LATEST TECH NEWS: Twitter flags yet another Trump tweet. Four other things and a trivia you need to know today, June 19, 2020

These 5 latest stories from the tech space will keep you updated with trends today.

1. Twitter flags yet another Trump tweet

The U.S. President, Donald Trump, has, again, had his tweet flagged by Twitter for sharing “manipulated” content online. This comes on the same day Facebook reportedly removed a set of Trump campaign ads for violating the company’s rules against hate symbols. The tweet, for which the president was called out, is a mischievously edited video of two children with a fake CNN chyron reading “Terrified todler runs from racist baby.”

According to Twitter, the president joined a list of un-inviting online users who share false information, an action which is against the standard of the micro-blogging site. Clicking on the Twitter label identifying the post as “manipulated”, it leads one to the original content on CNN page with the frame: “These two toddlers are showing us what real-life besties look like.” In what critics have tagged ironic, Trump’s version of the video declared at the end that: “America is not the problem, fake news is.”

2. Google for Startups Accelerator Africa selects 20 Class 5 startups

Google for Startups Accelerator Africa programme, one of Google’s enterprising initiatives to mentor startup owners, has published its list of selected Class 5 startups. The list, which included various startups, contained 20 startups. The 3-year-old programme, formerly known as Google Launchpad Accelerator programme, has previously reportedly worked with 47 startups from 17 African countries in four editions.

According to Google, startups that participated in the three-month-long programme would have access to mentorship, funding, and PR support, among other incentives. Unlike this edition that will see 20 startups, the fourth cohort saw the participation of 12 startups from Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. The programme is expected to run from June 29 until September 11.

Tech Trivia:

What is a software program that crawls the web, searching and indexing web pages?
A. Night Crawler
B. Monkey
C. Spider
D. Linklux
Answer: See end of post.

3. VC4A opens applications for Series A virtual venture showcase

African leading VC and entrepreneurial capacity development trainer, VC4A, has, on Friday, opened applications for African startups looking to raise between US$500,000 and US$10 million in funding. The invite comes as the VC looks at hosting its annual Venture Showcase Series A. According to VC4A, the programme is expected to take place virtually in October.

Although, VC4A usually hosts the annual showcase as part of the Africa Early Stage Investor Summit in Cape Town, but with that event cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it will be going virtual for 2020. Explaining its 2020 edition terms, Ben White, founder and director of VC4A, stated that the Venture Showcase was on a mission to present “the best companies ready for Series A from across the continent. However, he added that “given the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need to come together virtually as an industry and to collaborate on deals is more necessary than ever.”

4. GameClub takes its subscription-based gaming catalog to Android users

After recording success serving iOS users, GameClub, a $5 per month subscription service, offering access to over 100 titles that had seen a collective 100 million lifetime downloads, has today, launched its Android version. Before this inclusion, it has grown its catalog to more than 120 classic titles.

Reviewers, commenting on the gaming adventure, acknowledge that subscription-based access to mobile gaming content is fuelling new services like Apple Arcade and Google Play Pass. Startups like GameClub entering the mix, have tested the idea that subscriptions could also produce new revenue streams for some of mobile gaming’s greatest hits.

5. Amazon looks to hire 3000 people in South Africa

E-commerce giant, Amazon has revealed plans to hire 3000 people in customer service in South Africa. According to the e-retailing and cloud computing giant, the placement would thrive on remote culture, where employees would work from home rather than a central office location. While some of the roles will include customer service associates, some will be absorbed as technical experts who will provide 24/7 support to Amazon customers in North America and Europe.

Going by the current workforce, the addition of 3000 permanent and seasonal full-time positions will take the total permanent workforce in South Africa to 7000. Amazon has stated that the new jobs reflected its continued commitment to South Africa’s economic development, and that it was proud to have South Africa a growing part of its ability to deliver a great experience to Amazon customers.

Tech Trivia Answer: Spider

A web crawler, or spider, is a type of bot that’s typically operated by search engines like Google and Bing. Their purpose is to index the content of websites all across the Internet so that those websites can appear in search engine results.

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