- 6 months ago
From global health crises to geopolitical conflicts, the 2020s have already delivered historic watershed moments. Join us as we count down the events that have defined the decade thus far and changed the course of history! Which of these world-altering events had the biggest impact on your life?
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00:00Yeah, the distinct sound of explosions on the horizon here in Kiev, we've heard at least four
00:05what appear to be strikes lighting up the night sky.
00:09Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the moments from 2020 to 2025
00:14that made the world stand still.
00:16If you or anyone in your household has one of those two symptoms,
00:23then you should stay at home for 14 days.
00:25Number 10, the death of Elizabeth II.
00:30The BBC is interrupting its normal programs to bring you an important announcement.
00:41This is BBC News from London.
00:44Buckingham Palace has announced the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
00:49Everything has to come to an end eventually,
00:51even the reigns of monarchs we might have expected to just go on forever.
00:55However, that's exactly what happened on September 8, 2022,
00:58when the incumbent Queen Elizabeth died at the impressive age of 96.
01:03She had held the throne from February of 1952,
01:06making her the longest reigning British monarch in history
01:08and the second longest of any sovereign state.
01:11She belonged to Britain, but America is mourning too.
01:15Queen Elizabeth's remarkable reign spanned nearly one-third the life of this nation.
01:20This just seemed like such a significant moment,
01:24the passing of this woman who's been kind of the stalwart figure
01:26in the back of our minds for the past 70 years.
01:28President Biden saying she was more than a monarch.
01:31She defined an era.
01:33Beloved around the world for her poise and class,
01:35the Queen proved more popular than the monarchy itself,
01:38with her reign cited as the reason that commonwealths like Australia
01:41chose not to become independent republics.
01:43In fact, her state funeral was one of the most-watched television events
01:47in British history, with over 26 million viewers.
01:50Service in life, hope in death.
01:56All who follow the Queen's example and inspiration of trust and faith in God
02:02can with her say,
02:06we will meet again.
02:10Number nine, the fall of the Assad regime.
02:12On Sunday morning at 2.30 a.m., there was no one left in the palace,
02:16except for me and another person from the media and political office.
02:22He did not tell anyone where he was going.
02:25We now know Assad fled to Russia that Sunday before sunrise,
02:30and that the palace had lied to the Syrian people.
02:33From the time of the bloodless corrective movement,
02:36the dynastic Assad family ruled the West Asian country of Syria with an iron fist.
02:40Hafez al-Assad oversaw a highly oppressive regime until his 2000 death,
02:44at which point he was replaced by his son Bashar.
02:47The younger al-Assad cultivated a personalist dictatorship around himself
02:51and commanded one of the most repressive totalitarian regimes in history.
02:55He might still have saved the country from war by embracing reform.
03:01But instead of that, Bashar al-Assad went to his rubber-stamp parliament in March 2011,
03:07declared foreigners were conspiring to destroy Syria,
03:10and effectively declared war on any Syrian who opposed him.
03:14Responsible for numerous human rights violations, as well as countless civilian deaths,
03:19al-Assad's reign came to a sudden and anticlimactic end in December of 2024,
03:24when he was overthrown by opposition forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a paramilitary group.
03:29The regime retreated as the rebels closed in,
03:33storming the Iranian embassy here and taking over the presidential palace.
03:37I hear people can be seen inside, taking photos and selfies,
03:43walking through the corridors and rooms.
03:46What's at the heart of the regime?
03:48Number eight, the assassination of Brian Thompson.
03:51Police are telling us this looks to be a targeted attack.
03:55It was very specific.
03:56They just don't know why he was targeted.
03:59And the investigation is starting.
04:00Meantime, that shooter ran off down an alley and is still at large in New York City right now.
04:0450-year-old Thompson, the CEO of American health insurance giant UnitedHealthcare,
04:09was shot to death just outside of the New York Hilton Midtown,
04:12shortly before 7 a.m. on December 4, 2024.
04:15Following an overwhelmingly publicized manhunt,
04:1826-year-old Luigi Mangione was arrested five days later in Altoona, Pennsylvania,
04:22and charged with Thompson's murder.
04:24The fake ID matched the ID that was used to check into the New York City hostel before the shooting,
04:29according to the New York Police Commissioner.
04:31Authorities say they also found a handwritten document that speaks to his, quote,
04:36motivation and mindset.
04:38In turn, Mangione has been hailed as a kind of modern-day folk hero,
04:42praised on social media for taking a stand against what many feel is the predatory nature
04:46of the American health care system.
04:47Mangione faces federal charges, in addition to separate charges in New York and Pennsylvania.
04:52Luigi Mangione pleading not guilty to federal charges
04:55in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson,
04:58prosecutors declaring their intent to seek the death penalty.
05:01Number seven, the AI boom.
05:03The way that Silicon Valley and OpenAI leading the charge has really approached AI development
05:08is very much an embodiment of the way Silicon Valley has developed technology over the last decade,
05:13which is growth at all costs.
05:15They have really chosen to pursue AI models that are extraordinarily large.
05:20They require a lot of data.
05:22Maybe this one is a bit of a cheat, considering it's not limited to a single moment.
05:27But regardless, it is undeniable that we are living through an extraordinary time
05:31of technological and thus societal change.
05:34No, you're not imagining it.
05:35We went from not talking about artificial intelligence at all
05:38to it becoming an integral part of our daily lives.
05:41China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology says China since last year has
05:46produced nearly 100 embodied AI robotic products, claiming the country holds 70 percent of the
05:52global market, due largely to its unrivaled stem-to-stern supply chain of critical parts
05:57and advancements in its own AI and chips.
06:01Focus has been increasingly drawn to the ubiquitous use of large language models and generative AI,
06:06which has rapidly overhauled the global workforce in its image.
06:09Scientists and researchers are constantly finding new ways to implement AI into various domains
06:15like health, art and business.
06:17Yes, AI will be a force for change, but it's important to consider what kind of change it'll force.
06:22Others are concerned about the psychological and ethical impact of an AI companion.
06:28You get to configure them in a way that really attends to all of your needs.
06:33You don't even know what it is that you need.
06:34Humans, unfortunately, especially insecure humans, are sometimes not to be really trusted
06:40with her.
06:44Number 6, the January 6th United States Capitol Attack.
06:47The government did this to us.
06:49We were normal, good, law-abiding citizens, and you guys did this to us.
06:53In a political movement largely seen as being without precedent in American history,
06:57U.S. President Donald Trump refused to concede the 2020 election to his opponent,
07:02Democratic candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden.
07:05Baselessly accusing the Democratic Party of rigging the election in Biden's favor,
07:09Trump encouraged his supporters to storm the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.
07:13in order to prevent the certification of election votes in a joint session of Congress.
07:17We're going to walk down, anyone you want, but I think right here we're going to walk down
07:22to the Capitol, and we're going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women,
07:33and we're probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them.
07:38The attempted insurrection was a failure, and Biden was sworn into office just a few weeks later.
07:43Ultimately, nine people died as a result of the attack, 174 police officers were injured,
07:49and rioters caused an estimated $2.7 million in damages.
07:53We found it's still taxpayers largely on the hook for all the repairs and recovery
07:58from a very damaging U.S. Capitol siege.
08:02The estimates given in the court system from the U.S. Department of Justice is roughly $3 million or so
08:08in repairs to the historic windows, doors, marble, and art, and the cleanup.
08:12Number five, the George Floyd protests.
08:15I believe what I saw, and what I saw was wrong at every level.
08:21Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Fry announced the four responding MPD officers involved in the death
08:25of George Floyd have been terminated.
08:27When you hear someone calling for help, you are supposed to help.
08:32This officer failed in the most basic human sense.
08:37The 2020 murder of unarmed black man George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota ignited what was perhaps
08:42the biggest American protest movement of the 21st century thus far.
08:47Police officer Derek Chauvin was filmed with his knee on Floyd's neck as a means of restraining him,
08:52supposedly in retaliation for Floyd's alleged use of a counterfeit bill at a nearby establishment.
08:57Chauvin was condemned globally for his use of excessive force,
09:00and following a mass wave of protests in support of Black Lives Matter,
09:04was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison.
09:07Worldwide demonstrations that called for Chauvin to face justice for his actions
09:10occurred in several countries around the world,
09:13sparking conversations about police brutality and accountability.
09:16President Joe Biden said Derek Chauvin's sentence seems to be appropriate while George Floyd's
09:21family is expressing mixed reaction. 22 and a half years is less than the maximum,
09:26but 10 years above the minimum sentence. Derek Chauvin showed no reaction when Judge Peter Cahill
09:31announced his fate today.
09:33Number four, the worst economic crisis in history.
09:36During the pandemic, vehicle production slowed. Add in the microchip shortage,
09:40and the cost of cars rose a biting 5% over last year.
09:44It's one of the main drivers of rising inflation,
09:47up 3.7% across the economy year over year compared to last July.
09:52That's the highest spike in a decade.
09:54In case you needed further proof that we're living through unprecedented times,
09:58the ongoing financial nightmare has been estimated to be even more damaging than the Great Depression.
10:04Perhaps the most obvious contributor was the COVID-19 pandemic.
10:07More on that later, which abruptly upended global supply chains
10:11and caused a devastating but mercifully short-lived stock market crash.
10:14A lot of money flooded the market. Supply chain shut down.
10:18Too much money chasing too few goods drives prices up.
10:21So supply can't keep up with the demand, basically.
10:25It can't, and also the amount of currency in circulation is also greater.
10:29So that too adds to elevated prices.
10:32An inflation surge in mid-2021 proved that the global economy was far from out of the woods,
10:37attributed to housing shortages and government budget deficits.
10:41While that surge has technically ended,
10:43top economists have made the troubling suggestion that consumer prices are unlikely to decrease to their pre-pandemic levels.
10:50Nearly 30% of consumers say they're spending less at the store.
10:54Many viewers have told me they're making smaller and more intentional trips.
10:59So how are people adjusting?
11:01Well, 47% say they're shopping with a needs versus want mindset.
11:06Number 3. The Gaza War
11:08It probably goes without saying that the situation in the Middle East is more than a little complicated,
11:14and has been for thousands of years.
11:16However, simmering tensions boiled over in a massive way on October 7th, 2023,
11:21when the extremist militant group Hamas initiated a surprise attack on Israel,
11:25describing it as retribution for its colonial occupation of Palestinian territory.
11:30The attack resulted in nearly 1,200 total deaths,
11:33and the Israeli government responded by invading the Gaza Strip,
11:36and launching a bombing campaign that has resulted in over 77,000 Palestinian deaths.
11:41Several ceasefire attempts have proven unsuccessful,
11:44and the conflict has extended to other parts of the region,
11:47particularly Lebanon and Iran.
11:50Number 2. The Russian Invasion of Ukraine
11:52After the U.S. warned all day of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine that it was imminent,
11:58Vladimir Putin has just addressed the Russian people moments ago,
12:02announcing what Putin called the start of a military special operation,
12:05in his words, to demilitarize Ukraine.
12:09That Russia would bring in troops, he told Ukrainian troops,
12:12to lay down arms and go home.
12:15To be totally clear, it's worth noting that 2022 did not mark the beginning
12:20of Russia's attempt to annex neighboring Ukraine.
12:22That began in 2014, kicking off an ongoing war effort.
12:27Having said that, 2022 marked a significant escalation in the conflict.
12:31Yeah, the distinct sound of explosions on the horizon here in Kiev,
12:36we've heard at least four, what appear to be strikes,
12:39lighting up the night sky, just in the last, really, 10 minutes or so.
12:44As you say, it looks like the darkest day
12:46has come to pass following this speech by Vladimir Putin.
12:50On February 24th, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of a, quote,
12:54special military operation,
12:56which was largely interpreted by the international community
12:59as a euphemism for an all-out invasion.
13:02Amidst hundreds of thousands of civilian and military deaths,
13:05the Russo-Ukrainian war has stoked global fears
13:08of what could happen if Putin achieves his goals.
13:10So the two major goals for Vladimir Putin is one,
13:25to kind of keep Ukraine close to Russia,
13:27and number two is to keep Ukraine away from the West.
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13:45Number one, the COVID-19 pandemic.
13:48Good evening.
13:49As the pandemic of coronavirus claims more lives around the world,
13:53the people of the United Kingdom are now being advised
13:55to make drastic changes to their day-to-day existence.
13:59Prime Minister Boris Johnson rejected criticism
14:02that his government had been slow to respond to the scale of this crisis.
14:06Regardless of whether you thought COVID
14:07was a legitimate global health emergency
14:10or a deep state conspiracy to control the population,
14:13it's inarguable that the pandemic was a frightening,
14:15uncertain, and deeply challenging time.
14:18Even if you weren't personally affected by the coronavirus itself,
14:21you were undoubtedly hit by one of its side effects.
14:23Yossi Sheffi is one of the world's leading supply chain experts
14:27and heads the department at MIT.
14:29He predicted years ago in a book that a pandemic would grind the world's supply chain to a halt
14:34and even called for ventilators to be manufactured in the thousands
14:38to fend off a virus like COVID-19.
14:41And now we are seeing how consumer and pharmaceutical products
14:45will take a while to make a comeback in the U.S.
14:47Those included a disruption of the global economy,
14:50supply chain shortages, and a moratorium on in-person encounters.
14:54Most of the fear stemmed from the confusion around the virus,
14:57as well as the heavy volume of social media disinformation about it.
15:01The World Health Organization still considers COVID to be an active pandemic,
15:05and it's likely that we'll be feeling its effects for years,
15:08possibly even generations to come.
15:09The pandemic was associated with a rise in hospitalizations for mental health issues
15:14such as anxiety, self-harm, and eating disorders across Canada.
15:19That's according to a study conducted by Montreal researchers
15:22as a part of a larger project called Popcorn
15:26that looked into direct and indirect impacts of the pandemic.
15:30Which 2020s moment had the biggest impact on you?
15:33Are there any we missed?
15:34Be sure to let us know in the comments below.
15:35He talked about NATO expansionism,
15:38and I think there you have it, really,
15:40what Vladimir Putin is really concerned about,
15:43about restoring the might of Russia
15:45at the expense of the people of Ukraine.
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