Facebook's Most Shared Articles of 2026

Yes, we know 2011 is not over yet, but Facebook have already issued a list of "most shared" articles for the year in the US. This is interesting, as it shows those interested in web analytics the types of stories that gain the most traction on the social network, even though we might think of it still as somewhere we go to connect with friends.

The top 40-shared articles actually come from just six news sources, primarily Yahoo and CNN, with the New York Times, Huffington Post, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal rounding out the six. Yahoo! scored 12 of the most shared articles, closely followed by CNN with 10.

The most shared article was actually a series of sliding photos from CNN before and after the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, showing vividly the extent of the devastation. The second most popular article was "What teachers really want to tell parents"; perhaps reflecting the fact that average Facebook users are more likely now to be in their 30s (and parents) than they are young users.

A skim of the headlines of the other articles would suggest that most fall into the "light entertainment" type ("No your zodiac sign hasn't changed" and "Giant crocodile captured alive in Philippines" for example) rather than serious news.

With a number of news sites now incorporating "passive sharing" (e.g. posting that you have read an article on your wall when you read it in their Facebook app without you actually having to "share" or "like" it) the amount of news articles shared is likely to increase. However, only time will tell whether Facebook is really somewhere users will go for news, rather than simply some light relief.