Ukraine's games to be postponed until June. Notably, the reigning European champions and four-time World Cup winners, Italy, failed to qualify for second time in a row after losing their play-offs match against North Macedonia.

Now, this is a story all about how my life got flipped-turned upside down (March 27 to April 2, 2022)

Rank	Article	Views	Notes/about
1	Jada Pinkett Smith	3,341,264	Oh, goodness. Where to start. The 94th Academy Awards ceremony was looking to be just another year of the Oscars, for better or for worse. Comedians making "jokes" that denigrate the medium they're supposed to be celebrating. Disney winning another one of the animation awards that were specifically created just for them to win. Marvel fans getting upset because the Academy didn't nominate their favorite Marvel movie outside of technical categories. (It's worth noting that the Academy introduced two fan-voted "awards" this year that were thinly-veiled consolation prizes for the Marvel crowd, only for Zack Snyder fans to swipe both of them.) All of this is standard Oscars stuff. We'd forget about it in a week. Then Will Smith slapped Chris Rock in the face for making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head. On live television. It was the slap heard 'round the world, and it's completely overshadowed anything else that happened in the ceremony. Including how Smith, a longtime favorite to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, finally did it this ceremony (for playing the Williams sisters' father Richard in King Richard) after two previous nominations—but no one cares, because he slapped Chris Rock and shouted expletives on live television. Rather than celebrating the winners, most of the discussion regarding the 94th Academy Awards has concerned the Smith Slap. Did Smith or Rock or both cross a line? Were Smith's actions assault, or did he have a right to stand up for his wife? Was Rock's joke inoffensive or was he unaware that Pinkett Smith suffers from alopecia, which is why she shaved her head? Or was he mocking her condition? Smith has apologized to Rock, who's declined to press charges, but the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is conducting an investigation of the matter and may suspend Smith's Academy membership. The moment is bound to live on as one of the ugliest moments in the history of the ceremony.
2	Will Smith	2,897,836
3	RRR (film)	2,745,183	Going from Hollywood to Tollywood, as our Indian friends break up the top 5 with a hit movie about revolutionaries who took on the British Raj.
4	Chris Rock	1,945,132	Sunday was a whole new episode of Everybody Hates Chris, this time a crossover with The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (#2). All this for a G.I. Jane joke! (namely, that #1 could star in a sequel)
5	94th Academy Awards	1,887,050	Another event on Oscar night, which was disjointed but still better than the trainwreck of last year, CODA is the first film by a streaming service and starring predominantly deaf actors to win Best Picture, Jane Campion is only the third woman in history to win Best Director for The Power of the Dog, and Ariana DeBose is the first Afro-Latina woman to win Best Supporting Actress.
6	2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine	1,795,209	It has been over a month since Russian troops entered Ukraine, beginning the largest war in Europe since 1945. Ever since that day, it’s been on the list, and on one report, it and related topics occupied 20 out of the 25 spots. However, over the next few weeks, its views declined and it mixed in with the other topics normally on the report. In the last two reports, there was no dominant topic, and I couldn’t write the usual abbreviated summary of the topics without writing in too glib a tone about a war that has killed thousands of people. I eventually gave up and wrote “This one is a difficult one to summarise well.” Let's simply say that after six weeks, it continues to be awful.
7	2022 FIFA World Cup	1,774,649	Everything is almost done regarding who is playing on the Qatari football fields in November. This week had Canada earning their return after 36 years, with Mexico and the United States coming along (right before the three teams host a bloated 48-team Cup); the African spots went to Ghana, Senegal, Tunisia, Morocco and Cameroon; and both the Portugal of Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski's Poland got in. The groups of the tournament were also sorted, even if some teams aren't yet set (namely, the winner of Costa Rica-New Zealand, Peru against whoever wins in United Arab Emirates-Australia... and in a complication caused by #6, Wales is waiting for the winner of Ukraine-Scotland).
8	Taylor Hawkins	1,516,566	The surprising death of the Foo Fighters drummer is still being mourned. Here's to him.
9	CODA (2021 film)	1,447,820	The first Best Picture winner that was primarily a streaming release (Apple TV+ in the US, Prime Video internationally) is the remake of a French movie where Emilia Jones (pictured) is a Child Of Deaf Adults who is coming of age and clearly wanting to live her own life without aiding her family. CODA won all three awards it was up for, which also included Adapted Screenplay and Supporting Actor for Troy Kotsur. This here writer was one of many who liked CODA, but felt it only won the top category in another case of the Academy playing it safe.
10	Bridgerton	1,319,496	The Shonda Rhimes series and its actors continues to hold the attention of many people, in the second week since the second series landed on Netflix. Production of a third season has been confirmed apparently.

God, it's brutal out here (April 3 to 9)

Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (April 3 to 9, 2022)

Rank	Article	Views	Notes/about
1	Wrestlemania 38	2,205,071	Every year, WWE's premier event tops this list when it happens. The venue was AT&T Stadium in Texas, and the headliner match was between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns.
2	2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine	1,973,977	This week saw the emergence of reports of atrocities committed across Russian-occupied Ukraine: Mass graves have been found in Bucha, Russia has bombed civilian areas, and eye witness accounts suggest Russian soldiers have been shooting civilians retrieving water, food and aid, as well as killing fleeing civilians. The only problem, it is very difficult to prove that Putin and his high ranking officials ordered these war crimes - they will undoubtedly claim that these soldiers have gone rogue.
3	RRR (film)	1,611,044	India's latest hit is this Telugu film, bringing in the crore and the Wikipedia views to check on the tale of two revolutionaries against the British Raj. Apparently it delivers quite the spectacle in its three hour runtime.
4	Jimmy Savile	922,601	Although his abuse scandal began years before the likes of Bill Cosby, Rolf Harris, Harvey Weinstein and Jeffery Epstein appeared on this report, Jimmy Savile makes his first appearance here since the report began in 2013. Savile was an English media personality, BBC host, and DJ who was celebrated during his lifetime for his appearances on television shows (including being a long-running presenter of Top of the Pops and hosting the poorly aged Jim'll Fix It), and was also frequently respected for his seemingly good charity work at numerous hospitals. Although he was often rumoured by some to be a sex offender, Savile was protected by powerful political and professional connections, the affection of the general public, and his own skill in controlling and manipulating his public image (often suing people and journalists who had made complaints about him). However, a year after his death, Savile was outed as one of Britian's most prolific predatory sex offenders, and his surviving relatives agreed to the removal and destruction of his gravestone out of respect for his victims. The revelation of Savile's sex offences disguised the general public and lead to Operation Yewtree, a major police investigation in which several other high-profile figures were imprisoned for similar offences to those committed by Savile. In 2014, it was concluded that Savile had sexually assaulted staff and patients aged between 5 and 75 over several decades. Ten years after he was first exposed as a sex offender in a documentary hosted by Mark Williams-Thomas, Savile is now the subject of a new documentary; the Netflix two-part documentary Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story, which was released on April 6. The documentary focuses on his life and career, his history of committing sexual abuse, as well as his friendships with other high-profile people including other celebrities, politicians, and royals (including Prince Charles, who had a close friendship with Savile and wrote to him for 20 years).
5	Jon Batiste	913,596	The New Orleans singer and jazz pianist won Album of the Year at 64th Annual Grammy Awards for his album, We Are. If he seems familiar and you cannot quite remember why, it is because he has been the bandleader on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert since 2015.
6	Moon Knight	879,106	From Marvel Comics, Marc Spector is a mercenary on a mission from God. Or rather, the Egyptian God of the Moon, Khonshu. Disney+ introduced him to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. (#9)
7	Deaths in 2022	878034	You can bury me in some deep valley For many years where I may lay Then you may learn to love another While I am sleeping in my grave...
8	Morbius (film)	860,648	The Spider-Man spin-off featuring an obscure vampire villain that was delayed seven times (it was supposed to come out nearly two years ago!) finally came out, and I'm not lying when I say that Morbius was one of the worst movies I've ever had the displeasure of seeing in theaters. The third Sony's Spider-Man Universe film is the perfect storm of a nonsensical story, Jared Leto, generic characters (aside from Matt Smith's wonderfully hammy villain, who was the lone bright spot), Jared Leto, bad CGI, and Jared Leto. Audiences are probably going to eat this garbage up; I just want my two hours back.
9	Moon Knight (miniseries)	794,336	Disney+ got a parental lock just in time for the arrival of this show, where Oscar Isaac is a meek guy working in a museum that discovers that he's actually the alternate personality of a violent Egyptian-themed vigilante (#5). Every week has a new episode to keep viewers waiting for surprises like the opener's chase scene scored with "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go".
10	Olivia Rodrigo	751,725	This week the 19-year-old pop singer won Best New Artist and a few more awards at the Grammys off the back of her debut album Sour, which was critically acclaimed, produced several number-one singles, and even earned her a place on the Top 50 Report.

Ek do teen chaar paanch chheh saat aath nau das gyaarah baarah terah (April 10 to 16)

Most Popular Wikipedia Articles of the Week (April 10 to 16, 2022)

Rank	Article	Views	Image	Notes/about
1	K.G.F: Chapter 2	2,505,301		India's latest box-office hit takes the top spot. It follows the leader of an Indian crime syndicate operating out of the Kolar Gold Fields fighting rivals for supremacy as well as the Indian government. It has received mixed reviews, but done very well at the box office and become the highest-grossing Kannada film of all time.
2	Gilbert Gottfried	2,425,851		April 12 brought us the unfortunate news that Gottfried, a comedian known for his exaggerated shrill voice that he lent to characters such as Aladdin's Iago and the Aflac duck, had died at the age of 67. Gottfried had privately been struggling with recurrent ventricular tachycardia complicated by type II myotonic dystrophy; I offer my deepest condolences.
3	Russian cruiser Moskva	1,831,133		The flagship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet suffered a major explosion and sank. Ukrainian soldiers on guard at Snake Island previously told it in no uncertain terms to go away. According to Ukrainian reports it was hit by one of their Neptune cruise missiles (#17 on this list) but the Russians prefer to claim incompetence and say the ship was damaged after a fire caused a munitions explosion. Russia has not yet announced official casualty numbers. The Slava ("Glory") class cruiser was originally built in Soviet Ukraine in the city of Mykolaiv, and was launched in 1979 as Slava. It later was refitted and renamed as Moskva ("Moscow") in 1996.
4	2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine	1,466,467		Russia has retreated and regrouped for an attack on the east. The situation in Mariupol continues to worsen. The war continues to be awful.
5	Elon Musk	1,407,038		Most of the time, when Elon Musk is on this list, it's because he's done something silly, like challenging Vladimir Putin to single combat, or endorsing a cryptocurrency that was started as a joke. You know, totally normal things for the richest man in the world to be doing. We make fun of it and move on. This time, though, it's for something that actually could be quite serious. This week, Musk launched a bid for a hostile takeover of Twitter, which if successful would give him ultimate control of the platform. Employees and civil rights activists are worried that Musk's "free speech absolutist" agenda, which would involve stripping back content moderation and user protections, would open the door for increased exploitation and harassment, and a potential avenue for him to silence his critics.
6	Nicola Peltz	1,177.989		The actress daughter of a businessman, known for roles in Bates Motel, The Last Airbender and Transformers: Age of Extinction, was in the news for marrying Brooklyn Beckham.
7	RRR (film)	1,075,911	File:S-S-Rajamouli-RRR-promotional-event-1.jpg	Ah yes, Sandalwood is currently atop this list, but the highest-grossing Indian film of the year is still this Tollywood production.
8	Alia Bhatt	1,030,692		The above movie has a cameo from this actress who primarily works in the Hindi films of Bollywood, and this week married one of her former co-stars, Ranbir Kapoor.
9	Scottie Scheffler	1,026,472		The golfer from New Jersey won the 2022 Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia. Tiger Woods still recovering from injury finished 47th.
10	Jimmy Savile	1,007,637		The Netflix two-part documentary Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story recalls how this guy was known as a philanthropist and a popular DJ and TV host, but behind the scenes was one of Britain's most prolific predatory sex offenders, a scandal only uncovered after Savile's death. Damnatio memoriae followed, with his tombstone being destroyed, BBC taking episodes of the shows he hosted out of circulation, and most of his honors being stripped (except his knighthood, as that title expires when its holder does so).

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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The traffic report continues to show just how much of an impact major events have on our world, from the Oscars "Slap Heard 'Round the World" (seriously, this should have its own page with how much controversy it's caused!) to the War in Ukraine continuing to shape the way we look at politics and the world around us. Praying that soon we'll see the War in Ukraine at the top for an entirely different reason: the fact that it's over. XFalcon2004x (talk) 13:11, 2 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

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