2020’s 20 most-commented stories

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Each year we bring you the most-read stories of the year and a list of the stories with the most comments. There can be a fair bit of overlap: after all, the most popular stories can engender a lot of heated discussion and strong opinions. That was definitely true in 2020.

Like every year, there is a mix of topics on the list. But to no one's surprise, many of the stories below involve actions by the most polarizing political figure of the year (decade? century?) in the United States: President Donald Trump. Whether it was the president catching COVID-19, campaign ads with Nazi-associated imagery, or firing the nation's cybersecurity chief after a fair and free election, the things President Trump did got people talking.

So without further ado, here are the 20 most-commented-upon stories from Ars in 2020, alongside the highest-rated and most-insightful comments, as voted on by our readers.

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