On top of deadly natural disasters like Tropical Storms Hilary and Idalia and fires in Maui and Canada, there were man-made catastrophes as well, and none so engaging as the rescue efforts surrounding the Titan submersible.
Peaking at number 7 on our list with Eric Levenson, Priscilla Alvarez, Gabe Cohen, Nouran Salahieh, and Oren Liebermann’s “Titanic-bound submersible suffered ‘catastrophic implosion,” we had 9 stories from 7 different outlets on the topic and audiences spent more than 60 million minutes engaging with them.
What was happening on social?
The standout social story of 2023 was undoubtedly the missing Titan submersible.
In 2 short weeks, videos about the submersible garnered more views than all presidential content combined over the course of the previous six months.
Read more social insights.
The Los Angeles Times’ obituary for ‘Friends star’ Matthew Perry is our most engaging story of 2023. Audiences spent more than 45 million minutes engaging with tributes to the actor on our list.
In a previous interview with the Los Angeles Times, Perry said he wanted to be remembered “As a guy who lived life, loved well, lived well and helped people.”
Other notable figures we paid tribute to this year include Elvis’s daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor, and former First Lady, Rosalynn Carter.
What was happening on social?
Viewership about Matthew Perry peaked October 30th, the Monday following his death, with over 3B views across social.
A week following his passing, commemorative videos featuring the Friends theme song accumulated almost 74M views.
Read more social insights.
War was once again a top topic on news sites throughout the world. Last year, the war between Russia and Ukraine dominated coverage, and while a few dispatches from the region made this year’s list as well, our attention has since turned to the unfolding conflict in Gaza after the terrorist attack in Israel on October 7th.
Some of the most popular stories on the topic like the BBC’s “What is Hamas and why is it fighting Israel in Gaza?” and Al Jazeera's "What's the Israel-Palestine conflict about? A simple guide" show that audiences are interested in historical background to give context to daily breaking news.
What was happening on social?
Social feeds are flooded with first-hand accounts of soldiers on the ground, passionate protesters, and civilians caught in the cross-fire.
Media & Entertainment publishers posted nearly 60% of their Israel-Palestine coverage to YouTube, while influencers posted over 50% of their war commentary to TikTok.
Read more social insights.
As catastrophes, wars, and obituaries drive news cycle after news cycle, the perseverance of the human spirit and our desire to connect with others can be a welcome respite for journalists and readers alike.
We see it in stories like number 8 on our list from CNN, “A migrant crossed the border and found a scared, 9-year-old Arizona boy alone in the desert. The encounter changed them both.”
Though we mustn't look away from the tougher topics, it's clear that audiences also crave a daily dose of good news.
What was happening on social?
#GoodNews has been a strong subcategory for quite a while. This video of Magnus the Therapy Dog bringing joy to the hospital was the most engaged #GoodNews video of 2023. Instagram saw the most engagements for #GoodNews content, particularly on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday when people are looking for a positive start to their week.
Read more social insights.
Scandals and true crime aren’t just for TV. According to Chartbeat data, they were one of the most popular topics of the year on site as well. The most engaging story in this category was “What I learned about Lucy Letby after 10 months in court” from the BBC’s Judith Moritz.
Another criminal case that online audiences followed closely was the Murdaugh family murders, and there was also renewed interest in a number of cold cases such as the story of two teens who went missing while hitchhiking to a concert 50 years ago and JFK's assassination.
What was happening on social?
One of 2023’s most-followed murder mysteries unfolded around the prominent southern Murdaugh family. While TikTok detectives often amass tons of views, NBC News created 2 of the top 5 most-watched Murdaugh videos!
Read more social insights.
228,519,772,384
Total Engaged Minutes
Behind the Numbers
More than 60,000 media companies use Chartbeat's content analytics to measure and understand their audience. Across this global network, we evaluated more than 39 million pieces of content, totaling 228 billion minutes of Engaged Time, which is the total amount of time visitors spent actively reading. The stories featured reflect the variety of coverage we saw this past year.
Most Engaging Stories Archive
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