Every year in December, Google drops a list of the year’s most popular search terms reflecting on the things people were most curious about in the past year. 2023 was a year of many global-scale events like Barbenheimer and the Women’s World Cup which all made the list of top searches in Australia but the most-searched-for event was the Optus Outage, unsurprising considering that nearly 10 million Aussies were forced to go out and touch grass thanks to the massive blackout across the country. The retrospective report was published earlier this week and this is what made the list for the top trending searches in Australia.
Google’s Year In Search 2023 – Australia
Aside from the Optus outage and subsequent memes, Australians sought to learn more about the unfolding war in Israel and Gaza which was the second most searched-for news event. The referendum results where Australians decisively voted no to recognise Indigenous people in the constitution was the third most Googled news event. Find the full list along with Aussies who made headlines, movies and sporting events.
Top 10 trending searches in news and events
1. Optus outage
2. War in Israel and Gaza
3. Referendum results
4. Andrew Tate
5. Earthquake Melbourne
6. Submarine
7. Turkey earthquake
8. Chandrayaan-3
9. Russell Brand
10. NSW election results
Top 10 trending Aussies in 2023
Aussies also stayed invested in the lives of famous Australian sportspersons especially Tillies like Sam Kerr, Mary Fowler and Ellie Carpenter and former cricketer Michael Clarke.