This is literally my favorite tweet of all time. It’s so powerful.

She Freaken Forgor Me

making this one binary. no ghost agnosticism allowed. but explain the nuances in the tags if you want.

I'm aware that this is a pretty big blog, so I try to avoid putting people on blast- mostly cause I don't want anyone tracking folks down and dogpiling on them for the unforgivable sin of "being wrong about a thing",

Because we are all hilariously, ridiculously and unabashedly incorrect about things at times, and that doesn't deserve the embarrassment of a thousand jeering, judging strangers with their careless mockery and casual insults,

That being said

BITCH THAT SHIT DO KILLS PEOPLE

[ID: A tweet by Popbase that reads, "Nearly half of Gen Z is using TikTok and Instagram as a search engine instead of Google, new data shows.". Below the tweet is a pic of a poorly drawn Goomba from Super Mario Bros with text below him that reads "are you out of your fucking mind".]

I love how Gen Z is just slowly turning into boomers due to reverse tech illiteracy

i know that everyone is blaming gen z and alpha and calling them stupid for this, but it actually isn’t their fault:

1) google has gotten demonstrably worse, ON PURPOSE in the last few years. not just because of AI, but how it changes your searches to make more money and is almost all sponsored or SEO-gamed results, plus google and facebook’s now over a decade long dismantling of journalism of all kinds, has led to this. so people of all ages are finding it less useful and finding it hard to parse accurate answers.

2) it’s a bit of a misnomer to say they aren’t using google at all - gen z, gen alpha, and other generations are using YOUTUBE, owned by Google parent company Alphabet, more than ever before, because despite its many issues and decline, it remains accessible in most countries, unblocked on most networks, and easy to use. TikTok may still be on the rise, but YouTube remains a homepage for a lot of people in the way Google used to be.

3) They’re using Tiktok (and IG despite it not really working well) more like a search engine because the app is molding itself and PROMPTING them to. every video has the search bar at the top with a suggested search term that the app generated through scanning keywords said in the video, caption, and comments. every comment section on popular video has a feature where if a phrase or word is said a lot, it turns it into a suggested search a user can click on and go directly to from the comments. Creators are learning search-engine optimization strategy because the app is prioritizing videos for monetization that are longer and follow common SEO practices (this is to compete with YouTube - TikTok wants more long videos and streaming to make it more like YouTube, and YouTube bolstered YouTube shorts to make it more like TikTok).

4) Creators of all kinds - for fun, for education, for anything, who may have written on a blog in the past are turning to making SEO-friendly video on any of these platforms, also, because Google (and the social platforms that used to bring click traffic like Twitter and Facebook) are so broken that they can’t reach people easily (nor sustainably) that way. That goes for everyone from journalists to food bloggers. So which platform are you gonna use? Google, where your results are AI generated or sponsored garbage you can barely trust or that it’s hard to parse, or TikTok, where sure there’s some sponsored stuff but it clearly says when it is (bc legally, influencers HAVE to), and there’s a person’s face giving you advice?

It’s a similar principle to why Reddit has always been a better place for answers when searching than whatever you find on Google - you have real people (or at least the semblance of real people) giving you personal advice, that is informally peer reviewed through comments, thread replies, etc.

5) As we know, Gen Z and younger are not being taught computing skills. I’m a millennial. I was TAUGHT how to use a search engine. I was TAUGHT how to use a database. Many younger people, now even adults, were not only not taught because older generations assumed they’d just pick it up, but the platforms and devices they grew up using actively DISCOURAGE developing the skills to figure it out.

By the sheer fact that I am a millennial who grew up with a new device and platform almost every year, my brain is wired to figure out change with technology. But a lot of younger people grew up with the same platforms, now firmly entrenched, that do not want the user to leave to use google or click a link to someone’s website, because that’s less ad revenue, so they’ve created user interfaces and experiences that discourage leaving the platform, and discourage creators from leading people off of it for additional info.

Schools in a lot of countries, especially the US where they are underfunded, are leaning on tablets instead of full computers, where your only access to the internet is limited to curated app experiences, and discouraged from exploration on the wider internet because it is “bad and unsafe.” If you’re actively prevented from Googling, or never taught, or have apps that provide the info instead, why would you ever do it? How would you learn?

This is not to say that TikTok is good or perfect or the things found there are always accurate or people aren’t responsible for their own ongoing education sometimes. But we shouldn’t be surprised at any of this. It wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing if all of this wasn’t to sell us more shit, either. But it’s always to sell us more shit - whether on Google or Tiktok.

Also this is ironic given the original post is a screenshot of a tweet from Pop Base, an engagement farm account that basically steals headlines from real outlets and takes all the engagement, not linking to any original reporting or even the source sometimes. It’s literally a part of what created this problem.

Thousands and thousands of years back in three minutes:

But closer to the issue...

Five free eBooks on the colonization and ethnic cleansing of Palestine

Pluto Books Free Palestine Reading List 30-50% off

LGBT Activist Scott Long's Google Drive of Palestine Freedom Struggle Resources

(includes some of the reading material recced below)

The Cambridge UCU and Pal Society Resources List

List of Academic and Literary Books Compiled by Dr. Kiran Grewal

Academic Books (many available in Goldsmiths library)

Memoirs, Novels & Poetry:

Human Rights Reports & Documents

Films

Sources:

NGOs

Instagram Accounts

Twitter(X) Accounts

Share widely!

(if any links are broken let me know. Or pull up the current post to check whether it's fixed.)

From River To The Sea Palestine Will Be Free 🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸

No offence but I think that you people really need to start thinking about The Implications for maybe like five seconds before you start making 10000 joke posts about how jews own the entirety of new york

Saying this as someone who supports palestine myself I think that some of you need to stop & consider some history before you start being "pro palestine" by making completely unrelated jokes about how jewish people are truly in control in america. or before you start ranting about how all jewish people are suspiciously wealthy and/or control the media on a post that doesn't mention israel at all. just a suggestion

okay i gotta do one i guess

you guys are KILLING me

ID: Digital art comic featuring Merle, Magnus, and Taako from the Adventure Zone. Merle is an older dwarf man with brown skin, grey hair, and a beard. He is wearing a jack-o-lantern shirt and has vines growing around his face. He is holding his X-treme Teen Bible as he says, "Hallowed be thy ween." Magnus, a human man dressed as Frankenstein's monster, exclaims, "You're gonna hollow out my what?" Taako, an elven wizard dressed as a skeleton with cobweb accents, replies from behind, "Your Ween!" End ID

Person who’s on the same side of the argument as you, but also has the worst takes about it you’ve ever seen in your life

#yes yes we’ve all been on tumblr (via @mylordshesacactus​)

*i regularly update this post with any new info i find so please always reblog the original post*

Donations

palestine children's relief fund

palestine red crescent society

help bring down israel's weapon trade - palaction

save palestine - islamic relief canada

click to donate - arab.org

send medical supplies to gaza - palestinian american medical association

help buy e-sims for people in gaza so they may remain in contact with the outside world

Petitions

petition to investigate war crimes committed by israeli military

demand ceasefire - amnesty.org

open call for immediate ceasefire

american government call for immediate ceasefire

american government to stop funding israeli military

ceasefire and increase humanitarian assistance - oxfam au

gaza call for ceasefire - oxfam (UK)

end israeli occupation - parliament uk (UK)

email your MP - medical aid for palestine (UK)

stop fuelling genocide - action network (USA)

call congress and demand a ceasefire - uscpr (USA - they provide a script of what you should say, so don't worry about it)

australia call on israel to stop attacking palestinians - apan (AUS)

sign to send letter to MP for ceasefire - nccm (CANADA)

ceasefire now! - ijv (CANADA)

cessez-le-feu et un couloir humanitaire - le mouvement (FRANCE)

write to your député - assemblée nationale (FRANCE)

skydda civilbefolkningen i gaza! - mittskifte (SWEDEN)

singaporeans call for immediate ceasefire (SIN)

contact your elected reps and demand a ceasefire (GERMANY)

write to the EU demanding a ceasefire (EUROPE)

multiple actions you can take to help palestine - plant een olifbloom (NETHERLANDS)

den haag, maak nú werk van vrede in israël/Palestina - the right forum (NETHERLANDS)

Campaigns

friends of al-aqsa

❥ UK-specific

❥ International

palestine action

islamic relief canada

text campaign for people living in USA

BDS movement

please let me know if you have any more links. i will add them in. and please reblog the original post!!

UPCOMING PROTESTS

PALESTINIAN LITERATURE READING LIST

I have seen less and less posts about Palestine each day, and I want to remind people that there is still very much a genocide going on and Palestine has continued to be attacked.

The number of casualties in Gaza has increased to 8,525 with 21,000+ injured

Hospitals in Gaza will run out of power today

Israel has once again cut Gaza’s communications

Israel has striked another refugee camp, killing 50+ and it was reported that children were carrying other injured children to get to safety

btw to anyone who's concerned about how the starbucks boycott affects employees: as an ex-barista i can tell you that when business slows down the baristas just vibe and chill in there. they're fine. and furthermore if sbux starts letting people go or shutting down entire stores, baristas will make it out ok. sbux has a solid severance package for things like this, i lost my job bc of covid and i was covered for several months of pay. the unionized ones are probably even better off. do not even worry about it. there's better coffee out there anyway