Pol Pot

About Pol Pot

Pol Pot (1925-1998) was a Cambodian politician who led the Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 to 1979. As the leader of this radical communist movement, he initiated a drastic, brutal social engineering project aimed at creating an agrarian socialist utopia, which resulted in the Cambodian genocide. During this period, an estimated 1.5 to 2 million people perished due to execution, starvation, and overwork. The Historical Popularity Index (HPI) reflects this massive global disruption, ranking him as the #710 most influential figure in history.

Despite his profound, tragic historical importance, Pol Pot's modern internet attention suggests a significant disconnect. He garners approximately 2.4 million Wikipedia views in 2025. This level of traffic positions him as significantly over-attended relative to his historical rank, showing a +7x "Attention Gap" where current online interest exceeds his HPI standing. For context, this is slightly less attention than Xi Jinping (#719 importance) receives (4.1M views).

Interestingly, his online interest shows growing relevance or recent renewed focus, with his 2025 annualized views up +8.9% year-over-year, and his momentum from Q1 to Q3 increasing by +10%.