In an effort to recognize our writers and translators and be more transparent about our readership each month, we are continuing our Stats4Community series, where we share monthly updates about our most popular stories each month. We will also be highlighting the top Lingua posts for different languages to showcase the linguistic diversity across the GV community. This month's stories are from our Portuguese, Traditional Chinese, Kiswahili, and Greek Lingua sites.
Our English site saw over 362,000 viewers in October. All statistics here are drawn from Google Analytics and do not necessarily represent the total number of views due to adblockers and other privacy settings.
GV English top stories October 2023
Jamaican musician and educator Michael “Ibo” Cooper, who played a seminal role in the development of reggae music, passed away on October 12, 2023, prompting tributes and memorial services across the Caribbean. Ibo was part of the iconic 70s and 80s band Third World and played a key role in disseminating Reggae music across the world. (10,595 views)
The Chinese 2023 map has nothing new. But why are China’s neighbours mad about it?
China's newly launched 2023 edition of the standard map strained relations in the region and escalated tensions which have been rising over the last two years. The map is consistent with China's previous editions, which have claimed jurisdiction over disputed areas along India and Russia's borders and in the South China Sea. However, paired with Beijing’s increased military exercises in the South China Sea, the move paints an increasingly threatening picture for China’s neighbors in the region. (3,215 views)
Deconstructing the ‘beheaded babies’ misinformation in Israel’s war on Gaza
Amid Israel’s ongoing war on Gaza, disinformation has caused confusion and panic and has been used to justify atrocities in the name of revenge. This piece explains how one of the most egregious pieces of misinformation — the rumor that Israeli babies were beheaded in Hamas’s attack on Israel — spread throughout domestic, regional, and international media. It also unpacks how this type of misinformation has been weaponized for political purposes throughout this ongoing war. (2,349 views)
Confessions from a Chinese Censorship Worker
In this text, an anonymous woman who works as a Chinese censorship worker explains her daily tasks of combing through Weibo, WeChat, and other Chinese social media platforms and websites to censor dissenting material. She explains that many of the censorship workers are against the concept of online censorship but were pushed into the field because of minimal job prospects for young people in China. (2,107 views)
Portuguese
Um ritual de proteção para “fechar o corpo” liga tradições religiosas diferentes no Brasil (A Protection Ritual to ‘Close the Body’ Links Different Religious Traditions in Brazil)
In this piece from 2016, Adam Lee discusses how an Afro-Caribbean ritual connects people across religions and backgrounds in Brazil. The “closing of the body” ritual is supposed to ward off evil and is practiced among Afro-Brazilian religions of Candomblé and Umbanda, as well as some Catholic denominations. (2,450+ views)
Traditional Chinese
加拿大人被稱為「好人」的迷思
The Myth of the ‘Nice Canadian’
In 2017, Global Voices asked our editors, “What is the most misunderstood aspect of the place you live or where you're from?” This piece from Nevin Thonson, GV’s former Japan Editor who splits his time between Canada and Japan, deconstructed the myth that all Canadians were agreeable people and explained how this benevolent reputation might mask some of the injustices and issues in Canadian society. (91+ views)
Kiswahili
Jumuiya ya Mashoga Nchini Guyana Yaandaa Maandano ya Kwanza Kujivunia Ushoga (Guyana's LGBT community hosts its first-ever gay pride parade)
This uplifting piece from 2018 celebrates Guyana’s first-ever pride parade in June of the same year. The population of Guyana skews heavily Christian and has historically been very anti-LGBTQ+, so this event reflected a tireless and well-fought campaign from the island’s queer community. Since this 2018 kick-off, Pride festivals have become an annual occurrence in Guyana. (230+ views)
Greek
Χριστιανοί της Ιερουσαλήμ: “Μειώθηκε ο πληθυσμός μας από 20% σε 2% λόγω ισραηλινής βίας” (Jerusalem Christians: ‘We shrunk from 20% to 2% of population due to Israeli violence’)
This piece from January 2022 got renewed views on GV’s Greek site, likely due to the conflict and violence in Israel and Gaza this October. The piece notes that in previous instances of Israeli violence, Christians and other minority groups were also targeted in Israel. The piece discusses how incidents of extremist violence have devastated Israel’s Christian population, reducing it to only two percent of the total makeup. (140+ views)
