The most popular stories on the Guardian website in 2013

From Edward Snowden to Miley Cyrus, the most viewed stories of 2013 on the Guardian website varied in seriousness and styleSo that was 2013 – the year that Nelson Mandela died, the Pope resigned, Syria spiralled further into chaos and Miley Cyrus licked a hammer. But what were the stories that most gripped Guardian readers? Clue: they weren't all about Margaret Thatcher.Based on the number of visits to each page, here are the most viewed stories of 2013 on theguardian.com. Figures are correct as of 20 December 2013; we have not listed multiple articles on the same topic.In the news1) Edward Snowden: The whistleblower behind the NSA revelationsMonday 10 June 2013"My name's Ed Snowden, I'm 29 years old. I work for Booz Allen Hamilton as an infrastructure analyst for NSA in Hawaii." With those words, the young whistleblower revealed he was the source of the biggest intelligence leak in the history of America's National Security Agency, and became the face of a story that has convulsed governments and set the news agenda around the world. This exclusive video interview by reporter Glenn Greenwald and filmmaker Laura Poitras became the single most viewed Guardian story of 2013. We have not listed multiple stories about the NSA (or any other topic) on this list, but the fact that this was one of six stories about NSA secret surveillance in the top 20 articles ranked by page views makes Snowden and his revelations by some distance the Guardian's story of the year.3.8m page views, ...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Pope Francis The Guardian World news Japan Miley Cyrus Pope Benedict XVI Prince George Edward Snowden Horsemeat scandal Boston Marathon bombing Cancer UK news Meteors Internet Editorial Aids and HIV David Miranda Michael Source Type: news