Qatar-based media giant Al Jazeera has emerged as the unequivocal leader in year-on-year traffic growth among the world's top 50 English-language news websites, recording a staggering 62% surge in visits during February.
The broader trend has seen a challenging year for many, with 40 out of the 50 tracked sites experiencing year-on-year declines in February, indicative of a wider contraction in online news engagement for many established players.
This downturn was particularly pronounced for several India-based news outlets, including India.com (down 71% to 41.7 million visits), Hindustan Times (down 57% to 103.2 million), Indian Express (down 48% to 75.1 million), and News 18 (down 41% to 96.4 million).
For Indian sites, in particular, this decline could also be indicative of changes within their domestic digital consumption patterns, increased competition, or a general cooling from peak engagement periods.
The Washington Post also saw a substantial 20% decline to 67.1 million visits, a fall that coincided with the news of the publication cutting a third of its staff, including over 300 journalists, at the start of February.
Al Jazeera saw a 62% year-on-year traffic increase in February, leading global English-language news sites as Middle East tensions escalate. Substack and CBC also saw significant growth, while many Indian news sites faced sharp declines.