2023’s most searched news topic was the Optus outage in November.
The network failure put hundreds of thousands of Australians in a black spot for hours when landlines, mobile phones and the internet went offline and cost Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin her job.
Some top 10 questions were “optus compensation” “what caused the optus outage?” and “is optus outage fixed?”
This was followed by the war in Israel and Gaza following Hamas’ attack on October 7.
Other notable searches in the top 10 were the Voice to Parliament referendum, the lost Titan submarine and the NSW election results.
Top 5 searched news events:
- Optus outage
- War in Israel and Gaza
- Referendum results
- Andrew Tate
- Earthquake Melbourne
Most searched movie
It was a fierce fight between Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer which opened on the same day in theatres.
But only one could come out on top and in Australia, Oppenheimer came first as the most searched film with Barbie taking second place.
They were followed by Everything, Everywhere, all at once, starring Michelle Yeoh who won Best Actress at the 2023 Academy Awards. Yeoh became the first Asian woman to win an Oscar for lead actress.
Top 5 most searched movies
- Oppenheimer
- Barbie
- Everything Everywhere All at Once
- John Wick 4
- Avatar: The Way of Water
Most searched Aussie
With the Matilda’s stunning successes at the Women’s World Cup, it’s no surprise that Sam Kerr was the most searched Australian in 2023.
She was followed by fellow Matilda Mary Fowler and cricketer Michael Clarke.
Top 5 most searched Aussie
- Sam Kerr
- Mary Fowler
- Michael Clarke
- Reece Walsh
- Dan Andrews
Most searched deaths
Topping the most searched celebrity deaths in 2023 was Friends star Matthew Perry who played Chandler Bing on the iconic sitcom from 1994 to 2004.
In October this year, Perry was found unresponsive in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home and was pronounced dead at the age of 54.
Closer to home, Masterchef’s Jock Zonfrillo’s death gripped Australians becoming the second most searched death in 2023.
This was followed by Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor and the “Queen of Rock n’ Roll” Tina Turner
Top 5 most searched deaths
- Matthew Perry
- Jock Zonfrillo
- Sinéad O’Connor
- Tina Turner
- Cal Wilson
Most searched recipe
Australians had royal tastes when it came to recipe searches this year with 2 out of the top 5 recipes linked to King Charles III’s coronation.
Coronation quiche, a new recipe released by the palace to mark the occasion, took first place. The quiche is flavoured with spinach, broad beans and tarragon and the royal family’s website recommends eating it with a green salad and boiled new potatoes.
But it seems that some royal watchers were nostalgic for the former queen.
Coronation chicken, which was created to mark Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953, was the third most searched recipe of 2023.
- Coronation quiche recipe
- Grimace shake recipe
- Coronation chicken recipe
- CWA Anzac biscuit recipe
- Chicken Honolulu recipe
