{"id":75924,"date":"2025-12-09T09:28:22","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T09:28:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newonclusivstg.wpengine.com\/?p=75924"},"modified":"2026-05-21T09:27:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T09:27:53","slug":"top-news-stories-2025-wrapped","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/resources\/blog\/top-news-stories-2025-wrapped\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 Wrapped: The  6 Stories That Defined a Historic Year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section\n    class=\"block-pcon\">\n\n      \n\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content--wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content--copy  \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content--copy-inner-wrapper\">\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content-copy-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \t\t<p><b>Top news stories 2025: From papal elections that broke 2,000 years of tradition to peace deals that stopped the world, discover the <a href=\"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/resources\/whitepaper\/media-wrapped-2025-download\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Media Wrapped 2025<\/span><\/a>, top news stories 2025, and what really captured global attention in 2025.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When historians look back at 2025, they&#8217;ll see a year that refused to be ordinary. A year when the impossible became reality, when long-standing conflicts reached critical turning points, and when nature reminded us of its power in devastating ways.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Because understanding what mattered yesterday helps you plan for what matters tomorrow, at <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/products\/managed-media-monitoring\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Onclusive<\/span><\/strong><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, we&#8217;ve analyzed <\/span><b>over 500 million mentions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> across mainstream media and social platforms to uncover not just what made headlines, but what truly moved the world. The results? Surprising, revealing, and sometimes shocking.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Media Wrapped 2025: The Top News Stories Shaping Global Coverage\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/ZzLYlSbn5QY?list=PLlVgdK8uB5NhHUe63kTmIBh8zdqLYnOi_\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Watch: Top News Stories 2025 \u2014 A Year in Review<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n<\/section> \n\n\n\n\n\n<section\n  id=\"pope\"  class=\"block-pcon\">\n\n      \n\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content--wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content--copy  \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content--copy-inner-wrapper\">\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content-copy-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \t\t<h2><strong>The major news events 2025 that stopped the world<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><b><br \/>\nA Pope like no other<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On May 8, 2025, something happened that hadn&#8217;t occurred in the entire history of the Catholic Church: an American became Pope. Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost&#8217;s election as <\/span><b>Pope Leo XIV<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> generated nearly <\/span><b>30 million mentions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> across media and social platforms.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But it wasn&#8217;t just the historic nature of his election that captured attention. By November, Pope Leo XIV had already made waves with his outspoken criticism of political figures and policies, amplifying media coverage of his early pontificate in ways few could have predicted.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/resources\/whitepaper\/media-wrapped-2025-download\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-76002\" src=\"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Blog-images-Global-Wrapped-2025-.png\" alt=\"Top news stories 2025: Election of American Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as Pope Leo XIV. One of the most widely covered news stories in 2025\" width=\"820\" height=\"461\" srcset=\"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Blog-images-Global-Wrapped-2025-.png 1920w, https:\/\/onclusive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Blog-images-Global-Wrapped-2025--300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/onclusive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Blog-images-Global-Wrapped-2025--1024x576.png 1024w, https:\/\/onclusive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Blog-images-Global-Wrapped-2025--768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/onclusive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Blog-images-Global-Wrapped-2025--1536x864.png 1536w, https:\/\/onclusive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Blog-images-Global-Wrapped-2025--640x360.png 640w, https:\/\/onclusive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Blog-images-Global-Wrapped-2025--1200x675.png 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 639px) 98vw, (max-width: 1199px) 64vw, 770px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Election of American Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as Pope Leo XIV. One of the most widely covered <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Top news stories 2025<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To explore more about 2025\u2019s top news stories-both global and national-and their media impact, <\/span><\/i><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/resources\/whitepaper\/media-wrapped-2025-download\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><i>read the full report here<\/i><\/a><i>.<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>When leaders collide<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">February 28, 2025, became one of the most talked-about days of the year, generating <\/span><b>14.3 million mentions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in a single moment. What happened? A meeting that was supposed to make history instead made headlines for all the wrong reasons.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a contentious televised Oval Office encounter, President Trump and Vice President Vance publicly criticized Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, ending the meeting abruptly and leaving a crucial minerals deal unsigned. The images went viral globally, marking a dramatic shift in international relations that would define geopolitics for the rest of the year.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_76025\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-76025\" style=\"width: 823px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/resources\/whitepaper\/media-wrapped-2025-download\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-76025 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/politicsUS-UKR.gif\" alt=\"Top News Stories 2025: Donald Trump, the president of the United States, JD Vance, the vice president of the United States, and Volodymyr Zelensky\" width=\"823\" height=\"465\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-76025\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Top News Stories 2025: 14.3M mentions: On February 28, 2025, Donald Trump, JD Vance, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, held a highly contentious bilateral meeting televised live in the Oval Office.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n<\/section> \n\n\n\n\n\n<section\n  id=\"elections\"  class=\"block-pcon\">\n\n      \n\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content--wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content--copy  \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content--copy-inner-wrapper\">\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content-copy-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \t\t<h2><b>The elections no one saw coming<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While the 2024 US presidential election dominated the previous year, 2025 brought its own electoral surprises. Across the globe, voters headed to the polls in Germany, Argentina, Canada, Australia, Czech Republic, Venezuela, South Korea, Belarus, Greece, Ecuador, Poland, and Singapore.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/resources\/whitepaper\/media-wrapped-2025-download\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-76054 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/politicsAR3.gif\" alt=\"top news stories 2025: Argentina legislative elections held on 26 October\" width=\"843\" height=\"475\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the 2025 Argentina legislative elections held on 26 October, President Javier Milei&#8217;s <\/span><\/i><b><i>La Libertad Avanza (LLA) party<\/i><\/b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> secured a surprising victory, winning over 40% of the vote and gaining a majority of the contested seats in both congressional houses. 18.4K mentions in Mainstream Media and\u00a0 219.4K on social media from Latin America.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But which election generated the <\/span><b>highest engagement<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here&#8217;s a hint: it wasn&#8217;t from a Western democracy, and it drew <\/span><b>3.4 million mentions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> focused on a legislative race that many outside the region had overlooked.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The answer, and what made it so significant, is in our complete analysis.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/products\/media-monitoring\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-76072\" src=\"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/fr-4.png\" alt=\"Onclusive monitors over 28 million pieces of content across mainstream press, online mentions, social media channels\" width=\"840\" height=\"382\" srcset=\"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/fr-4.png 1920w, https:\/\/onclusive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/fr-4-300x136.png 300w, https:\/\/onclusive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/fr-4-1024x466.png 1024w, https:\/\/onclusive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/fr-4-768x349.png 768w, https:\/\/onclusive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/fr-4-1536x698.png 1536w, https:\/\/onclusive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/fr-4-640x291.png 640w, https:\/\/onclusive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/fr-4-1200x546.png 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 639px) 98vw, (max-width: 1199px) 64vw, 770px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Top news stories 2025: <\/b>Use\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/products\/media-monitoring\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Onclusive Monitor<\/a>\u00a0for coverage tracking and\u00a0Onclusive&#8217;s<a href=\"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/products\/social-listening\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> social listening software<\/a>\u00a0for real-time sentiment and performance data.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n<\/section> \n\n\n\n\n\n<section\n  id=\"disasters\"  class=\"block-pcon\">\n\n      \n\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content--wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content--copy  \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content--copy-inner-wrapper\">\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content-copy-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \t\t<h2><b>Natural forces, unnatural impact<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2025 continued the troubling trend of climate-intensified disasters. From devastating wildfires to category 5 hurricanes, earthquakes that killed thousands, and floods that displaced millions, nature commanded attention with <\/span><b>63.4 million mentions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> globally.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Hurricane Melissa<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> became the defining natural disaster of the year when this Category 5 storm slammed into Jamaica on October 27, bringing catastrophic winds and floods. The images and stories from that day generated the highest media interest of any single natural disaster in 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But it wasn&#8217;t the only catastrophe. From Storm \u00c9owyn battering Ireland and the UK, to earthquakes in Burma and Tibet, to the Corbi\u00e8res wildfire in France, 2025 tested our resilience repeatedly.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_76046\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-76046\" style=\"width: 843px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/resources\/whitepaper\/media-wrapped-2025-download\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-76046\" src=\"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/disastersUS1.gif\" alt=\"Top News Stories 2025: Los Angeles is experiencing the most destructive fires in its history.\" width=\"843\" height=\"475\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-76046\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Top news stories 2025: January: 9.9M mentions. Los Angeles is experiencing the most destructive fires in its history.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n<\/section> \n\n\n\n\n\n<section\n  id=\"trump\"  class=\"block-pcon\">\n\n      \n\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content--wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content--copy  \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content--copy-inner-wrapper\">\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content-copy-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \t\t<h2><b>The Trump effect: Still dominating top news stories<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Love him or hate him, President Trump remained impossible to ignore in 2025, generating <\/span><b>206.2 million total mentions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> across the year. But what drove the most conversation?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Surprisingly, it wasn&#8217;t his tariff policies (though they did trigger a stock market crash in April). It wasn&#8217;t even his immigration crackdown, despite over 500,000 deportations and a <\/span><b>$75 billion budget<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">-the largest in US history.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The story that generated <\/span><b>the most social media attention<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was his 20-point peace plan for Gaza, announced in September&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_76084\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-76084\" style=\"width: 843px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/resources\/whitepaper\/media-wrapped-2025-download\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-76084 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/politicsUS-VEN.gif\" alt=\"Top News stories 2025: On 16 October, US President Donald Trump publicly confirmed that he had authorized covert CIA operations in Venezuela. 58.4K mentions in mainstream media, 108K on social media, worldwide.\" width=\"843\" height=\"475\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-76084\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Top News stories 2025: On 16 October, US President Donald Trump publicly confirmed that he had authorized covert CIA operations in Venezuela. 58.4K mentions in mainstream media, 108K on social media, worldwide.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n<\/section> \n\n\n\n\n\n<section\n  id=\"conflicts\"  class=\"block-pcon\">\n\n      \n\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content--wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content--copy  \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content--copy-inner-wrapper\">\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content-copy-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \t\t<h2><b>Conflicts that never sleep<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Both the <\/span><b>Israel-Gaza-Hamas conflict<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and the <\/span><b>Russia-Ukraine war<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> continued to dominate 2025, but in strikingly different ways:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Israel-Gaza-Hamas<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: <\/span><b>283.1 million mentions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with a dramatic spike of 3.2 million mentions between October 9-13 when Trump announced phase one of a peace agreement<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Russia-Ukraine<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: <\/span><b>125.3 million mentions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with the contentious Trump-Zelenskyy-Vance meeting generating the year&#8217;s highest single-day peak<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The human toll remained staggering: over 790,000 Russian and 400,000 Ukrainian casualties, with Russia controlling 19% of Ukrainian territory by year&#8217;s end. Meanwhile, Gaza remained in a humanitarian crisis despite the declared &#8220;end&#8221; of the war in October.<\/span><\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n<\/section> \n\n\n\n\n\n<section\n  id=\"countries\"  class=\"block-pcon\">\n\n      \n\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content--wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content--copy  \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content--copy-inner-wrapper\">\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content-copy-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \t\t<h2><b>What your country was talking about<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here&#8217;s where it gets really interesting: <\/span><b>mainstream media and social media tell completely different stories<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> about what matters to people.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>United States<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Super Bowl<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> topped mainstream media mentions (3.10M), while mass layoffs and Trump&#8217;s inauguration filled out the top stories. American sports, politics, and economics dominated the national conversation.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>United Kingdom<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>Nigel Farage&#8217;s Reform UK<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> making massive gains in local elections (220.3K mentions) led mainstream coverage, while Storm \u00c9owyn and the landmark assisted dying bill generated significant engagement.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_76144\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-76144\" style=\"width: 840px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/resources\/whitepaper\/media-wrapped-2025-download\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-76144 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/POL-UK1.gif\" alt=\"Top News stories 2025: Nigel Farage's Reform UK making massive gains in local elections (220.3K mentions)\" width=\"840\" height=\"475\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-76144\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Top News stories 2025: Nigel Farage&#8217;s Reform UK making massive gains in local elections (220.3K mentions)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><em>On 3 May, Nigel Farage&#8217;s Reform UK has made big gains in English local elections, cementing it as a prime challenger to Britain&#8217;s traditional main parties. It won 677 of around 1,600 seats contested on Thursday across a clutch of mainly Tory-held councils last contested in 2021.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>France<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ongoing <\/span><b>political crisis<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> dominated with 315.9K mainstream mentions, yet on social media, French users were far more engaged with international conflicts than their own domestic turmoil. Why this disconnect?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our data reveals fascinating insights into how different audiences consume news.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<h3><b>Spain<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A <\/span><b>massive power outage<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> affecting Portugal and Spain (22.7K mentions) topped Spanish media, along with Carlos Alcaraz&#8217;s dramatic French Open victory and the hottest summer on record.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Germany<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>AfD&#8217;s continued rise<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to 20.8% in federal elections (196.8K mentions) led coverage, followed by Friedrich Merz&#8217;s election as Chancellor and Germany&#8217;s partial cannabis legalization generating \u20ac300 million in investment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><b>The data behind the headlines<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This comprehensive analysis draws on:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/products\/social-listening\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Onclusive Social Listening<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for social media conversations<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/products\/self-service-media-monitoring\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Onclusive 360<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for mainstream media monitoring<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mentions in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and German<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Coverage period: January 2025 &#8211; November 2025<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sources: Print, TV, Radio, Digital, Social Networks, Forums, and Blogs<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n<\/section> \n\n\n\n\n\n<section\n  id=\"faq\"  class=\"block-pcon\">\n\n      \n\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content--wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content--copy  \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content--copy-inner-wrapper\">\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content-copy-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \t\t<h2><b>Frequently asked questions about top news stories 2025<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>1. What is Onclusive Wrapped 2025?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/resources\/whitepaper\/media-wrapped-2025-download\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Onclusive Wrapped 2025<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a comprehensive media intelligence study analyzing <\/span><b>over 500 million mentions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> across mainstream media and social platforms, in order to find out the top news stories of 2025. Covering January-November 2025 in five languages (English, French, Spanish, Italian, German), it identifies the top news stories and trends that captured global attention using advanced media monitoring and social listening technologies.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>2. Why did Pope Leo XIV&#8217;s election generate so much attention?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>29.7 million mentions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> were generated because Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost became the <\/span><b>first American pontiff<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in 2,000 years of Catholic Church history. His election on May 8 following Pope Francis&#8217;s death, combined with his outspoken November criticisms of political figures, made him one of 2025&#8217;s most talked-about religious leaders.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>3. How does Onclusive collect and analyze this data?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We use two technologies:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Onclusive 360<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Monitors print, TV, radio, and digital news globally<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Onclusive Social Listening<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Tracks social networks, forums, and blogs in real-time<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Both platforms use AI-powered analytics to identify trends, peak moments, and sentiment shifts across five languages, providing comprehensive coverage of traditional and digital media landscapes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>\u00a04. What&#8217;s the difference between mainstream media and social media coverage?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>Mainstream Media focuses on:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Local\/national politics<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Policy announcements<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Institutional news<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Social Media gravitates toward:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">International conflicts<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Emotional\/controversial topics<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Visual and dramatic events<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Example:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> In France, mainstream media ranked political crisis #1 (315.9K mentions), while social media ranked Israel-Gaza conflict #1 (42.3M mentions) &#8211; <\/span><b>82.77% of top social mentions were international topics<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>5.\u00a0 Which election generated the most engagement in 2025?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Venezuelan legislative elections (May 25)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> generated <\/span><b>3.4 million mentions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; the highest single-event engagement. Elections to renew all 285 National Assembly seats captured global attention due to democratic concerns and regional stability issues. Collectively, worldwide elections in 2025 generated <\/span><b>294.7 million social mentions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>6.What was the most dramatic single-day news event of 2025?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>February 28 Oval Office confrontation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> between Trump, Vance, and Zelenskyy generated <\/span><b>14.3 million mentions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in one day. The televised meeting ended abruptly after public criticism of the Ukrainian president, with no minerals deal signed and US military aid temporarily suspended. The EU responded by declaring &#8220;the free world needs a new leader.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>7. How can communications professionals use these insights?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><b>Strategic Planning:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Understand what captures attention across platforms and benchmark your share of voice<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Crisis Communications:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Learn from peak moments and story escalation patterns<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Content Strategy:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Align messaging with resonating topics and optimize platform selection<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Media Relations:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Anticipate news cycles and identify engagement opportunities<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The study helps plan 2026 strategies by revealing emerging trends and audience preferences.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n<\/section> \n\n\n\n\n\n<section\n  id=\"more\"  class=\"block-pcon\">\n\n      \n\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content--wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content--copy  \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content--copy-inner-wrapper\">\n\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post_content-copy-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t  \t\t<h2><b>\ud83d\udce5 <a href=\"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/resources\/whitepaper\/media-wrapped-2025-download\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Download the Full Wrapped 2025 Report<\/a><\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Want to discover top news stories 2025:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What sporting event generated the most mention?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Which international meeting attracted the attention of mainstream media and social media?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Which political parties achieved record social media coverage?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why October 10 was the most intense day in French politics?<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The celebrity death that most moved audiences?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/resources\/whitepaper\/media-wrapped-2025-download\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-76063 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/CTA-template-Report-500-x-300-px.png\" alt=\"Top News Stories 2025: 2025 news recap\" width=\"800\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/CTA-template-Report-500-x-300-px.png 800w, https:\/\/onclusive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/CTA-template-Report-500-x-300-px-300x113.png 300w, https:\/\/onclusive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/CTA-template-Report-500-x-300-px-768x288.png 768w, https:\/\/onclusive.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/CTA-template-Report-500-x-300-px-640x240.png 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 639px) 98vw, (max-width: 1199px) 64vw, 770px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n<\/section> \n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":76258,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"blog-post-new-template.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"audience":[],"topic":[1426,518,1427],"region":[],"class_list":["post-75924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","topic-media-monitoring-en-gb","topic-social-listening-en-gb","topic-trending-en-gb"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75924\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"audience","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/audience?post=75924"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=75924"},{"taxonomy":"region","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/onclusive.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/region?post=75924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}