Platforms & apps

● Aliven.✎ 2

Assad Sentenced

The sentencing on 11 August 2026 by a court in Damascus of nine former Syrian officials, among them the ousted president Bashar al-Assad and his brother Maher. The record files the date, the court and the names given in the source; it does not carry the sentences themselves.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

☠ Deadn.✎ 2

BET+ Shutdown

The closure of the BET+ streaming service, announced by Paramount Skydance on 13 March 2026 after it acquired Tyler Perry Studios' stake in the service, with the programming to be merged into Paramount+. The source's table gives the shutdown as September 2026. The record files the announcement and the closure.

▸ 2026peak 2026†2026

◐ Dyingn.✎ 2

Balen Shah Landslide

The result of Nepal's general election on 5 March 2026, in which the Rastriya Swatantra Party led by Balen Shah won by a landslide. The record notes the date, the party and the margin as described in the source, and no more.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

● Aliven.✎ 2

Bartiromo Out

Fox News's announcement in September 2026 that Maria Bartiromo was no longer employed by the company, citing only a 'business decision'. She had been with Fox since 2014. The record files the departure as announced and the online reading of a statement that explained little.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

● Aliven.✎ 2

Bobi Wine Abduction

The abduction of opposition candidate Bobi Wine during Uganda's general election of 15 January 2026, in which Yoweri Museveni won re-election amid allegations of fraud. The record files the event as reported and the online campaign that followed, much of it conducted under his name.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

◐ Dyingn.✎ 3

Bulgaria Joins the Euro

Bulgaria's adoption of the euro on 1 January 2026, making it the twenty-first member of the eurozone and retiring the lev. The first news of the year for anyone awake, and a month of photographs of new coins, old notes and shop prices with two currencies on them. The record's entry for a New Year's Day with a changeover.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

● Aliven.✎ 2

Burnham Era

The period beginning 20 July 2026, when Andy Burnham was appointed Prime Minister of the United Kingdom by King Charles III, succeeding Keir Starmer. The phrase was in use online before the new government had done anything, as a label for whatever came next. The record files it as a name given in advance.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

● Aliven.✎ 2

Capture of Maduro

The US operation of 3 January 2026 in which airstrikes in Venezuela were followed by the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores by Delta Force, using CIA intelligence. Donald Trump announced it at 05:21 VET and posted a photograph of Maduro blindfolded aboard a US ship. Delcy Rodríguez became acting president on 5 January. The photograph became meme material.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

● Aliven.✎ 2

Ceuta Crossing

The events of 30 July 2026, when approximately 80,000 people entered the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, with smaller numbers attempting Melilla, many having swum from Morocco. The source links the crossing to a decision of the Supreme Court of Spain; the detail of that decision is truncated in the source, and the record does not supply it.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

◐ Dyingn.✎ 3

Ciudad de la Paz

The city that became the capital of Equatorial Guinea on 2 January 2026, replacing Malabo. A planned capital on the mainland taking over from one on an island, and a small wave of people learning that a country's capital can be a decision rather than a fact. The record's entry for the second geography update of the year, one day after the first.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

● Aliven.✎ 2

Cockroach Janta Party

An Indian youth-based satirical political movement, abbreviated CJP and called the Cockroach movement, founded on 16 May 2026 by the political communications strategist Abhijeet Dipke. It channelled Gen Z discontent and led to protests at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on 6 June 2026 and in other cities. Wikipedia lists it among internet memes introduced in 2026.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

☠ Deadn.✎ 2

Cyprus EU Presidency

Cyprus's six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union, which began on 1 January 2026 and ended on 30 June 2026. A rotating office that the internet notices at the start and at the end and rarely in between. The record keeps both dates.

▸ 2026peak 2026†2026

☠ Deadn.✎ 4

Davos 2026

The fifty-sixth World Economic Forum, held in Davos from 19 to 23 January 2026. Five days of panels in the snow and five days of the internet doing what it does with Davos every year: counting the private jets, clipping the panels and asking who invited whom. The record's entry for the annual meeting that ends on schedule and is forgotten on schedule.

▸ 2026peak 2026†2026

● Aliven.✎ 2

Ebola Emergency 2026

The World Health Organization's declaration on 16 May 2026 that an outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, caused by the Bundibugyo ebolavirus, was a Public Health Emergency. The record files the date, the two countries and the strain named in the source.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

◐ Dyingn.✎ 4

Eclipse Europe 2026

The total solar eclipse of 12 August 2026, visible in parts of Europe and the first on the continental mainland since 1999, followed by a partial lunar eclipse on 27–28 August. Two weeks of people photographing the sky badly and posting the results with pride. The record's entry for the shadow that crossed a continent and every feed on it.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

◐ Dyingn.✎ 2

El Mencho Operation

The military operation in Tapalpa, Jalisco, Mexico, on 22 February 2026, in which 62 people were killed, including the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, known as El Mencho. The record files the event as reported and the online reaction in Mexico and elsewhere, without commentary.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

● Aliven.✎ 2

El Niño 2026

The El Niño event declared by NOAA on 11 June 2026 in the tropical Pacific, with a forecast 63 per cent chance that it would rank among the largest on record. The record files the declaration and the forecast as stated, and the online discussion of what a large El Niño means for the following year's weather.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

● Aliven.✎ 2

Epstein Files Release

The release to the public on 30 January 2026 of three million pages of the Epstein files, naming many high-profile figures worldwide. The release fed a resurgence of Epstein memes that Wikipedia dates to late 2025 and compares to the tradition of 9/11 jokes; parody games such as Five Nights at Epstein's followed.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

● Aliven.✎ 2

European Heatwave 2026

The 2026 European heatwaves, which began on 22 May and brought record temperatures and thousands of deaths over the following weeks. Between 22 and 30 July, wildfires in France, Portugal and Spain forced 300,000 people to evacuate, in what French officials called the worst wildfire emergency in decades. The record files it as a summer that was reported in real time.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

● Aliven.✎ 2

Flamingo Revolution

The name given to the major protests that erupted in Albania from 31 May 2026, after smaller protests in the village of Zvërnec, over a proposed luxury development involving Jared Kushner, Donald Trump's son-in-law, and his firm. The record files the name as it circulated online.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

◐ Dyingn.✎ 2

Hejaz Railway Revival

The agreement signed by Turkey and Saudi Arabia on 9 June 2026 to revive the Hejaz railway, the nineteenth-century line that once ran from Damascus towards Medina. The record files the announcement and the online interest in a railway better known from history than from timetables.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

● Aliven.✎ 2

Iran War

The war that began on 28 February 2026 when Israel and the United States attacked Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei; Iran retaliated and closed the Strait of Hormuz. Mojtaba Khamenei became Supreme Leader on 8 March. A ceasefire began on 7 April, a US blockade of Iranian ports on 13 April; the Islamabad Memorandum of 15–17 June broke down on 8 July. Filed as context for several 2026 memes.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

☠ Deadn.✎ 2

Islamabad Memorandum

The fourteen-point agreement between the United States and Iran, announced and signed between 15 and 17 June 2026, intended to end the 2026 Iran war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and lift the US blockade. It broke down on 8 July 2026 after renewed US strikes, when President Trump said the agreement was 'over'. The record files a document that lasted three weeks.

▸ 2026peak 2026†2026

◐ Dyingn.✎ 2

Italian Referendum No

The result of the Italian constitutional referendum of 22–23 March 2026, in which voters rejected a government-backed reform that would have separated the career paths of judges and prosecutors. Turnout was higher than expected. The record files the outcome, not the campaign.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

◐ Dyingn.✎ 2

Keiko Wins

Keiko Fujimori's narrow victory over Roberto Sánchez in Peru's presidential runoff on 7 June 2026, for Popular Force, in an election in which left-wing parties won a majority in the Chamber. The record files the result as reported and the online discussion of a president facing an opposing legislature.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

◐ Dyingn.✎ 2

Kim Re-elected

The re-election of Kim Jong Un as General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea on 22 February 2026, followed on 15 March by his party's landslide in the Supreme People's Assembly election. The record files both dates and notes that neither result was in doubt.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

● Aliven.✎ 2

King Haakon VIII

The regnal name of Norway's new king, who succeeded on 28 August 2026 on the death of his father, King Harald V. The former Crown Prince Haakon became King Haakon VIII, and the name entered the online record the same day. The record files the succession and the mourning for Harald, without comment.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

◐ Dyingn.✎ 3

Mottley Clean Sweep

Mia Mottley's victory in the Barbados general election of 11 February 2026, in which her party won every seat in the House of Assembly. An opposition of zero, and the internet's discovery that this was not the first time she had managed it. The record's entry for a result with nothing on the other side of the ledger.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

● Aliven.✎ 2

Mullally

Sarah Mullally, who on 28 January 2026 became the first woman to hold the office of Archbishop of Canterbury. The record files the appointment and the online reaction, which was chiefly about the precedent rather than the person.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

☠ Deadn.✎ 2

Munich Security Conference 2026

The 62nd Munich Security Conference, held from 13 to 15 February 2026. Three days of speeches, side meetings and clips of speeches, after which the phrase reverts to meaning the annual event in general. The record files the edition and its dates.

▸ 2026peak 2026†2026

● Aliven.✎ 3

Naoero

The official name of the country formerly listed as Nauru, adopted on 30 July 2026, when the Republic of Nauru became the Republic of Naoero. A small Pacific state and a large number of people discovering that maps, dropdown menus and quiz answers all needed changing. The record's entry for a rename that broke a thousand forms.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

● Aliven.✎ 2

New START Expires

The expiry on 5 February 2026 of the New START nuclear arms treaty between the United States and Russia, the last remaining agreement limiting the two countries' deployed strategic weapons. The record files the date and the online discussion of what, if anything, replaces it.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

◐ Dyingn.✎ 2

Operation Arctic Endurance

The operation launched by Denmark on 14 January 2026, sending European troops to Greenland in response to Donald Trump's annexation threats, during what became known as the Greenland crisis. Online, the crisis is remembered partly for the nihilistic penguin meme, which the Trump administration itself shared.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

◐ Dyingn.✎ 2

Orbán Loses

The result of Hungary's election of 12 April 2026, in which Viktor Orbán lost in a landslide to Péter Magyar's Tisza Party, ending sixteen years of Fidesz–KDNP rule. The record files the result as a 2026 event; the phrase circulated as a headline and a two-word post.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

● Aliven.✎ 3

Palm Beach Pete

The nickname of Peter Bart Simel, born 1955, an American social media influencer and political candidate who went viral in 2026 for his physical resemblance to Jeffrey Epstein. The record's entry for a man who became famous for a face he had not chosen.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

◐ Dyingn.✎ 2

Radev Returns

The result of Bulgaria's election on 19 April 2026, in which the Progressive Bulgaria coalition led by former President Rumen Radev won 44 per cent of the vote and an outright majority. Radev had resigned the presidency in January; Iliana Iotova became Bulgaria's first female president on 23 January 2026. The record keeps both dates.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

● Aliven.✎ 2

Raúl Castro Indicted

The indictment of Raúl Castro by the United States on 20 May 2026 in connection with the 1996 shootdown of Brothers to the Rescue aircraft. A charge brought thirty years after the event it concerns. The record files the date and the stated basis of the indictment.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

● Aliven.✎ 2

Rob Jetten

Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 23 February 2026, sworn in at the head of a minority government. The record holds the name as a marker for the date, with the politics left to other reference works.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

◐ Dyingn.✎ 3

Sagrada Família Tower

The blessing of the Sagrada Família's tallest tower by Pope Leo XIV in Barcelona on 10 June 2026, exactly one hundred years after the death of Antoni Gaudí. A building that has been under construction since 1882 reaching its highest point on an anniversary, and the internet's brief agreement that this was a good use of a Wednesday. The record's entry for the tower that took a century and a day.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

◐ Dyingn.✎ 2

Starmer Resigns

Keir Starmer's announcement on 22 June 2026 that he would resign as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, triggering a Labour leadership election. The contest ended on 20 July when Andy Burnham was appointed Prime Minister by King Charles III. The record files the announcement and the four weeks of speculation that followed it.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

◐ Dyingn.✎ 2

Takaichi Landslide

The result of Japan's general election of 8 February 2026, in which Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi won a landslide and secured a supermajority. The record files the result as an event of 2026; the online response was mostly reporting and result graphics.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

● Aliven.✎ 4

The Discombobulator

A secret weapon Donald Trump said was used in the Venezuela intervention to jam Venezuelan military electronics. Analysts noted it most likely does not exist as a single weapon. Trump later said he had made up the name because everything was discombobulated. The record's entry for a weapon whose only confirmed capability is the name.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

● Aliven.✎ 2

Tô Lâm President

The election of Tô Lâm, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, as the country's president by the National Assembly on 7 April 2026, replacing Lương Cường. The record files the date and the two names.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

◐ Dyingn.✎ 2

UAE Leaves OPEC

The departure of the United Arab Emirates from OPEC on 1 May 2026, ending six decades of membership. The record files it as a 2026 event; online it circulated chiefly as a headline and as a line in threads about oil prices during the Iran war.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

● Aliven.✎ 2

US Leaves the WHO

The formal withdrawal of the United States from the World Health Organization on 22 January 2026. The record files the date on which the withdrawal took effect and the online discussion of what the organisation loses and what the country does.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

◐ Dyingn.✎ 2

Wadagni Landslide

The result of Benin's presidential election on 12 April 2026, won by the independent candidate Romuald Wadagni with more than 94 per cent of the vote. The record files the date, the candidate and the figure given in the source.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

● Aliven.✎ 2

Écône Consecrations

The consecration of four bishops by members of the Society of St Pius X at Écône, Switzerland, on 1 July 2026, carried out against the direct orders of Pope Leo XIV and described in the source as triggering a schism. The record files the date, the place and the number.

▸ 2026peak 2026still up

☠ Deadn.✎ 3

100 Men vs a Gorilla

Whether a hundred unarmed men could beat one silverback. A month of serious tactical debate followed by MrBeast offering to stage it, which ended things.

▸ 2025peak 2025†2025