The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 1.29 Youtube Conspiracy Theory Problem , Jussie Smollett, Venezuela & More

Episode Date: January 29, 2019

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Sup you beautiful bastards, hope you're having a fantastic Tuesday. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show and let's just jump into it. And the first thing we're gonna talk about today is actually something I wanted to talk about on Friday, but we already had a full-lock show, and that is a story around conspiracy theories. And I don't mean that we're going to tell you about a conspiracy theory, but the subject of conspiracy theories. And the reason we're talking about this is this past Friday, YouTube made an announcement that was initially overlooked, but then blew up, that they were going to be cracking down on conspiracy theory videos, as well as controversial videos.

And the specific type of content they referred to was something they labeled borderline content. Content they described in their blog post as, coming close to, but doesn't quite cross the line of violating our community guidelines. And the way they're cracking down is they're not going to remove those videos, but they'll begin reducing recommendations

of borderline content and content that could misinform users in harmful ways, such as videos promoting a phony miracle cure for a serious illness, claiming the Earth is flat, or making blatantly false claims about historic events like 9-11. And based on other wording in this post, it seems like it's meant to curb the spread

outside of an initial audience, because they explain, "'As always, people can still access all videos "'that comply with our community guidelines and when relevant these videos may appear in recommendations for channel subscribers and in search results adding we think this change strikes a balance between Maintaining a platform for free speech and living up to our responsibility to users as far as this being a move because of their responsibility To users. I mean that becomes a question about intent You know YouTube might actually care that they're throwing people down these rabbit holes of conspiracy theories, or it is really tired of all the mainstream articles that are damaging the YouTube brand that say that they're allowing people to go down these crazy rabbit holes. And not even just allow, but that they're incentivized because of someone staying on the site that's beneficial for YouTube.

Now, as I said, you know, this story got picked up by some outlets, but it didn't gain a lot of traction until Shane Dawson, in what I've personally found to be a very intelligent move, used a screenshot of one of the articles talking about this as a way to promote his new conspiracy theory video that is being released tomorrow. Although I will say, I don't think that they're targeting people and videos like Shane Dawson, that's my personal belief. Right, I think this is more about YouTube not wanting

to actively recommend videos like Sandy Hook conspiracy theories, the anti-vax movement, Pizzagate, or just obviously there's a range here. But obviously whenever YouTube announces a system and there is not complete transparency of is this affecting me or it's not, people are automatically going to assume

that it's going to hit them. And that's exactly what I personally told them when they were briefing me on this. And so that's the concern part of the community. As far as the effectiveness of what they're doing, I mean that is going to be questionable. YouTube even said in the blog post, this is a gradual change, but as recently as the 27th,

you had people like Peter Adams, right? He's the head of education at the News Literacy Project. He posted a video to Twitter where he said, "'I searched should I get my child vaccinated on YouTube, "'signed out in a privacy browser, "'and the up next suggestion algorithm "'queued up an anti-vaccination video after just one click.' "'And then adding from there, things didn't get better.

"'Here's my rabbit hole path.'" And so the big issue here isn't what popped up in the search results, although that is a different conversation to have. As Peter explained, it was a video from Johns Hopkins Medicine presenting survey data about why some parents refuse the HPV vaccine. It's that the next thing that was recommended,

put up right for your eyeballs to consume, was a bunch of, in Adam's own words, extreme and dangerous misinformation. And so it's going to be very interesting to see if these recommendations continue forward, if the system does actually evolve. Yeah, ultimately that's where we are. I get why YouTube is doing this.

I also get why creators are concerned. I am myself concerned. Whenever a system is put into place, there's some process that in the backend, there isn't really any transparency. We don't know if it's happening to us or not. I think that's cause for some concern. But yeah, with that said, of course,

like I always try to do, I wanna pass the question off to you. What are your thoughts around this? Does it make sense? Yes or no? Are you happy they're doing it? Yes or no? Any and all thoughts, I'd love to hear from you.

And then let's talk about Apple in the news for a reason they're probably not a fan of. As you might've seen, there's a major iPhone FaceTime bug that was discovered this past Monday. The bug seems to rely on Apple's FaceTime group chat feature, the feature that for some reason allows you to FaceTime up to 32 people.

You don't even wanna have relationships at the level of we FaceTime each other with 32 people, let alone talk to 32 people at the same time. But I digress, the bug relies on that feature and can in some cases pick up both audio and video of the person you're calling without them even accepting your call. Reportedly, this bug works on iPhones and iPads

running iOS 12.1 or later, and Apple PCs running the latest Mac OS Mojave. And that is because that is when they added the group FaceTime feature. And there are places and people out there showcasing how you do this. I'm not going to be one of them. I'll let you do whatever the hell

you're gonna do in your life. I don't wanna be complicit with your shenanigans. But as you can see from what essentially is the end of a how-to video on this, you can hear audio and video on a phone that is not accepted. Hello? But as you can see, it looks like the call

is still waiting to be accepted. If you're getting called, you don't know that your audio is accessible, so when you're like, "'Dammit, why the hell is Karen calling me?' Karen can hear you." And that's not a great thing, considering Karen is also apparently a person that is fine with exploiting a bug

so that she can hear you without you knowing that she can hear you. Lots of red flags. What's even scarier is if the person you're calling hits the power button for some reason during the oncoming call, it actually connects the video feed too, all while it still says the call is waiting to be accepted. However, once the video is connected,

the audio apparently gets turned off. Now as far as Apple's response to this situation, they said that they are aware of it, saying they have identified a fix that'll be released in a software update later this week. Also, in the meantime, it appears that Apple are aware of it, saying they have identified a fix that'll be released in a software update later this week. Also, in the meantime, it appears that Apple has disabled the group FaceTime function. Additionally, if that is not enough,

you don't feel comfortable, you can go into your settings and actually turn FaceTime off. On your phone, you do that in settings. On your computer, you do that in the actual FaceTime app. What's also kind of kicked this blunder up a notch is a controversy around when they should have been aware of this happening, because when looking into it, there was actually a Twitter user who tagged

the official Apple support account on January 20th, and they told them about the bug and claimed they even submitted a bug report, saying, My teen found a major security flaw in Apple's new iOS. He can listen in to your iPhone slash iPad without your approval. I have videos. Submitted bug reports to Apple support, waiting to hear back to provide details. Scary stuff. Hashtag Apple, hashtag bug report at Fox News. And then a day later, writing to Tim Cook, saying this is real, trying to get Apple's attention to get this address. I'm just a mom of a teenager who found a huge problem

in your new update. I've verified it myself, someone from Apple should respond to us. And so when the bug started making headlines yesterday, the same user shared additional tweets, saying they had also emailed Apple's product security team over a week ago. They also appeared to share a screenshot of that email,

and you can see the team looks like they responded, however it's not clear from the screenshot what they said or when they responded But at the same time you also have people saying, you know, this is just one random user out of nowhere It is not unreasonable to think that something like this might slip through the crack. But yeah, I mean it's 2019 I feel like every month every week every day we get a version of a story that's like hey Guess what things that you think of private? Haha. Nope. one, no company is invulnerable to the oopsie. And it's why it's really more important than ever that just on all our devices, our actions, our transactions,

that we add layer upon layer of security because other stuff's gonna fail. You gotta have redundancies because it's not a matter of if anymore, it's just a matter of when. And then let's talk about this very troubling situation. This was easily the most requested story today as we were filming.

And a big thing of note here is that this is still a developing situation. So I'm gonna talk about what is being reported. According to reports, early this morning, Jussie Smollett, who's an actor on Fox's Empire, was attacked while walking on the streets of Chicago. According to Fox News, the Chicago Police Department told them in a statement that a 36-year-old cast member,

who Fox News says they can also confirm is Jussie Smollett, told them that he was walking at 2 a.m. when he was approached by two unknown men who yelled out racial and homophobic slurs, with the police adding that the actor told them the men struck him in the face with their hands and poured an unknown chemical on him before wrapping a rope around his neck.

According to reports, the two attackers fled the scene and Jussie self-transported to the hospital. There, he reportedly has a fractured rib, but is in good condition. We've also seen Chicago police issue a statement saying, "'Given the severity of the allegations, "'we are taking this investigation very seriously "'and treating it as a possible hate crime.

"'Detectives are currently working to gather video, "'identify potential witnesses, "'and establish an investigative timeline.'" As well as being a black man, both Smollett, as well as the character he plays on Empire are gay. Also, as I mentioned, this situation is still developing. There are certain things being reported here that aren't being reported there.

For example, one of the things I did not see in the Fox News as well as the CNN article was something that TMZ reported, saying the two attackers allegedly yelled, "'This is MAGA country' at him." There's also more down this specific avenue, but a lot of it's coming from sources I've never seen before. Many outlets like the Slates of the World

that do mention the MAGA country part, they're out there making sure that they're saying according to TMZ first. So right now I'm personally just waiting for more information and details to come in for it to be confirmed by the authorities. But still obviously seeing these reports, looking online we've seen a lot of people

really outraged, scared. Also speaking out like co-creator of Empire, Danny Strong tweeting out, "'I'm deeply horrified and saddened "'by racist and homophobic attacks against Jussie Smollett He is a kind and profoundly talented soul whom I respect with all my heart the terror of racism and homophobia has no place in our Society it is the most indecent way to live whoever did this do not forget that you are nothing but hate-filled Cowards while Jussie's talent and activism will continue to shine a bright light onto the world for decades to come Yeah, that's where we are with this story right now.

I wish Jussie Smollett a quick recovery, and I really hope more information comes to light very soon. And then let's talk about more updates from Venezuela. Now to talk about what's new, I think it's important we kind of do a TLDR recap. Last Wednesday in Venezuela, we saw Juan Guaido declare himself interim president until elections can be held.

And here he was able to do so because of a constitutional provision that says if there's not a president or vice president, then the president of the National Assembly will be the interim president until new elections can be held. And the National Assembly, which is really the last body in Venezuela that was actually elected by the people, they do not consider Nicolas Maduro the legitimate president

because they believe he was not elected fairly. And this is for the just numerous reasons that we have gone over and over again. And so we saw countries and their world leaders choosing sides with the United States, Canada, Brazil, the EU, and the majority of South America coming out and saying they recognize Guaido as the legitimate president. Actually, the number of countries supporting Guaido

is now at 21. And then on the other side of this, you have countries like Russia and Cuba who say they support Maduro. As far as Maduro is concerned, he has refused to step down, saying he is the rightful president and that the move to oust him is a US-backed coup.

Also, as we mentioned last time, Guaido called for people to protest in the streets, and we've seen thousands and thousands of people coming out to show their support. And those demonstrations have continued through the week, but also unfortunately, during that week of protests, more than 40 people were killed. This, according to the UN Human Rights Office spokesperson,

Rupert Colville, who also said that at least 26 of those people died after allegedly being shot by security forces or by members of pro-government armed groups during the demonstration. And adding that at least five additional people were also allegedly killed by security forces during illegal house raids in poor neighborhoods. We've also seen reports that soldiers

and paramilitary gunmen appear to be hunting opposition activists who they call the Squalid One. Caldwell also stating that the UN rights office believed that at least 850 people were detained for protesting between January 21st and the 26th. This also including 77 children, some as young as 12 years old. Also this last Friday, Guaido called for more peaceful protests at a rally in Caracas, which marked his first public appearance since being declared interim president. And of course here many worried that if he appeared in the public, he would risk arrest or worse,

especially since Maduro had threatened to a few times. But actually on this note, America's director at Human Rights Watch, Jose Miguel Vivanco said, "'They won't dare touch Guaido. "'There's a new dynamic at play. "'Even while Maduro's government continues "'to brutally repress the poor and invisible, "'they won't harm Guaido because he has so much

"'international support.'" And also on this note, we even saw Guaido himself telling supporters to continue to put pressure on the authorities if they dare to kidnap me. He also, and this is a big note, he told demonstrators to distribute pamphlets explaining an amnesty law that would give legal protections to members of the armed forces

if they switched their loyalty to him. And this is part of his continued effort to get the military on his side, which is especially important because most experts have said that the control of the military is crucial in forcing new elections. But as we talked about in our last update, we saw military leaders broadly expressing and reaffirming their support for Maduro. And since then, the military has largely solidified its support for Maduro. Yesterday we saw Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez tweet a statement on the official Defense Ministry account stating,

It's time for patriotic revolutionary Bolivarian activism. This is the activism that today takes hold of us. In this new phase of defense of the country, we are not going to deliver it, we are willing to die for it. But at the same time, while the military has for the most part stayed in stride with Maduro, we've also seen some defectors.

On Saturday, Venezuela's military attache in Washington, Colonel Jose Luis Silva announced a support for Guaido. So with that defecting from the government, and which has been considered a big blow to Maduro. Also outside of the military, we saw the Venezuelan cons so with that defecting from the government and which has been considered a big blow to Maduro. Also outside of the military, we saw the Venezuelan consul in Miami defecting and in a video recognizing Guaido as the legitimate president of Venezuela.

We also got some massive news out of Washington around this. Yesterday, US National Security Advisor John Bolton and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin held a White House briefing, and at that briefing, Bolton formally announced sanctions against Venezuela state-run oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, with Bolton also giving promises of repercussions if U.S. diplomats or certain Venezuelans were hurt by Maduro's government.

I reiterate that the United States will hold Venezuelan security forces responsible for the safety of all U.S. diplomatic personnel, the National Assembly, and President Guaido. Any violence against these groups would signify a grave assault on the rule of, and President Guaido. Any violence against these groups would signify a grave assault on the rule of law and will be met with a significant response. Which then prompted this exchange with a reporter. Mr. Bolton, if I could, you mentioned the words significant response. How do you define significant response? Well, we're not going to define it because we want the Venezuelan security forces to know how strongly we think that President Guaido, the National Assembly, the opposition, and most importantly American personnel are not harmed. This is an unequivocal

statement on our part. Is there any circumstance under which American forces would get involved? Look, the president has made it very clear on this on this matter that all options are on the table. And also after the announcement, some reporters took a picture of a notebook that Bolton was holding during the briefing, which appears to say, Afghanistan, welcome the talks,

and 5,000 troops to Colombia. We also saw a response to the White House briefing from Maduro who gave a live television address on a state run broadcaster during the address saying, so now John Bolton openly calls for a coup from Washington. He did so desperately today with his wild eyes full of hate and I tell you John Bolton, John Bolton openly calls for a coup from Washington. He did so desperately today with his wild eyes full of hate and I tell you John Bolton, John Bolton and Venezuela, what we will have is democracy

and respect for this constitution. In Venezuela, our armed forces are not coup mongers. Maduro also saying that he would hold Trump responsible for any bloodshed that might occur in Venezuela. He also accused the United States of attempting robbery saying red alert Venezuela, the United States today has decided to embark on the path of robbing the firm Citgo from Venezuela.'" For those that don't know,

Citgo is a US-based petroleum company. Maduro adding, "'It is an illegal path, "'and I have given precise instructions "'to the president of PDVSA, which owns Citgo, "'to initiate political and legal actions "'in US and global courts in order to defend "'the ownership and wealth of Citgo.'"

We also saw Russia criticize the US sanctions. A Kremlin spokesperson stating, "'The sanctions continue an undisguised interference in Venezuela's internal affairs, calling them illegal. You also had a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman say foreign interference only makes situations more complicated. But you've also had people pointing out

that Russia and China do have vested economic and political interests in Venezuela, with both countries providing billions of dollars in loans to Venezuela. And in fact, we've also seen reports that private military mercenaries linked to Russia have been flown to Venezuela to protect Maduro, although Russian officials deny these claims.

With that said, that's ultimately where we are right now. You have countries like China and Russia, but they are in the minority. You also have other countries that are seemingly closer to a stance like the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, and France on Saturday saying they would recognize Guaido as the president if elections weren't scheduled in eight days.

But to that, Maduro responded, "'Nobody gives us an an ultimatum, all of Europe is bowing down to Donald Trump. But ultimately that is where we are right now. I think the more this goes on, the more people come to the realization that Maduro is a dictator. He can wear all the wrappings of a democratically elected leader, but all the information points to no. But at the end of the day, unless there is international intervention, I don't know how the power shifts. And that's because without outside intervention, ultimately it boils down to who's the military backing?

Right, who's got the killing machines and who does not? When things fall into chaos, it is ultimately violence that is key. So I guess where I fully want to end this story, I know that since we started covering this story, more and more people from Venezuela have been watching the show. To you, I say, please stay safe am I'm hoping and wishing for the best and that's where I'm going to end today's show

With that said I'd like to say thank you to the 4% of you that watch these videos and hit that like button Thank you for letting us know we appreciate you appreciating us Also, if you're new here you want more of these just hit that subscribe button I'd also recommend ringing that bell to turn on notifications Also, remember if you missed you want to catch up on yesterday's Philip DeFranco show this morning's extra news show Click or tap right there to watch those box with that said of course as always my name is Philip DeFranco You've just been filled in I love yo faces, and I'll see you tomorrow