In an effort to recognize our writers and translators and be more transparent about our readership each month, we are continuing our Stats4Community series, where we share monthly updates about our most popular stories. We will also be highlighting the top Lingua posts for different languages to showcase the linguistic diversity across the GV community. This month's stories are from our English, Portuguese, Chinese, Dutch, and Japanese sites.

Our English site saw over 280,381 viewers in February. All statistics here are drawn from Google Analytics and do not necessarily represent the total number of views due to adblockers and other privacy settings.

GV top stories February 2024

Dutch

Woede en verdriet om de dood van Navalny bij Russen in Armenië en Georgië – Anger and grief as Russians in Armenia and Georgia mourn Navalny’s death (23,101+ views)

Hundreds of protesters gathered in Armenia and Georgia following the news that Alexey Navalny, 47, a well-known Russian opposition figure and Putin's long-term critic, died in prison under suspicious circumstances on February 16, 2024.

English

Pseudoscientific racial theories by discredited British psychologist keep going viral in the Balkans (2,007+ views)

This piece from 2019 discusses a theory that people in North Macedonia have demonstrably lower IQs than others in the region. The pseudoscientific theory, based largely on Eugenics, drew from ethnic tensions in the region and quickly went viral, even though it was debunked. The longevity of this piece suggests that the misinformation is still circulating. 

Portuguese 

Um ritual de proteção para “fechar o corpo” liga tradições religiosas diferentes no Brasil – A Protection Ritual to ‘Close the Body’ Links Different Religious Traditions in Brazil (2,353+ views)

In this piece from 2016, Adam Lee discusses how an Afro-Caribbean ritual connects people across religions and backgrounds in Brazil. The “closing of the body” ritual is supposed to ward off evil and is practised among Afro-Brazilian religions of Candomblé and Umbanda, as well as some Catholic denominations.

Traditional Chinese

進入柬埔寨的監獄 – Inside the Prisons of Cambodia (1,971+ views)

In this 2011 piece, GV Southeast Asia Editor Mong Palatino discusses the circumstances inside Cambodian prisons. Prisoners often face severe overcrowding, poor health and sanitation standards, improperly prepared food, and more. When this piece was published over 13 years ago, Cambodia’s prisons were facing severe overcrowding and were at over 180 percent capacity.

Japanese

ロシア語を話すウクライナ人の話は聞きたいですか？– How I ended up despising my mother tongue in Ukraine (1,842+ views)

In this Bridge piece, Global Voices’ Managing Editor Filip Noubel discusses his Ukrainian heritage and his struggle to grapple with Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine. Filip, like many Russian-language speakers, has struggled to navigate his complicated feelings about Russia’s war, its colonial history, and the backlash against the Russian language and Russian language speakers that has emerged since Putin invaded Ukraine.  

Portugese

Angola: O Alambamento e os Rituais do Casamento – Angola: “Alambamento” and Marriage Practices (1,527+ views)

In Angola, there is a quite strong cultural tradition of asking for the hand of the bride in marriage, called “alambamento.” Considered by some more important than the civil or religious (Christian) marriage, the alambamento consists of a series of rituals, like the delivery of a letter with the request for the hand of the bride, which sometimes comes with money. This discussion of marriage practices in Angola was first published in 2010 and routinely gets thousands of views, indicating the lasting curiosity in Angolan marriage rituals.

English

YouTube chefs are cooking up a storm in Indian kitchens 

(1,206+ views)

This piece from 2014 is a longstanding favorite with fans of Indian food as well as those wanting some delicious meal inspiration. The piece highlights some of India’s famous YouTube chefs and links to some of their most popular recipe videos. 

English

A few soca songs to take you from start to finish of Trinidad & Tobago Carnival (1,173+ views)

With Carnival running from February 7–14 this month, it’s not surprising that this Carnival-themed music piece gained some traction. It highlighted some of the latest Soca songs produced by local artists and