Internet left confused by YouTube including Charlie Kirk in the list of top content creators for 2025

YouTube dropped a list of its top content creators for 2025 earlier this week, which was shared in a tweet by @FearedBuck on Wednesday, December 3. MrBeast ranked first on the list, and Outdoor Boys ranked at number 10. 

But one entry that stood out was the sixth rank, occupied by Charlie Kirk, that left many netizens confused about what it could mean. Despite being assassinated earlier this year (on September 10), the right-wing influencer was still mentioned on YouTube's list.

Confused netizens reacted to it in the comments section:

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Charlie Kirk in there pic.twitter.com/M5SWUu8UkP

— SUAREZ (@suayrez) December 3, 2025

"Charlie Kirk is streaming from hell?" - questioned an X user.

"Charlie?" - wondered another.

"no not Charlie" - wrote a third one.

"What's Charlie Kirk doing there" - added a fourth netizen.

"Number 6 is valid" - commented a fifth one.

For the unversed, Charlie Kirk was shot in the Utah Valley University campus in broad daylight, where he was conducting a Q&A session as part of the American Comeback Tour that his company, Turning Point USA (TPUSA) had organized. 

Kirk had just answered a question about gun violence seconds before being shot in the neck. After it happened, the 32-year-old was taken to a nearby hospital immediately, but couldn't survive his wounds and passed away later that day. 

After Charlie Kirk's passing, his widow, Erika Kirk, was announced the CEO of his company. Meanwhile, his prime murder suspect, Tyler Robinson, was caught two days later, and is currently in custody as the murder trial goes on. 

Charlie Kirk also topped Wikipedia's year-end list this year

YouTube isn't the only platform to have included Charlie Kirk in its year-end list. Per The Guardian, the conservative podcaster was mentioned on top of Wikipedia's list of most-read articles in 2025. 

The media outlet reported that Kirk's entry on the website was viewed almost 45 million times this year - with a majority of them logged after his death two months ago.

After Kirk, the second most read article on the website is annual list - Notable deaths of 2025. It was views 42.5 million times. The other entries on the top-20 list are as follows:

1. Ed Gein - 31.2 million
2. Donald Trump - 25.1 million
3. Pope Leo XIV - 22.1 million
4. Elon Musk - 20.2 million
5. Zohran Mamdani - 20.1 million
6. Sinners (2025 film) - 18.2 million
7. Ozzy Osbourne - 17.8 million
8. Superman (2025 film) - 17 million 
9. Pope Francis - 15.3 million
10. Severance (TV series) - 13.9 million
11. United States - 13 million
12. Thunderbolts* - 12.9 million
13. Weapons (2025 film) - 11.8 million
14. JD Vance - 11.6 million
15. Adolescence (TV series) - 11.6 million
16. Cristiano Ronaldo - 10.8 million
17. The Fantastic Four: First Steps - 10.8 million

It's worth noting that three of the 20 most-read entries this year were about the famous people who passed away, including Kirk, Ozzy Osbourne, and Pope Francis. 

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