Phil Gyford doubts that 2 billion people worldwide watched the royal event. Cory Doctorow summarizes:
In the UK, 39.6% of the population watched the wedding. For the two billion number to be real, the royal wedding would have to be 75% as popular in every country on earth as it was in the country in which it took place. To evaluate the likelihood of that, consider this: the most-watched TV event in Indian history (the 2011 India vs Sri Lanka cricket world cup final) was watched by 11.7% of India's population — is the British royal wedding likely to be 600% more popular in India than the most-popular TV event in Indian history?
Gyford takes the media to task:
Whenever real journalists complain that bloggers — mere amateurs! — couldn't possibly do the work of professionals who have been through proper training, it's exactly this kind of nonsense that permits you to stare at them, silently, before giving a little giggle and walking away.
There are lots of difficult and ambiguous things that anyone, professional or amateur, could understandably get wrong when reporting news. We all make mistakes and many things are complicated. But for all these very professional news outlets to repeat a "fact" that's plainly wrong, without even attributing it to anyone, makes you wonder about everything they write.
The Dish 