Peter R. de Vries, coronavirus issues among the most Googled searches this year

People in the Netherlands have frequently searched for information about Peter R. de Vries this year. The crime reporter who was murdered earlier this year led the country’s internet search trends using Google. People also used the search engine often to find information about European Championship football, the coronavirus curfew that took effect in the first quarter, and coronavirus access testing.

On March 16, the day before the Tweede Kamer elections, Google users frequently searched for analysis sites which help voters decide which political parties reflect their values.

When making its annual overview, Google does not look at the most frequently performed searches, but at the periods where a large increase can be seen. If all user searches were counted, words like “YouTube” and “Jobs” would be at the top year after year.

Other popular topics this year were searches for snow tracking services, the Olympic Games, the iPhone 13, the new Formula 1 commentator Nelson Valkenburg, and a WhatsApp malfunction at the beginning of October.

Many people also searched for information about the Danish football player Christian Eriksen, who suffered a cardiac arrest during a European Championship match and was resuscitated on the field. People frequently googled politicians when looking for information about D66 leader and former foreign affairs minister Sigrid Kaag.

Squid Game was also a top search topic in the entertainment category.