The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 11.28 What Shawn Mendes' Backlash & Controversy Shows Us, Google Censorship Concerns, & More

Episode Date: November 28, 2018

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Sup you beautiful bastards, hope you're having a fantastic Wednesday. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show and let's just jump into it. And the first thing I want to talk about today is this pop culture somewhat societal news. So if you didn't see, Shawn Mendes, who of course now is a just massive star, he originally got his start on Vine, MagCon, YouTube. He was recently featured in and interviewed by Rolling Stone magazine. And in the interview, he talked about people's fascination and the rumors about his sexuality. As he explains in the interview, it's about this massive, massive thing for the last five talked about people's fascination and the rumors about his sexuality as he explains in the interview It's about this massive massive thing for the last five years about me being gay adding

I'd like to say I don't care about it But that's not true in the back of my heart I feel like I need to go be seen with someone like a girl in public to prove to people that I'm not gay Going on to say even though in my heart I know that it's not a bad thing There's still a piece of me that thinks that and I hate that side of me Sean also going on to mention moments like when He was in a Taylor Swift insta story where he had glitter on his eyes, but then saying after I felt sick I was like fuck why did I let her post that I just fed the fire that I'm terrified of also recalling a moment where

He went to his snapchat to say I noticed a lot of people were saying I gave them a gay vibe first of all I'm not gay second of all it shouldn't make a difference if I was or wasn't and for me personally I say it's that last note that really rings true to me. Why does it matter? What does it change? I mean, my answer is to put that personally, or it doesn't matter and it changes nothing. But also too, while I think it would be very easy to be like, wow, what an insecure guy. To that I would say it never feels normal

when people are saying things about you that are just not true. And also society may be more progressive and accepting than ever, but I think it's ridiculous to make fun of a 20 year old who feels insecure about what people are saying about their sexuality when we still live in a society where someone is outed. Right, someone's outed, turns out they're gay or bi or into trans women, trans men, and you just see the ridiculous amount of hate, bigotry, just general mockery that is thrown their way. And yet we still have people standing around going, oh, I can't believe that Shawn Mendes has an adverse reaction

to people thinking he's gay. With examples all over the internet of people saying that Shawn Mendes' comments here make him a homophobe. Because he's pushing back on a label that people are forcing on him in the same interview where he's saying, even if I was, what would it matter? Also acknowledging the fact that he doesn't like the part of himself that is even concerned about it.

And this kind of going after Shawn Mendes, calling him a homophobe, there was an op-ed from The Guardian where they called it essentially an own goal for gay men. Because ultimately when you kind of boil down what he's really saying here, he acknowledges that there's part of, some people would call it toxic masculinity. He acknowledges this kind of ingrained thing in himself, he says that he hates it, and then he preaches acceptance. No matter how I look at and think of this situation It always boils down to the same thing Why would it matter as long as what you are doing is legal with a consenting adult or adults? I don't know your life

It just doesn't change anything and also even if it turned out that Shawn Mendes was gay It doesn't make the situation any less worse no matter how famous someone is It is not your right to poke and prod them out of the closet. But all of that said that, that's a story, that's my personal takeaway, and I pass that question off to you. What are your thoughts around the situation? Oh, and this is kind of an afterthought, but I should also point out, this wasn't the only reason people were freaking out about this interview. Sean also made the admission that he smokes marijuana, saying, I love weed, I wouldn't tweet that, not yet at least, but it's really good for me. When I'm home, I'll smoke and then play guitar for seven hours.

And all of a sudden, all these articles popped up about fans losing their mind, being so disappointed and angry and worried. Some of them bordered on so stupid I couldn't tell if someone was just incredibly young or trolling. Some of the tweets featured include this one saying, Sean, please don't smoke another weed. I don't want you to overdose and pull a Stan Lee on us. As a fan, I'm really worried about your health. Four crying emoji faces. There were some other big reactions, but then also people coming to the defense of Shawn Mendes. Some saying it's not a big deal, people like Elijah Daniels saying it's not a big deal, especially when you consider your other faves are snorting coke. And I'm not even gonna really touch on the weed debate part of this.

I just wanna say that I very much appreciate that Shawn Mendes, while speaking to a reporter on the record for a feature on him, said, I wouldn't tweet that, not yet at least. Sean, were you high during the interview? Do you know that things off of Twitter can get on Twitter, right? Yeah, I still have the same question regarding this story, but I had to just mention that last part because it left me amused.

Then let's talk about some big YouTube slash business news. So yesterday, very briefly in Today in Awesome, we talked about YouTube Premium, which if you don't know, the benefit is you get no ads, but at the same time, you still support the creators. You watch, there's a background play, you can download videos. But one of the big parts that was advertised

is you also get YouTube Originals, right? And that's where people were able to watch exclusive series and shows. Some of the standout hits being Cobra Kai, Liza on Demand, Buddy System, BTS had a BTS series. But it's now being reported that that content may no longer be behind a paywall in the very near future. And we've seen YouTube's Chief Business Officer,

Robert Kinsel, hit on one of the reasons why they're making this change, saying, "'If you look at our originals over the last few years, "'our main goal was to drive subscribers to YouTube Premium,' "'adding it received advertiser interest about products "'such as Liza on Demand that were previously ad-free,' "'and adding, but through experimentation, "'we've also learned that we can make a lot of the projects work incredibly well

when we make them available free to users. And while I think that there are a lot of places, like I saw a headline from Gizmodo reading, "'YouTube finally seems to get "'that we don't want to pay to watch its shows.'" Right, and I think there are going to be a lot of people that position this story as, "'Oh look, YouTube's failing.'"

But what I personally believe, and I could be wrong, I'm not on the inside of YouTube, at least not on all the nooks and crannies. I personally believe that YouTube learned through all of this experimentation that while they may get new subscribers to YouTube Premium for specific content, the reason people are staying subscribed to YouTube Premium is the utility. The removal of ads, the background play for video, the ability to download videos for when you're not gonna have internet connection but you still want to be amused by a YouTube video.

Also the knowledge that you are helping support the creators that you are watching even though you're not getting ads. That is the reason people are saying subscribed and not the very good series I mentioned or the thinning. And based off the monetary gain that they're getting from the onboarding of new YouTube premium subscribers for individual series like Liza on Demand, that probably pales in comparison to what they could get a brand to dish out to be a part or a premium sponsor just for that. And personally, I say I'm a fan of this change. It's more content for everyone, even if they change the model in the meantime to be windowing where it's initially behind

YouTube Premium, then it goes ad supported. Because if they're able to make all of this economically viable, that just means we're gonna get more and more, hopefully also from organic creators, people that came up on the platform, then able to do something extra. But we'll see, I acknowledge that when it comes to YouTube and new programming, I'm extremely biased and very hopeful.

And then let's talk about Google and China. There's been a lot developing this week. On Monday, we saw Amnesty International announcing that they were protesting Google's plans for a censored search engine for China by starting a petition, saying in a statement, quote, "'In 2010, the largest search engine in the world "'made a promise not to support China's censorship

"'of the internet, but in August 2018, it was revealed that Google was preparing to break their promise. Adding, Google has been working on a secretive program to relaunch its search engine in China, codenamed Google Dragonfly, even if it means cooperating with the Chinese government's repressive online censorship and surveillance. And according to the reports around this,

this search engine would be able to blacklist certain words or phrases, and would link Chinese users' search records to their phone numbers, which if true, is immensely horrifying. And as part of this protest on Tuesday, we saw Amnesty International staging demonstrations outside of Google offices in the UK, Canada,

Germany, Hong Kong, and Spain. Also releasing a promotional video for Dragonfly called Wanna Job at Google? That includes a spoof on their former motto. Google, don't be evil, except when it's profitable. And in fact, yesterday we saw Google employees joining the movement by publishing an open letter on Medium calling for Google to drop Project Dragonfly.

Now prior to this, organizers said that they've been voicing opposition to this project in-house, including 1,400 employees signing a petition earlier this year. But this, this public declaration, this is a massive new move. And in their post, they say, "'We are among thousands of employees

"'who have raised our voices for months. "'International human rights organizations "' and investigative reporters have also sounded the alarm, emphasizing serious human rights concerns and repeatedly calling on Google to cancel the project. So far, our leadership's response has been unsatisfactory. And also going on to say that this opposition is not because China is involved, but because this would be used to suppress vulnerable people. Writing, Dragonfly and China would establish a dangerous precedent at a volatile political moment. One, that would make it harder for Google

to deny other countries similar concessions. Personally, I will say if Dragonfly is as it is described, I think these employees, they have a very valid argument. If Google bends over backwards for a regime like the one we see in China, where it involves censorship and the suppression of human rights, then why wouldn't they do it elsewhere? If getting that market share, the ability to have a seat

at the table is that important to them, that they would make that move, really where is the line? And I mean this in pockets internationally and even long-term domestically. Joe Rogan has this bit in his latest special that I think kind of hits on a note of anything is possible. And when we look to the United States, we got the Declaration of Independence in 1776.

It seems so far away that so much time has transpired, but if you really look at it, it was essentially three people ago. And to the people that want to ruin his joke, yes, I am aware that yes, the life expectancy now is around 78 to 82, but that has changed over the years. But it's the idea that matters there. Think of everything that changed, was created,

was destroyed over 240 years. Then think of what can transpire over 80 years. I mean, I'm just 32. I'm going to be 33 this Saturday. Thank you in advance for your birthday wishes. If you would like to get me a present, you can make a donation to pkdcure.org. The main point being, I've seen massive change over my life, both good and bad. On the positive end, I grew up in an analog world and I have a digital adulthood.

I didn't grow up in a time where the entire world was essentially connected. Where I didn't have infinite information and misinformation just at my fingertips. But I also grew up never thinking something like 9-11 could happen. But then that became a reality, a reality that kids in school now learn about that didn't live through it. They're learning about it like we learned about the Kennedy assassination, World War II, World War I. That's why it's important to look internationally, to look at the trends, because what's happening there can eventually happen here. Might come in a slightly different form, it might happen a long time from now,

but once a corner is turned, that it has been made apparent that it is possible elsewhere, it is possible here. Actually, on that note, in the Medium post they add, "'Many of us accepted employment at Google "'with the company's values in mind, "'including its previous position "'on Chinese censorship and surveillance,

"'and an understanding that Google was a company "'willing to place its values above its profits. After a year of disappointments including Project Maven, Dragonfly, and Google support for abusers, we no longer believe this is the case. This is why we're taking a stand. Reportedly the post began with just 11 signatures from employees but has now grown to more than 400 with a post saying that they will continue to update the signatures as people reach out. While this is not nearly as many as when it was an in-house move,

these are people signing their full name and position at the company publicly. And out. While this is not nearly as many as when it was an in-house move, these are people signing their full name and position at the company publicly. And as far as Google is concerned, they have said that they are just merely exploring the concept and are not close to launching a search project in China. However, at the same time, over the summer, reportedly employees were told that the project's goal

was to launch between January and April of 2019. And so while I want to believe Google, those reports to me are very concerning. And with all of that said, the story there, I of course have my opinion, I'm very passionate about it. I am also aware that there is a debate here. I've seen people point out and argue that, you know, this is a situation where China, the government of China,

is the one insisting on the censorship. And so Google not providing a search engine will not change the fact that people are already going to be censored. People also arguing further that even a censored Google would be better than the search engine that they use there called Baidu, and saying that before Google left China, it was considered to have better search results that were more accurate and be slightly less censored Google would be better than the search engine that they use there called Baidu. And saying that before Google left China,

it was considered to have better search results that were more accurate and be slightly less censored than Baidu. And some adding that you cannot try to change something for the better if you're not initially a part of it, if you're just trying to do it from the outside. But at the same time, you have people pointing out that this would just make Google complicit.

Even giving the benefit of the doubt that they would be slightly less bad. Being slightly less bad than the very bad doesn't make you good. And so with all of that said, that's the big reason why I wanted to talk about this. I was very interested in your opinion on it. And that's where I'm going to end today's show.

And of course, remember, if you're one of the three people still watching, hit that like button, support the video. Also, if you want more in the future, if you're new here, hit that subscribe button. Additionally, if you missed yesterday's and or Monday's Philip DeFranco show, you can click or tap right there to watch those.

But with that said, of course, as always, my name's Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in. I love yo faces and I'll see you tomorrow.