The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 08.26 Jenna Ortega Situation is Crazy, Is Hasan Piker Right About Gen Z, Harris Trump Debate Drama & More

Episode Date: August 26, 2024

The 7 Things you need to know today… Go to http://KiwiCo.com/DEFRANCO and use code DEFRANCO to get 50% off your first crate of any KiwiCo monthly subscription! New Limited Drop @ https://BeautifulBastard.com & everything is 25-50% OFF for now! 71 Days Until Election Day! Make Sure You Are Registered to VOTE: https://Vote.org  – ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 00:00 - 25-50% Off at Beautiful Bastard 00:57 - Jenna Ortega Deleted Twitter Over Deepfakes, SF Sues 16 Companies 4:15 - SpaceX Will Rescue Stranded Boeing Astronauts From ISS in 2025 7:24 - Gen Z’s Political Gender Gap Grows 10:47 - Sponsored by KiwiCo 11:58 - French Police Arrest Founder of Telegram For Moderation Failures 13:55 - DOJ Accuses Software Company of Allowing Landlords to Collude to Raise Prices  17:00 - Trump and Harris Campaigns Spar Over Mics For Next Month’s Debate  18:47 - Massive Russian Strikes Across Ukraine Target Power Grids ——————————   Produced by: Cory Ray Edited by: James Girardier, Maxwell Enright, Julie Goldberg, Christian Meeks, Matthew Henry Art Department: William Crespo Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Brian Espinoza, Lili Stenn, Maddie Crichton, Chris Tolve, Star Pralle, Jared Paolino ———————————— #DeFranco #Hasanabi #JennaOrtega ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sup, you beautiful bastards! Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show, your daily dive into the news, and we have a lot to talk about today. But first, just to steal your attention for 30 to 60 seconds, I'm very excited to announce a limited mini-drop over at beautifulbastard.com right now. It includes the unvaulting of the iHeartNaps tee,

as well as the newly launched Keep the Real Ones clothes Ain't Too Many Left tees and tanks, both of which, of course, use our custom core cotton spandex blend. So you've got a breathable fabric that's pre-shrunk. It's durable. We have inclusive sizing

from small to 5XL. And fantastically, with fall around the corner, we have brought the hoodies back. And those are our new 100% mid-weight premium hoodies. The fabric's breathable. It's slightly oversized and weighted.

There's no string. You got shape retention. It's very durable. And right now, as we're doing this drop, everything on site is 25% to 50% off. So grab what you want while you can over at beautifulbastard.com. Link down below. But that said, we got a lot of news to talk about today. So let's just jump into it. We need to talk about how you creepy freaks made Jenna Ortega delete Twitter. Also,

when I say you, I don't mean you unless you recognize yourself in this story. Because Jenna just did this big interview with the Interview Podcast by the New York Times. And in it, she discussed AI and deep fakes. And there, you know, she noted that while she thinks that there are great things that AI can be used for that could save lives, she also hates AI for the way that it's been used against her

ever since she was a child, explaining. Did I like being 14 and making a Twitter account because I was supposed to and seeing dirty edited content of me as a child? No, it's terrifying. It's corrupt. It's wrong. It's disgusting.

And we've opened, here's the problem though. We've opened Pandora's box. Well, it is what it is. It's out there now. We're gonna have to deal with the consequences. And the key thing is that when the interviewer asked to clarify if she actually saw sexually explicit images, Jenna added. Yes, of course. One of the first, actually, the first DM that I ever opened myself when I was 12 was an unsolicited photo of a man's genitals. And that was just the beginning of what was to come. I used to have that

Twitter account and I was told that, oh, you got to do it. You got to build your image. I ended up deleting about two, three years ago. Right. And saying that, especially after Wednesday came out and her fame exploded, the images just became relentless. It was just disgusting and it made me feel bad. It made me feel uncomfortable. It's awful. And it's, it's, um, anyway, that's why, yeah, I deleted it because I couldn't say anything without saying something like that. And I don't need to be saying that every day. So one day I just woke up and I thought, oh, I don't need this anymore. Uh, so I dropped it. And this obviously is, and has been a hot topic for a while now, especially this year. It just feels like there's been this onslaught of not

only controversies of celebrity AI scandals, but also everyday teens and high schoolers being targeted. And there we've seen girls and women largely being the victims here, which is why it's in no way surprising that in response to Jenna saying this, you had tons of people arguing that there needs to be more laws and regulations regarding AI. And actually on that front, there is some news coming out of San Francisco. And that because a city's attorney is suing 16 websites that digitally undress photos of people with that suit seeking to shut the sites down and prevent their creators

from making and promoting these tools, arguing that they violate revenge pornography laws, child porn laws, and laws in California that prevent unfair business practices. Though there, you had city attorney David Chu telling the New York Times, you know, this could turn into a legal game of whack-a-mole because more of these sites could very easily pop up,

but he does plan on adding more to the suit as the city becomes aware of them. And she was saying that right now, the sites included in the suit have been visited 200 million times in just the first six months of 2024. And this, as many reports have described, this is a first of its kind case targeting sites that are not just tied to California, but places all over the country and world. With one source even telling the Associated Press that this could set a legal precedent regarding AI, though others told the outlet that that is easier said than done. Noting there that it's hard to hold sites overseas accountable, but there is a chance

that the sites do get taken offline. And even with this being an uphill battle, you have some saying something has to be done with true writing on Twitter. This investigation has taken us to the darkest corners of the internet. This is a big multifaceted problem that we as a society need to solve as soon as possible.

But unfortunately, I will say that every solution we see to this problem feels like a Band-Aid on a gushing wound. And really only time will tell if we'll ever be able to really get any rains on this. And then, so you know, another day, another Boeing humiliation. And it just feels like it's been like this

since that door plug blowout incident back in January. But this time it has to do with the company's space flight division, not its planes. Because as you may have seen back in June, Boeing conducted its first ever crewed test flight of the Starliner space capsule, with it carrying two NASA astronauts, 58-year-old Sonny Williams and 61-year-old Butch Wilmore.

But, and this should come as no surprise to anyone who watches this show, Starliner has been plagued by technical issues throughout its development process. Things like its faulty software, flammable tape, stuck valves, and weak parachute systems. In this test flight, it was no exception. With a capsule leaking helium even before liftoff, though, that didn't stop the launch.

And then, before it docked with the International Space Station, several thrusters malfunctioned. As a pudgy and sunny climb into the ISS, I could imagine only after saying a few Hail and Marys for what was supposed to be an eight-day trip. But two and a half months later, engineers back home still couldn't figure out with certainty what went wrong and whether it would happen again. Right, and so over the weekend, on Saturday, NASA announced that the uncertainty and lack of expert concurrence does not meet the agency's safety and performance requirements for human spaceflight, meaning Starliner will return home early next month without anyone on board, leaving Butch and Sonny effectively stranded on the ISS, though NASA won't use that word. Their agency administrator, Bill Nelson, saying,

Space flight is risky, even at its safest, and even at its most routine. And a test flight by nature is neither safe nor routine. Now, you know, all of this alone, that would be humiliating for Boeing. But what really rubs salt in the wound is who's gonna be rescuing the astronauts instead. NASA announcing Saturday they will return home using SpaceX Crew-9 Dragon capsule instead of Boeing Starliner.

Right, Boeing's arch nemesis is going to swoop in to do what Boeing couldn't. Hey, y'all, if you are not aware, this rivalry is deep. I mean, it goes back to 2014, in fact, because that's back when NASA selected both companies to develop spacecraft to ferry astronauts to and from the ISS. The agency doling out $4.2 billion to Boeing and 2.6 billion to SpaceX. And while SpaceX has already done nine crewed flights for NASA as well as commercial missions,

Boeing's still trying to get certified and it's already $1.6 billion over budget. And so what we're looking at with this latest failure is a huge setback, because if NASA requires another crewed test flight, that's gonna cost at least hundreds of millions of dollars more. All of which is why you have one anonymous Boeing staffer

telling the New York Post, "'We have had so many embarrassments lately. "'We're under a microscope. "'This just made it like a hundred times worse. "'We hate SpaceX. "'We talk shit about them all the time, "'and now they're bailing us out.'" Though to be fair, NASA avoided casting any shade on Boeing,

which also reportedly tried to convince the agency that Starliner was safe enough to bring the astronauts back. With NASA's commercial crew program manager, Steve Stitch, minimizing the backroom conflict. There was just a little disagreement in terms of the level of risk. We did it a little differently with our crew than Boeing did. But with all that said, you know,

as far as the SpaceX mission, it's scheduled to happen September 24th, with them reportedly ditching two of the normal four-person crew to make room for Butch and Sonny, who will come back in February. Which means that best case scenario is that they're going to spend at least eight months on the ISS in total, which is, of course, far more than the eight days they expected. In the meantime, you know, they'll be doing scientific work, space maintenance, and possibly some spacewalk. Which, you know, depending

on your point of view, could be a great cool gig for stranded astronauts or uh shitty and then yeah we gotta talk about how the political gap between gen z men and women is not only growing but now we have polling from the new york times and siena college finding that the gen z gap is actually bigger than any other generation with them noting that back when the race was trump versus biden men aged 18 to 29 favored trump by 11 percentage points and women favored biden by 28 making that a 39 point gap between the genders. And while that was pretty wide, it's gotten bigger now that Kamala Harris is the candidate.

With the polling that the Times and CNN took in six swing states this month finding that young men favored Trump by 13 points and young women favored Harris by 38. Yo, we're looking at a 51 point gap, right? And that is further apart than any other age group. And so you have the Times saying that this election has become a referendum on gender roles, with young women becoming very

liberal following the Me Too movement, as well as the surge of activism after Roe was overturned. Whereas with some young men, on the other hand, quote, they feel that rapidly changing gender roles have left them behind socially and economically, and see former President Donald J. Trump as a champion of traditional manhood. And as for what specifically has sparked this, well, I mean, you could point to a million reasons. You have folks like political commentator, Hassan Piker, seeing this polling and write it. Every young male interest online from gaming,

fitness to culture and self-help is dominated by right-wing red-pilled manosphere commentary. They prey on the anxieties and insecurities of vulnerable young men. And if you look around, he is definitely not alone in thinking that. I mean, one report earlier this year on this shift noted that social media algorithms have pulled, quote,

"'Moderately conservative young men' towards more extreme and radical conservative male role models and worldviews." But here, I will also say, this is not an American specific thing. This is a global trend. I mean, in Europe, there has also been a shift of young people moving to the right, especially men.

But yeah, I mean, as far as why this push is happening stateside, and specifically, creating support for Trump, you had the New York Times speaking to young men and there we saw their answers kind of vary. With the outlet noting that Gen Z men are still slightly more likely to identify as Democrat than Republican and those who are conservative often still support

social issues like same sex marriage and abortion rights. And you even had some who seemed to have sympathy for women's rights with one Michigan Trump supporter saying that quote, all the industries are dominated by men, bosses are men, there hasn't been a woman president. I think women deserve a little bit more. But largely, you had the Times saying they found that young men who plan to vote for Trump pointed to feeling unvalued or noting economic issues that have them worried about traditionally masculine roles, like the ability to support a family. With, for example, one Georgia

voter who plans to go for Trump saying, we can't afford to have children, we can barely afford three meals a day, I want to be able to go to the doctor and afford it. I want to be able to own a home. I want to be able to have a car. I want to have a job I enjoy. I want to live, not just survive. And this is yet another Trump supporter in Nevada kind of saying that young men felt that they've been told what not to do for a long time. And another in Michigan saying it feels like men are looked down on. And all this is the Times pointing to polling from Pew that found that 40% of Trump supporting men believe that women's gains have come at the expense of men. And this, even though only 1 5th

of general respondents thought so. All of which is very interesting, but also too, it has some arguing that this is the way to move some voters over. Saying the Democrats need to make a stronger case on some of these issues. With one of the easiest being the tax cuts for the middle class.

Of course, a lot of this just comes down to general messaging. I mean, for example, even right here, you have the Times noting that the Democratic Party has a page all about who the party serves and many demographic groups are mentioned, but none specifically include men. So these voters just might not feel seen by the party.

You know, with all that said, whether you're a Gen Z man or woman, or really whatever demographic you hit, I'd really love to know your thoughts on this situation, the shift, and what we might see that's helpful in the future moving forward. And then, y'all, you know, my kids, they're getting older and different things become more fun to do with them.

And doing fun, creative brain-building projects with your kids, it's seriously fun. And to be honest, rewarding. So thank you KiwiCo for being there for our kids and for being today's sponsor. Because KiwiCo makes hands-on projects for kids while being fun for adults. I mean, we've been using these for years and I see my kids' brains functioning differently as they get older. I mean, I'm really intrigued about how things are put together and how they

function. And these crates, they're designed to teach kids about educational concepts like engineering, science, art, and math, and make it fun. Perfect for school breaks or weekends to keep the brains active. I mean, they have provided hours of entertainment for our kids and opportunities for special moments with them while doing projects together or just watching them take over. Plus KiwiCo has subscriptions for all ages and offer one-off crates in their KiwiCo store

from robots to ice cream making and more. Each crate's designed by experts, tested by kids, inclusive of everything you need, and has a kid-friendly magazine empowering them to complete the projects on their own and dive deeper into the subject. You can tell they work really hard to create awesome moments and make a great gift for families. So head on over to kiwico.com slash DeFranco and use code DeFranco to get 50% off your first crate of a monthly subscription. But then, shifting gears, yo, the founder and CEO of one of the world's largest social media

companies just got arrested. But no, it wasn't Musk, it wasn't Zuckerberg. Instead, we're talking about the billionaire founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov. I'm touching down at an airport in Paris on Saturday evening, only to be stopped by police at customs and taken into custody. And this reportedly because of Telegram's notoriously lax content moderation policy, which French authorities have apparently been investigating. Because on the one hand, it has made the platform a popular source of information and misinformation in former Soviet bloc countries, including Russia and Ukraine. But on the other hand, it's also made the platform a hotbed for extremists, terrorists,

arms dealers, drug traffickers, money launderers, and distributors of child sex abuse material. And so as shocking as this arrest is, it also didn't come out of nowhere. Because in 2022, for example, you had Germany fining Telegram $5 million for failing to establish a lawful way for reporting illegal content. And last year, we saw Brazil temporarily suspending Telegram over its failure to surrender data on neo-Nazi activity related to a police inquiry and a school shooting. Though there, in its defense, Telegram says that it abides by EU laws, including the Digital Services Act, and says that its moderation is within industry standards and constantly improving. And it also stating it

is absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform. Saying almost a billion users globally use Telegram as means of communication and as a source of vital information. Also with this, we saw Russia's foreign ministry, not exactly defending the platform, but pointing out what it considers Western hypocrisy,

saying, in 2018, a group of 26 NGOs, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Freedom House, Reporters Without Borders, the Committee Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Freedom House, Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and others condemned the Russian court's decision to block Telegram. Do you think this time they'll appeal to Paris

and demand Durov's release? But there you have people noting that while Durov is a Russian citizen, he's also a dual citizen of France. So it's very unlikely that the French are gonna just let him go because Moscow's mad. Though another big aspect of the situation is that his arrest has sparked a lot of controversy online. With, for example, the likes of Elon Musk

posting free Pavel and adding it's 2030 in Europe and you're being executed for liking a meme. But for now, we're gonna have to wait to see how all this plays out. And in the meantime, I'd love to know your thoughts. But then, if you pay rent, listen up. Right, because the DOJ just took a massively historic step to crack down on algorithmic price fixing.

And this is something that very possibly affects you. And while I've talked about this a number of times on the show, and I even did a deep dive into it, but to get you caught up, to give you the TLDR, we've seen an increasing number of actors across numerous industries like healthcare, housing, and hospitality using algorithms to fix prices in a way that benefits them financially. And with all that, there have been numerous lawsuits brought against the companies that make these algorithms, alleging that they're facilitating collusion. But now you got the big dog knocking, right? The DOJ is weighing in. With the DOJ as well as eight states

bringing an absolutely landmark case that officials have described as the first major civil antitrust lawsuit that focuses on pricing manipulation. And a key specific thing is that this suit was brought against the real estate software company, RealPage, which we've also talked about before. Right, because for years now,

RealPage has been accused of allowing landlords to collude to raise prices for millions of renters across the nation in an illegal price-fixing scheme to reduce competition and boost their own profits. In fact, according to reports, around 20 other lawsuits have been brought against the company. And the DOJ's suit, which follows a nearly two-year-long investigation, it makes many of the same claims as the other complaints. Alleging that RealPage's software YieldStar, it gathers confidential rental information like prices and occupancy rates from landlords who pay for the program

and then uses that data for its algorithm to generate suggestions for what landlords should charge renters. But a key thing there is those suggestions are often higher than they would be if the landlords didn't have access to their competitors' data, which isn't open to the public.

As you have the DOJ arguing that by giving landlords access to this data, they can drive up prices while still ensuring that their competitors won't undercut them with better offers, aka collusion. With them then going on to note examples of Real Page's own marketing that allude to this price fixing ability. Like for example, the fact that it advertised its software to landlords as a tool that can help lower prices and help them earn 2% to 7% more than they would otherwise. As well as comments from Real Page executives who described the company's software as a tool for landlords to increase prices

while still avoiding competition. And beyond that, the Justice Department's lawsuit also accuses RealPage of controlling a monopoly for this kind of software used by landlords. Noting that the company's internal documents indicate that it controls 80% of the US market with this kind of tool. And with all that said, RealPage for its part, they've denied the allegations.

With a spokesperson here echoing similar arguments that the company has made in response to the many other lawsuits that have been filed against them, saying that RealPage would vigorously defend itself and claiming that its software was purposefully built to be legally compliant. And so what I will say is, well, of course, we're gonna have to wait to see what goes down with RealPage here. I mean, this is just the beginning of these kinds of antitrust cases. I mean, under the Biden administration specifically, regulators have been investigating the impact these algorithms have had on price fixing. With the DOJ and FTC also weighing in on private lawsuits,

alleging that hotel companies colluded by using these tools to set room rates. And notably with that, Kamala Harris has made clear that she intends to keep this course. With her in a speech just over a week ago, criticizing the practice of landlords using price setting software saying, Some corporate landlords collude with each other

to set artificially high rental prices, often using algorithms and price-fixing software to do it. So you've always been picky about your produce, but now you find yourself checking every label to make sure it's Canadian. So be it. At Sobeys, we always pick guaranteed fresh Canadian produce first.

Restrictions apply. See in-store or online for details. It won't take long to tell you Neutrals ingredients. Vodka, soda, natural flavors. So, what should we talk about?

No sugar added? Neutral. Refreshingly simple. It's anti-competitive and it drives up costs. And then, Harris and Trump are fighting over the debate in two weeks as Trump is looking for a way out of them. You see, Harris's campaign wants the mics hot so anyone can speak at any time. But the Trump campaign, they want the mics muted so only the designated speaker can speak. And this is the Harris campaign says that she's ready to put up with Trump's constant lies and he should stop hiding

behind the mute button. With them then adding that Trump's campaign knows that he just can't control himself for 90 minutes, so that's why they want the mute button. And they say they're making this statement because they feel that Trump's handlers haven't told him about the dispute and they think that he should know. Which just for the record, those are their words, not mine.

And with this, Trump floated backing out of the debate yesterday to which the Harris campaign called him a chicken. With us then seeing today, Trump going against his campaign's wishes and saying that the microphone should be unmuted. You know, all of this is playing out as you have experts saying the math on the debates here is straightforward, but hard for Trump.

Or with him saying that he needs more debates as Harris surges in the polls, because he needs to be able to directly challenge and contrast with her. Or he has to stop her momentum, and skipping the debates might just make him look scared. But this, as a number of experts also say, it's a catch-22,

because the one constant that we've seen over the past nine years is that the more swing voters see and hear for Trump, the less they usually like it. And this, as you know, I'll note, it's a small data set. It's only been a month. It seems like the more that voters see Harris,

the more they actually like her. I mean, her favorability has improved to around plus one. I mean, that's 18 points in a month. But ultimately, you know, who the hell knows what this debate is actually gonna look like if it happens, as the dynamics are gonna be unquestionably different than any debate that he's done before.

But also it is kind of funny how we found ourself in this situation, because Trump accidentally screwed himself by performing so much better than Joe Biden during the last debate. So arguably that had more to do with Biden than with Trump, but still, while anything could happen in this election, and whatever the polls say is whatever,

like this is a coin flip election right now. If Donald Trump loses, the biggest mistake he will have made is beating Joe Biden in a debate. With that said, I got to end with the question of, do you think we are going to get a or several debates? And two, how do you think they'll go? But then in big international news, we got to talk about Russia and Ukraine, starting with the fact that tons of Ukrainians all across the country were waking up in the middle of the night because the country was being bombarded by over 100 missiles and 100 large drones. Now, luckily, the death toll only sits at four right now, but that number may rise.

But among those included right now is someone working for Reuters after his hotel was hit by a missile. That's certainly not the only damage that was done. These strikes seemingly targeted key infrastructure like energy, causing blackouts across the nation. I mean, even areas that weren't hit could still face power shortages as the national power company has been forced to redirect power to try and stabilize the system. And so with this, in response to the attack, Ukraine's foreign minister requested two things

from their allies. First, affirming Ukraine's long range strikes on all legitimate military targets on Russian territory. And second, agreeing to use partners as air defense capabilities to shoot down missiles and drones close to their airspace. But between those two, it is almost guaranteed that the second will not happen. I mean, it's something that Ukraine has requested since the start of the war, but it would also mean the direct involvement of the US

and EU. Also, you know, going back to the death toll, one of the reasons that the death toll may have been low is that the Ukrainian Air Force was able to detect the attack ahead of time and intercept many missiles and drones, but then also giving people time to get to shelter. And the thing is, they generally have a ton of practice doing that. And most kind of expected something like this to happen after Ukraine attacked Russia itself and captured quite a bit of land. And actually, speaking of that, that operation is still well underway. And while things have definitely slowed down, Ukraine is continuing to take territory in Kursk while also making smaller incursions into other regions. And while the exact reasoning for this move still isn't completely clear,

it likely does serve as both a strong bargaining chip and potential negotiations, while also forcing Russia to divert better equipped units from the Eastern front within Ukraine. Which then to hit on that note, it has been more of the same. Russia continues to make gains, but it is extremely slow with even some localized setbacks.

With it appearing to be somewhat clear that Ukraine is willing to give up territory and slowly grind the Russian army down, rather than risk huge amounts of troops and more decisive engagements. But this is there are also real concerns that these two fronts might soon be old news. And that's because there's recently been a massive buildup

of Belarusian troops along the border with Ukraine in the north. And among those are Wagner mercenaries who were essentially exiled to Belarus following their failed drive on Moscow last year. Though I will say that that buildup is kind of odd as Belarus's leader had recently broken his lockstep with Putin and called for an end to the war.

But regardless, Ukraine has warned Belarus to back off and its foreign ministry saying, we warn Belarusian officials not to make tragic mistakes for their country under Moscow's pressure. And what's wild is that while all of this fighting and the buildups going on, there are also talks of potential negotiations. With for example, India's prime minister

visiting Ukraine this weekend and it was borderline surreal. I mean, he's in a unique situation where on many issues, India supports the West. But at the same time, he's helping his country make a killing by being one of the few large economies still trading and buying Russian oil.

But also notably, when going to Ukraine, he seemed very friendly and even hugged President Zelensky, which also made for some awkward photos because Zelensky was clearly under the impression that this was gonna be a stern meeting. And this is, Modi made it clear that India was willing to host peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, but that probably won't go anywhere.

I mean, Ukraine still has the same position that it's had since 2014. Russia needs to leave all of Ukraine. With Zelensky even telling Modi, "'When you say diplomacy, I'm all for it, "'but I'd like to see concrete steps "'that are not at the expense of 30% of our state "'and not at the expense of our population.

"'If there is such a plan, we're all for it. But for now, it appears that this fight is going to still rage on and you have both sides likely going to try to solidify gains before things start to slow down in the winter. But that, my friends, is the end of your Monday evening, Tuesday morning dive into the news. Of course, friendly reminder, get in while you can on the new limited drop over at beautifulbastard.com. Take advantage of the 25 to 50% off. And then, of course, for everything news related, you don't have to worry about missing my stupid face for too long because of course, I'll see you right back here tomorrow.

I love your faces and I'll see you then.