How racist is China online?

In this issue, meet Nigeria's ex-poachers-turned-rangers, read the latest Human Rights Watch report on anti-Black racism in Chinese media and get to know Argentina's 'maybe Donald Trump' for the upcoming general election. Also, a potentially very important fossil was discovered in Brazil, the WHO's first summit on traditional medicine took place, ISIS is still 'alive', mass graves were found in Sudan, a documentary on child sexual abuse in Pakistan, a podcast episode about the Black Panthers in Algeria, an article about rock climbing as a new popular sport in India, an Indonesian hit song, naughty carvings in English churches, and so much more.

Some poachers in Nigeria quit killing animals for a living and became rangers instead

What happened:
Former poachers in Nigeria have become forest rangers to protect a rainforest called Omo Forest Reserve. (Yes, you read that right.)

What is a poacher?
Poachers are individuals who illegally hunt, capture, or collect wildlife or plants, for money, meat, traditional medicine, as pets or collectibles, trophy hunting, or sometimes also as retaliation. Poaching poses a significant threat to biodiversity and can lead to the decline or even extinction of many species.

Why this matters:
The Omo Forest in southwest Nigeria is pretty special. It is a tropical rainforest and home to threatened species including African elephants, pangolins, white-throated monkeys (how can you not protect them, look) and chimpanzees. Plus, it's been protected by UNESCO since 1977. But, there's a problem: people have been hunting too much, cutting down too many trees, and farming where they shouldn't.

Tell me more:
In short, an organization protecting the forest changed its approach. Journalist Taiwo Adebayo for AP talked to project manager Emmanuel Olabode of the non-profit NGO Nigerian Conservation Foundation. "We had made efforts over the years to push poachers back through anti-poaching campaigns." When those campaigns didn't quite work, the organization began an experiment in 2017 that involved integrating poachers who had decided to quit killing animals for a living. That was a game changer. Now, said Olabode, three former poachers make up a team of about ten rangers. However, the operation is super-small, as the organization needs more money to recruit more rangers.

Why did the poachers quit?
Sunday Abiodun, one of the ex-poachers in the team of rangers, told AP why he gave up killing animals for a living. "I said to myself: 'If I continue to kill these animals for money to eat now, my own children will not see them if they also want to learn about them in the future.'" Plus, being a ranger is a steadier job. Before, they might hunt for days and get nothing. Now, they can provide for their families better.

Does it work?
Yes. Since they started this, they see way fewer poachers. It used to be three or four every day, and now it's about one a week. There's still some work to do, but things are looking up. They say the main challenges are now illegal settlements of cocoa farmers and loggers that are growing in the conservation areas.

New report shows that anti-Black racism is all over the place in Chinese media

What happened:
Human Rights Watch has found that there is a lot of anti-Black racism on China's social media platforms, where it is being used to get more clicks and make money.

Why this matters:
China's known for keeping a tight grip on its internet. They've got a ton of people checking and controlling what's posted online. Yet, the amount and extremity of racist content on the Chinese internet "suggest that the platforms either are not meeting their own standards banning racist content, or that their policies are inadequate when addressing racist content." Many are worried, 'what if online hate becomes real-world violence?'

Tell me more:
The rights group reviewed hundreds of videos and posts from 2021 on platforms including Weibo (kinda like Twitter), and Douyin (China's TikTok), and said it found that content often portrayed Black people through "offensive racial stereotypes". Other platforms like video-sharing platform Bilibili, Livestream and video app Kuaishou, and social media and e-commerce site Xiaohongshu had the same issue, the report said, noting that it seems like the companies aren't doing much about it.

Give me some examples:
Some videos were negative about relationships between Black and Chinese people, with some online users claiming Black people were "tainting" the Chinese community. Some suggested that the Chinese authorities ban Black people from becoming permanent residents in China or from marrying Chinese people. Some also adopted racist symbols and language often used in the United States in their online posts attacking Black people. (Black) U.S. singer 6lack even had this happen to him. Chinese people in support of victims of racism also get targeted by hate speech online.

How is this not against community guidelines?
It is. The Chinese social media platforms Bilibili, Douyin, Kuaishou, and Weibo all have published community standards and guidelines banning content promoting racial or ethnic hatred and discrimination, but many do not consistently enforce these standards.

What about the Chinese government?
The Chinese government has at times (not all the time) condemned online racism, especially when it faces international backlash. However, in 2018, 2021 and 2022, blackface was all over the place on state media. "The Chinese government likes to tout China-Africa anti-colonial solidarity and unity, but at the same time, ignores pervasive hate speech against Black people on the Chinese internet," Yaqiu Wang, senior China researcher at Human Rights Watch said in a statement, adding that just doing business with Africa doesn't make up for letting racism slide.

The far-right is knocking on Argentina's doors

What happened:
In Argentina, a politician named Javier Milei, who has far-right libertarian views, won the country's preliminary election for president. This primary result has turned Argentina's political world upside down.

What are preliminary elections?
Think of it like a mini-election before the main one. It's where people vote for their favorite candidate from their party. So, by the end, each party has one main person to run in the big election. Sometimes anyone can vote, and sometimes only party members can.

Why this matters:
Argentina's going through a rough patch. Their money's losing value, prices are going up like crazy (highest inflation level since 1991), a...