Wikimedia Blog/Drafts/In the news roundup: June 30–July 7, 2015

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Posted July 8 2015

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  • Reddit controversy and the Women's World Cup final: News on Wikipedia

Summary[edit]

Find out how Wikipedia is covering this week's current news events:

Body[edit]

Here are some of the global news stories covered on Wikipedia this week:

Greeks head to the polls[edit]

Despite being a snap referendum, both sides saw loud support. Image by Alehins, freely licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.0.

Voters in Greece set out to vote in a referendum on Sunday (June 5) to choose whether or not to accept terms on a new bailout deal offered by the European Union. While opinion polling in the buildup suggested a close race, the "No" option did much better than many expected: 61.3 percent of voters elected to reject the bailout terms, which means Greece is now much more likely to leave the Eurozone altogether. Despite the result, finance minister Yanis Varoufakis stood down in the wake of the referendum.

Learn more in these related Wikipedia articles: Greek bailout referendum, 2015, Greek withdrawal from the eurozone

Chile and the United States emerge triumphant[edit]

Carli Lloyd scored a thirteen-minute hat trick during the Women's World Cup final. Photo by Noah Salzman, freely licensed under CC-BY-SA 4.0.

In association football, two tournaments concluded this week. In women's football, the United States national team won the 2015 Women's World Cup, soundly defeating Japan in the final 5–2. Carli Lloyd, who plays for Houston Dash, scored a hat trick within just thirteen minutes for the USA, who went into half time four goals ahead. In South America, meanwhile, Chile claimed the 2015 Copa América, defeating Argentina in a penalty shootout to claim the first tournament win in their country's footballing history. Arsenal's Alexis Sánchez converted the winning penalty following a goalless draw.

Learn more in these related Wikipedia articles: 2015 Women's World Cup, 2015 Copa América

Boko Haram attacks kill dozens in Nigeria[edit]

Boko Haram are proving a big challenge for new Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari. Photo by Chatham House, freely licensed under CC-BY 2.0.

Jihadist group Boko Haram this week stepped up their terrorism operations in Nigeria, with a series of bomb attacks in the country killing dozens of people. Several attacks on mosques and homes in the village of Kukawa, in the north-east of the country, killed almost a hundred people on Wednesday and Thursday (July 1 and 2). Another attack, a bombing at a mosque and retaurant in the central city of Jos, killed at least 44 people on Sunday night (July 5). 250 people are estimated to have died in attacks by the group in just over a week.

Learn more in the related Wikipedia article: Boko Haram

Reddit subforums locked in protest[edit]

Reddit users locked down several popular subforums. Image by Antonio Zugaldia, freely licensed under CC-BY 2.0.

Several prominent subforums on popular website Reddit were locked this week following the departure of Victoria "chooter" Taylor, Reddit's director of talent, and according to the Washington Post, a "much-needed bridge between the corporate side of Reddit and its users." Taylor was responsible for organising "ask me anything" sessions, where individuals and celebrities are asked questions by members of the website. Alexis Ohanian, the site's executive chairman, and Ellen Pao, interim CEO, have apologized for the site's handling of the situation.

Learn more in these related Wikipedia articles: reddit, Ellen Pao

Saudi Prince pledges wealth to charity[edit]

Al-Waleed bin Talal is already well-known for his philanthropic endeavours in Saudi Arabia. Photo by Kingdom Holding Company, freely licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Al-Waleed bin Talal is a member of the Saudi Arabian royal family and, according to Bloomberg, the 21st-richest man in the world. He announced this week his plans to donate his wealth—an estimated US$32 billion—to charities in order to help build "better world of tolerance, acceptance, equality and opportunity for all". He has given no date for his eventual donation, but suggests he will spread his wealth around the globe to used in disaster relief and the building of houses and schools.

Learn more in the related Wikipedia article: Al-Waleed bin Talal

Research stats[edit]


Wikipedia pageview statistics show the various spikes in activity on these articles. Photo by Joe Sutherland, freely licensed under CC-BY 4.0.

It is clear looking at the data that 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup had by far the largest peak in page views; the article surpassed 130,000 on Monday (July 6) as the tournament concluded in a different timezone. The other sporting story, the 2015 Copa América, also did well, with just over 67,000 at its peak.

Reddit's blackout attracted almost 30,000 people to the website's Wikipedia article on Friday (July 3), and it remained popular throughout the week. Likewise, the Greek bailout referendum article peaked at over 27,000 on Sunday, the day of the vote, but was steady in its buildup.

Al-Waleed bin Talal's biography exceeded 22,000 visitors on Thursday (July 2) as he announced his intentions, while Boko Haram's view counts remained consistent all week.

Photo montage credits: ""No" posters in Athens.jpg" by Alehins, CC-BY-SA 2.0; "HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal.jpg" by Kingdom Holding Company, CC-BY-SA 3.0; "Muhammadu Buhari - Chatham House.jpg" by Chatham House, CC-BY 2.0; "Ellen Pao 2015 2.jpg" by Christopher Michel, CC-BY 2.0; "Carli Lloyd pointing.jpg" by Noah Salzman, CC-BY-SA 4.0.

To see how other news events are covered on the English Wikipedia, check out the 'In the news' section on its main page.

Joe Sutherland, Communications Intern, Wikimedia Foundation

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