Wikipedia Renames Gaza Entry to “Gaza Genocide” After Debate and Expert Opinions Amid Israeli Atrocities in Palestine

The global editors of Wikipedia have concluded Israel guilty of the genocide happening in Palestine and renamed their entry as “Gaza genocide”. There was some debate and voting between editors and now they have declared it as a fact. The editors who have been in support of this change presented their arguments by citing academic articles from human rights professors, genocide scholars, legal experts, Holocaust historians and political experts.

Among these experts is Francesca Albanese who is a UN Special Rapporteur on Palestinian Territories. Israel and the USA have requested her removal from her position because of her constant support for Palestine and her statements were frequently cited in Wikipedia entries. Some international news sources and organizations were also used as sources. Statements from Anadolu Agency from Turkey, philosopher Ilan Pappé and Ynet and journalist Gideon Levy were also referenced.

Various figures and observers cited statements from Israel that indicated Israel’s intent to destroy Gaza. It clearly shows that it was a genocide against Gaza’s population. 75% US-based Middle East scholars say that Israel committed major war crimes that indicated genocide and some also stated that Israel wants Gaza to become uninhabitable for Palestinians.

Statements from Israel’s government officials were also made part of the entry to prove Israel’s malicious acts. It included statements from Itamar Ben-Gvir (National Security Minister), Isaac Herzog (President), Bezalel Smotrich (Finance Minister) and Benjamin Netanyahu(Prime Minister) saying that they are going to turn Gaza into ruins.

Wikipedia covers this issue with three angles– legal, academic and cultural. It also features extensive definition of genocide, statements from different figures who Pro-Palestine or Pro-Israel and Israel actions on local and international fronts. Editors also cited survey by Brookings Institution showing one-third of Middle Eastern researchers viewing Israel’s actions on Gaza as genocide with 41% seeing it as major war crimes akin to genocide.

Some editors also opposed the title “Gaza Genocide” saying it violates Wikipedia’s policy of neutral titles and shows bias against Israel. They accused Wikipedia of double standards, and one editor claimed that Wikipedia used unreliable sources to show statistics. Israeli editors say that many entries on Wikipedia are written from an anti-Israel perspective.

For context: As of August 2024, the conflict (after October 2023) has resulted in a stark disparity in losses between Israel and Palestine. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), nearly 40,000 Palestinians have lost their lives, with 91,645 reported injured. In addition, over 70,000 housing units in Gaza have been destroyed, and approximately 1.9 million Palestinians are displaced within the region. In comparison, Israel has seen about 5,432 injuries and around 1,200 deaths, with most casualties being military personnel and fewer civilians. The economic and humanitarian toll on Gaza is severe, with over 70% of the population facing food insecurity and extensive infrastructure damage, while Israel’s economic conditions remain relatively stable despite ongoing disruptions. These figures underscore the disproportionate impact of the conflict on Palestinian civilians.

Image: DIW-AIgen

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• Freelancing Landscape Shifts: Top Hiring Nations Change from 2023 to 2024

by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Freelancing Landscape Shifts: Top Hiring Nations Change from 2023 to 2024

According to a freelance management platform, Worksuite, the need for freelancers is rising in most countries. If you are someone looking for freelancing gigs, it is the best time to look for countries which are hiring freelancers. There are some countries which are in need of freelancers or have various freelancing jobs for people who want to work independently.

As per data, the top ten countries which spent the most on hiring freelancers in the first half of 2023 were the UK, US, India, Netherlands, Panama, Poland, Australia, Canada, Uruguay and Switzerland. In the first half of 2024, the top ten countries hiring freelancers look a bit different from 2023. The top ten countries which are spending the most on freelance talent in the first half of 2024 are Ukraine, India, Philippines, US, UK, Turkey, Slovenia, Germany, Canada and Germany.

This data gives an idea about how the freelancing market is doing currently. If you are an individual interested in working freelance with these countries, it is best to look for different online job postings on freelance websites. Try to do your own research to gain understanding of how you can reach the companies in these countries. Study the market rates of the countries and determine if they align with your business ideas.

It is also recommended that you target the countries through social media and digital marketing. It is extremely helpful if you are building an audience for pay per click (PPC). Build your global client base and develop strategies to collaborate with different stakeholders around the world. You can also plan to move to the country of your choice for freelance work if it's a requirement.

The report concluded that 22.4% year-on-year growth was invoiced through freelance management. South Africa saw a 126% increase in freelancers in the first half of 2024, followed by the US (68%) and Canada (64%). Australia (62%) and UAE (47%) also saw an increase in fresh freelance talent.

Table 1: Top 10 Countries with the Most Freelancers (H1 2023 vs. H1 2024)

Rank	H1 2023	H1 2024
1	United States	United States
2	United Kingdom	United Kingdom
3	Canada	Canada
4	United Arab Emirates (UAE)	United Arab Emirates (UAE)
5	Philippines	Philippines
6	Germany	India
7	Puerto Rico	France
8	India	Brazil
9	France	Australia
10	Sweden	South Africa

Table 2: Top 10 Countries Where Companies Spent the Most on Freelance Talent (H1 2023 vs. H1 2024)

Rank	H1 2023	H1 2024
1	United States	United States
2	United Kingdom	Ukraine
3	Canada	Canada
4	Netherlands	United Kingdom
5	India	Turkey
6	Panama	Germany
7	Switzerland	India
8	Australia	Philippines
9	Poland	France
10	Uruguay	Slovenia

Table 3: Top 5 Countries with the Most Growth in Number of Freelancers (H1 2024)

Rank	Country	Growth Percentage
1	South Africa	126%
2	United States	68%
3	Canada	64%
4	Australia	62%
5	United Arab Emirates (UAE)	47%

Table 4: Top 10 Freelancer Titles (H1 2023 vs. H1 2024)

Rank	H1 2023	H1 2024
1	Writer	Writer
2	Editor	Editor
3	Photographer	Photographer
4	Producer	Producer
5	Director	Director
6	Translator	Translator
7	Project Manager	Copywriter
8	Leadership Coach	Graphic Designer
9	Copywriter	Creative Director
10	Journalist	Camera Operator

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

X Saw the Highest Recorded Revenue in July 2024 After Being in Constant Decline

X’s revenue has been declining for several months after seeing some growth in March 2024. But July was the month when X set a new record in its revenue According to the estimates by App Figures, users spent $12.7 million on X (formerly Twitter). Out of $12.7 million, Elon took $8.9 million and some went to Apple and Google fees.

Most of the revenue was recorded on the App Store. 77% of the revenue was acquired on the App Store while Google Play contributed the rest of the revenue. The country which made X earn the most revenue was the USA. Japan was the country with the second most revenue from X and it was surprising to see that it doesn't happen often.

July’s revenue makes 20% month-over-month growth of X, which is a great growth after the continuous decline X was seeing. There was also an 8% increase from X’s all time high revenue in March 2024, and a 424% increase from January 2023. This means X is on the road to do better in terms of revenue. It can still achieve more growth if X figures out how to manage the app according to users’ preferences.

Looking at the bigger picture: Snapchat saw the highest growth in revenue at $32 million and Instagram at $23 million after monetizing their apps. They also started monetizing much later than X but are performing way better compared to X. The point to be noted is that these apps earned that revenue after excluding the store fees. Telegram is also on its way to beat X with $7.4 million revenue recorded in July 2024. So what's X doing wrong that is making it harder for the app to earn high revenues? It all comes down to the new features and updates that users aren't liking that much.

Read next: Google and Meta Found Exploiting Loopholes to Advertise to Teenagers
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Google and Meta Found Exploiting Loopholes to Advertise to Teenagers

According to the Financial Times, Google and Meta had teamed up to boost ads that targeted younger audiences (i.e. underage - between 13 to 17 years). Even though underage based ad targeting is against Google’s rules, it found some loopholes to use ad targeting for young audiences. Google worked on the project to advertise Instagram on YouTube to audiences within the age ranges of 13 to 17 years old.

The Times reports that Google’s staff proposed the idea of advertising to Meta because there is a group of users Google has labeled as “unknown”. Google also told Meta that they get more daily engagements from 13-17 years old than Instagram and TikTok. The report also stated that Google and Meta partnered up with a media agency called Spark Foundry which helped them launch this marketing strategy in Canada between February and April.

As this marketing program was doing good, Meta and Google decided to try it out in the USA in May. There were plans that Google will expand this program in other regions too, along with campaigning for other Meta apps. But Google soon shut down the project after it was contacted by The Times.

When The Times reached Google, the company told the publication that their company prohibits ads being personalized to younger audiences. Google said that it didn't target audiences under 18 directly and only rolled out ads for groups of the audience which were unlabeled. That being said, Google didn't deny using the loopholes for ads on YouTube and only said they are enforcing additional measures to keep advertisers and agencies away from younger audiences on the platform.

Image: DIW-Aigen

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• How to Automatically Post Blog Content on Threads App via RSS Feed Using IFTTT and Buffer (Without Spending A Dollar)
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

How to Automatically Post Blog Content on Threads App via RSS Feed Using IFTTT and Buffer (Without Spending A Dollar)

This step-by-step guide will walk you through setting up an automation system that posts your blog content (or anyone else’s) from an RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed to the Meta's Threads app using IFTTT (aka IF This Then That) and Buffer. Perfect for bloggers, content creators, curators, and social media managers, this free method helps you streamline your content distribution effortlessly—no cost, just pure automation magic!

Who Is This Automation For?

• Bloggers: Those who regularly update their blog and want to share new posts on Threads automatically without spending a fortune on simple social sharing.
• Social Media Managers and Curators: Professionals managing multiple social media accounts looking to save time by automating content sharing from multiple sources.
• Content Creators and Small Business Owners: Individuals who produce or consume fresh content and want to maintain an active presence on Threads without manual posting.

Who Is This Automation Not For?

• Non-Technical Users: Individuals who are uncomfortable with setting up automation tools might find this process challenging.
• Those Preferring Manual Control: Users who prefer to manually curate and personalize each post for social media may not benefit from this automation, as this is kind of set it and forget it strategy.

Pros and Cons of This Automation

Pros:

• Time/Money-Saving: Automates repetitive tasks without spending a dollar, freeing up time for other activities.
• Consistency: Ensures your Threads account is regularly updated with new content.
• Broad Reach: Helps in reaching a wider audience by sharing your blog posts on another platform.

Cons:

• Initial Setup: Requires time and effort to set up the automation.
• Limited Customization: Automated posts may lack the personalized touch of manually crafted posts.
• Potential Errors: Automation might fail due to technical glitches, requiring monitoring and troubleshooting.

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Setting Up Buffer

1. Sign Up / Login to Buffer:
   • Sign up for Buffer's free plan here. If you are already a user, go to login page.
   • Enter your email and password, then click "Log In".
     
     
     
     
     
2. Add Threads Channel in Buffer app:
   • Once logged in, go Publish tab, navigate to the "Channels" section (from left side of the Page).
   • If Thread is not visible, click on "Show all channels".
   • Select "Connect Threads" from the list of available channels.
     
     
     
     
     
   • Follow the prompts to authorize Buffer to access your Threads account. This will involve logging into your Threads or Instagram account and granting necessary permissions and confirmations, just like below screenshots. (side note: Be sure, your Threads account is open for Public view and not set as Private profile from privacy settings).
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
3. Set Custom Posting Times in Buffer:
   • Go back to the "Publish" tab in Buffer app and you'll see the Threads Channel there.
   • Select your Threads account from the list of connected channels.
   • Click on "Settings" next to your Threads account. And then "Posting Schedule".
     
     
     
     
     
   • Configure the posting schedule by setting the times, hours and days you want your posts to be published. Let's say you are a reader of Digital Information World (DIW) blog and you want to update your Threads feed after every 30 minutes as the RSS feed of DIW gets updated, you'll need to select the Threads channel in Buffer's "Publish" tab, then go to "Settings", and then in the "Posting Schedule" tab, look for the "Add a new posting time" section. Select "Every Day" from the drop down menu and choose a time according to your preferences, for example, if you want to auto-post the content from 12:06 AM and onward, you've to choose 12:06 AM along with "Every Day" in the "Add a new posting time" section and then click on "Add Posting Time" button, this will add just one posting/scheduling time, for more frequent updates, you can add more timings as per your requirement and content calendar. Here is how my posting schedule looks like for your inspiration.
     
     
     
     
   • You can always edit, remove and change these time settings but be sure to have at least two three posting times.

Step 2: Setting Up IFTTT account

1. Login to IFTTT:
   • Go to IFTTT and create a new account with a free plan. You can safely skip the Pro or Pro+ trials. If you already have an account, move to the next step.
   • Go to "Log In" page. Enter your email and password, then click "Sign In".
     
     
     
     
2. Create a New Applet:
   • In you IFTTT dashboard look for Create button, if you could not find it go to this page.
     
     
     
     
   • Click on "Create" and you'll be redirected to a new page (like the below one).
     
     
     
     
   • Click on "If This" or "Add" button. And you'll be redirected to "Choose a service" page.
     
3. Configure RSS Feed Trigger:
   • In the "Choose a service" search box, type "RSS Feed".
   • Select the "RSS Feed" service from the search results.
     
     
     
     
   • You'll be redirected to a new page called "Choose a trigger". On that page choose the "New feed item" trigger.
     
     
     
     
   • Enter your RSS feed URL (that may look something like this https://ift.tt/XhFEnJs or https://ift.tt/fks5otS) and click "Create trigger".
     
     
     
     
     Side note: if you don't know how to find the RSS feed of your or any other website, be sure to read this guide.
     
     
4. Set Up Buffer Connection and Action:
   • Click on "Then That".
     
     
     
     
   • In the "Choose a service" search box, type "Buffer".
     
     
     
     
   • Select the "Buffer" service from the search results.
     
     
     
     
   • Now you will get 2 actions. First, "Add to Buffer", this will post the link thumbnail to your Threads (which often get less user interactions). And second "Add photo to Buffer" action, which will upload a header photo from blog (if there is any in the post, if no this action will produce errors) along with a link in description, (which often gets more engagement from users). Pick your required option and in the next window you'll be asked to connect to your Buffer account with IFTTT. 

Step 3: Connecting IFTTT and Buffer

1. Authorize IFTTT to Access Buffer:
   • During the first time setup of the Buffer action, you will be prompted to authorize IFTTT to access your Buffer account.
   • Follow the authorization steps, which typically involve logging into Buffer and granting permissions to IFTTT.
     
     
     
     
   • Be sure to connect the Threads channels during the Buffer and IFTTT integration for our automation to work properly, That is, when you were asked "Which profile would you like to use with IFTTT?", select Threads from "Your buffer profiles" drop down options and press Update. Now you've to go back to IFTTT creation page (as IFTTT won't take to automatically to the next step).
     
     
     
     
   • The IFTTT page will now be showing the "Complete action fields" page with already added descriptions. If not juts be sure in your Buffer Account section you have your Threads channels connected and in the "Update" box EntryTitle and EntryUrl are appearing that changes into this when you click on them:  , which is how this command works. So leave theme as is and click on Update/Create action. And then click on the Continue button.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
2. Review and Finish:
   • Review the applet settings on IFTTT to ensure everything is configured correctly.
   • Click "Finish" to activate the applet.
     
     

Step 4: Finalize and Test the Automation

1. Test the Setup:
   • Publish a new blog post or update an existing one (with updated current time) to trigger the RSS feed (or if you don't own the blog just wait for them to push new updates).
   • Check Buffer to see if the new post appears in the queue for Threads.
   • Verify that the post is published on Threads at the scheduled time.
2. Monitor and Adjust:
   • Regularly monitor the activity on IFTTT and Buffer to ensure the automation works smoothly.
   • Be sure to turn on "Notify me if this fails to run" from IFTTT My Applets page, in case this automation fails you'll be notified.
     
     
     
     
   • Make adjustments to the posting schedule, post format, or any other settings as needed.

Additional Tips

• Regular Monitoring: Keep an eye on the automation to quickly address any issues that may arise.
• Custom Post Text: Customize the post text in IFTTT to include relevant hashtags, custom message or mentions to increase engagement on Threads.
• Buffer's Analytics: Utilize Buffer's analytics to track the performance of your posts on Threads and adjust your strategy accordingly.
• Short Links: By default Buffer and IFTTT automatically set their Link shortening service to On mode, if you want to turn that off, first go to this page https://ifttt.com/settings and scroll down to "URL shortening" section and turn off "Auto-shoten URLs". Secondly, go to Buffer > Publish Tab > Settings > General > Link Shortening. And here change "buff.ly" to No Shortening.

By following these steps, you can set up a reliable automation system to post your blog content from an RSS feed to the Threads app using IFTTT and Buffer. This ensures that your Threads audience stays engaged with your latest blog updates without requiring manual posting.

If you've any question regarding any step, feel free to ask in the comments or if you want me to set this automation for your blog or profile (and willing to pay me for my time) with your custom needs or want to connect any other social network like LinkedIn then feel free to DM me on X.

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If you are a blogger you might like these tools:

• Slug Generator

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by Unknown via Digital Information World

Facebook Gives Creators New Option To Avoid Jail Due To Policy Violations

Facebook is giving creators a new option to avoid digital jail. The popular app from Meta just rolled out a feature to avoid ‘Facebook jail’ when violating Community Standards.

The latest change unveiled yesterday by the app says making a violation for the first time will not result in serious consequences. You can consider this as a warning. However, repeated offenses will cost the creator, the company confirmed.

The alert comes with an offer to take part in a training course. This provides more insights on where the creator went wrong and how they can improve next time. Furthermore, after completing the course, the warning is removed from the creator’s account.

On most occasions seen previously, creators received a penalty for policy violations. This came in the form of jail time. Here, creators were restricted from performing certain functions which they would normally take part in.

Last year, the app launched another initiative designed to combat the unpopular jail option. Creators were provided with a few warnings before a final penalty was awarded. Now, Facebook is giving creators the chance to get rid of the warnings too.

The latest change will secure reach and ensure visibility remains unchanged, helping creators in the long run. Moreover, it’s quite similar to the penalty system seen on the archrival app YouTube.

After committing a violation, creators enroll in a short informative course to remove the warning under the latest guidelines. Meta says it's all about educating creators and not punishing them.

For now, we can confirm that this new option is only for users having Professional Mode activated. They will receive in-app alerts, followed by a training option that details more about the violation.

Additionally, creators can take part in training that helps them remove warnings if no similar violation is done in the same year. But if another similar violation does occur, Facebook will not remove the warnings. Instead, the warnings will result in penalization. For instance, creators will suffer from less reach and fewer options to monetize.

Meta explained in the new blog post that this whole system is to guide creators and make the app more approachable. Especially when a creator is new, they’re clueless about the guidelines. With such changes, the playing field is leveled for all, and a healthy creator ecosystem is maintained.

Before we forget, Facebook has warned against committing serious violations. These come with a zero-tolerance policy and cannot be reversed. Common examples of serious offenses include selling drugs, promoting danger, and displaying explicit content.

We can see how Meta is trying hard to promote Facebook as an attractive option for both new and old creators. The app did witness great success in its last earnings report. Hence, changes like these can only help in portraying Facebook in a more positive light.

Image: DIW-Aigen

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

New Data Shows Google is Still Dominating the Search Market Despite Competing with Several AI Search Engines

New data by Datos’ clickstream panel analyzed by Sonata Insights and shared Sparktoro shows that there was a 1.3% growth on Google from May 2023 to May 2024. This means that Google experienced more desktop visits in May 2024 as compared to May 2023. This data seems surprisingly good because everyone thought that the rise in AI search engines will impact Google search but this doesn't seem to be the case.

There are many AI models that users treat as search engines like Microsoft’s CoPilot and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Among these AI search engines, Perplexity was the largest search player with 42% growth from last year. Rand Fishkin, who covered all this data in detail, said that Google has 290 times more search users than Perplexity as of May 2024. Perplexity users are 7.5% as active on the platform as Google users are on Google.

This suggests that even with numerous AI models and search engines, Google is still doing well in search market share. On the other hand, ChatGPT had 10.40 web page visits per month per visitor on average in May 2023 but that increased to 14.68 visits in May 2024. Claude jumped from 6.39 webpage visits per month in June 2023 to 10.67 visits in May 2024.

The data also shows that Google is way larger than other platforms in terms of search activity. Followed by Google are YouTube, Amazon and Bing but they are way lower than Google. So, this means that even if there are many AI search engines being introduced, it will be hard to dominate Google. Users aren't going to stop using Google and it shows through Google’s search market.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World