- Giants
- Pew Research Center
- Link rot over time
Link rot over time
Pew Research Center's line chart drew 90.7K views on X: 6.1x its typical post and #12 of 53 Pew Research Center charts we track by views. Read Oct 10, 2026.
The recent removal of FiveThirtyEight's archive is a reminder of how fleeting digital content can be. Our research found 38% of webpages that existed in 2013 were no longer accessible a decade later.
Why it spread
The post spread because it tied a hot topic that week to a striking research finding, with 90,699 views, 382 likes, 171 reposts, 27 quotes, and 83 saves, and its quote rate landed in the top quarter.
What worked
- The post connected a current news event, the removal of FiveThirtyEight's archive, to a broader research point about digital content disappearing.
- The headline number, that 38% of webpages from 2013 were no longer accessible a decade later, gave people a concrete and shareable fact.
- The account's source reach was in the top quarter, and the quote rate was also in the top quarter, which helped the post travel through discussion and commentary.
What to borrow
We could pair one of our own charts with a timely news hook and lead with a single clear statistic, then let the chart carry the broader pattern.
Careful
Do not assume the post succeeded only because of the chart design, since the facts do not include design polish or self labelling, and do not over-read the quote rate as proof of debate quality.
Written by our analysis model from the measured numbers above, not by Pew Research Center.
Make it yours
Your numbers, in this line chart.
Starts from the real numbers of "% of links from webpages each year that are no longer accessible" by Pew Research Center. Replace every number with yours before you post. Make one like this, step by step
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API · Max
Use this chart via API
On the Max plan you can pull this chart's numbers with the provenance of each one, as JSON or CSV, with its redraw spec, or call it from an agent over MCP. Chart id aebe34705b5d.
| Path | Returns | Plan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GET | /api/v1/charts/aebe34705b5d | Title, publisher, date, form, point count; with a Max key, the data link | Open |
| GET | /api/v1/charts/aebe34705b5d/data | Every point with its provenance and confidence, plus the redraw spec. Add ?format=csv for CSV | Max |
| GET | /api/v1/charts/aebe34705b5d/render?view=1 | The draw-only view this page uses | Open |
| POST | /mcp | Tool get_chart_data with this id, for Claude, Cursor and other agents | Max |
curl -s https://viral-chart.com/api/v1/charts/aebe34705b5d/data \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $VIRALCHART_KEY"claude mcp add --transport http viralchart https://viral-chart.com/mcp \
--header "Authorization: Bearer $VIRALCHART_KEY"60 requests a minute per key; over that you get 429 with Retry-After. Up to 5 keys per account, made on your account page and shown once. Without Max, the data route answers 402 with a link to the plans. The numbers describe a chart its publisher owns, and every file carries a license note.
More from Pew Research Center
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Questions people ask
How far did Pew Research Center's "Link rot over time" chart travel?
90,699 views, 382 likes, 171 reposts and 83 saves on X, read Oct 10, 2026. A normal post from @pewresearch gets about 14.9K views.
What kind of chart is it?
A line chart. Percentage of links from each year that are no longer accessible.
Can I use Pew Research Center's chart?
Use the format, not the picture. The chart, logo and design belong to Pew Research Center. ViralChart redraws the chart type with your numbers and words, and credits the original publisher.