The Wikipedia article on Charlie Kirk became the most read article of the year on the online encyclopedia as users searched for details about conservative activists.

Kirk’s entries were viewed around 45 million times, particularly following his tragic shooting during a college debate on September 10.

While Kirk was already recognized in the U.S. as a co-founder of Turning Point USA, his death captured global attention. According to data from the Wikimedia Foundation, over 40% of the traffic on the most-read English Wikipedia articles in 2025 originated from outside the U.S.

In second place is Wikipedia’s annual compilation of notable deaths. Last year’s most popular item was the notable losses list for 2024.

The third spot featured Ed Gein, the infamous American serial killer highlighted in Season 3 of Netflix’s Monster, a true crime anthology series.

Wikipedia celebrated its 25th anniversary on January 15. Thanks to the efforts of 250,000 volunteer writers and editors, it continues to serve as a trustworthy information source. The entries are based on a few fundamental principles: utilize public and reliable sources, and refrain from publishing personal opinions or novel interpretations.

Additionally, two more U.S. public figures made it into the top five. This marks Donald Trump’s eighth appearance on the annual list, alongside Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV.

Entries related to movies and TV shows consistently feature in the Top 20, largely due to the “second screen” phenomenon, where viewers check their phones while watching films or shows.

Both the Sinners and Superman films made the overall top 10, with Netflix’s show Adolescence reaching 17th place for the year, peaking in views shortly after its release due to the viral success of the tetralogy.

Entries for the acclaimed Apple TV series Severance saw viewings nearly triple from the first season in 2022 to the second season this year. Wikimedia also raised concerns about the growing popularity of movie and TV show summaries on the platform.

U.S. politics accounted for a quarter of the top 20, with Zoran Mamdani’s remarkable run for New York mayor landing him in the top 10, right behind Elon Musk. YouTuber MrBeast also made his debut in the top 20.

Most read Wikipedia pages in 2025

1. Charlie Kirk, 44.9m page views

2. Number of deaths in 2025: 42.5 million people

3. Ed Gein, 31.2m

4. Donald Trump, 25.1m

5. Pope Leo XIV, 22.1m

6. Elon Musk, 20.2m

7. Zoran Mamdani, 20.1m

8. Sinner (2025 movie), 18.2m

9. Ozzy Osbourne, 17.8m

10. Superman (2025 movie), 17m

11. Pope Francis, 15.3m

12. Severance (TV series), 13.9m

13. America, 13m

14. Thunderbolt*, 12.9m

15. Weapon (2025 movie), 11.8m

16. JD Vance, 11.6m

17. Adolescence (TV series), 11.6m

18. Mr. Beast, 11.5m

19. Cristiano Ronaldo, 10.8m

20. Fantastic Four: First Steps, 10.8m