This article originally appeared on Mashable.
Headline magnet Miley Cyrus is leading Time magazine’s Person of the Year online poll, with nearly 28% of the votes as of Thursday night. The pop star is ahead of former NSA defense contractor Edward Snowden, as well as notable figures in politics, religion and entertainment.
The poll winner, which will be revealed on December 6 isn’t necessarily the person who becomes Time’s Person of the Year, as the editors will pick and then announce that honour on December 11.
Cyrus, 21, has no doubt had a commercially successful 2013, drumming up massive amounts of social buzz, YouTube views and music sales due to a combination of talent and controversial antics. The singer’s twerk-filled MTV VMAs performance dominated social conversations for months, her nude “Wrecking Ball” video earned the record for most views in 24 hours, and she helped “twerk” get added to Oxford Dictionaries Online.
Whether those ingredients warrant the title of Person of the Year is solely up to Time’s editors.
But if history is any indication, Cyrus won’t win.
The prestigious honour has routinely gone to world leaders (US President Barack Obama in 2012 and 2008; Vladimir Putin in 2007; George W. Bush in 2004 and 2000) or groups of people (protestor in 2011; “you” in 2006; good samaritans in 2005; the American soldier in 2003). Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg earned the title in 2010, while Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke received it in 2009.
Time uses its reader poll to keep its finger on the pulse of public sentiment. The magazine even added a Twitter component this year to encourage more participation.
However, a pair of programmers are trying to make a mockery of the
