The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 1.8 The LA Fire is Crazy & Raging Out Of Control, 9-Year-Old Trump Tattoo Scandal, & Today's Wild News

Episode Date: January 8, 2025

Subscribe for New shows every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday @ 6pm ET/3pm ET & watch more here: https://youtu.be/j94TfaglbK0  Go to http://rocketmoney.com/pds to cancel your unwanted subscriptions with Rocket Money. Use code “PHIL” for $20 OFF your first SeatGeek order & returning buyers use code “PDS” for $10 off AND your chance at weekly $500 prizes! https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/PHIL  Daily Dip newsletter subscribers can win up to $1,000 in SeatGeek credit so make sure you’re subscribed: https://www.dailydip.co/ https://BeautifulBastard.com $20 Mystery Boxes and the Best Tees & Hoodies on the Internet according to my mom! WATCH YESTERDAY'S SHOW: https://youtu.be/j94TfaglbK0?si=vsCSKM3VjTDIzkqL – ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 00:00 - Fires Spread Across Los Angeles as 80 MPH Winds Carry Flames 08:03 - Artist Faces Backlash For Tattooing 9-Year-Old Girl 11:37 - Sponsored by RocketMoney 12:47 - Man Behind Cybertruck Explosion in Vegas Used Generative AI, Police Say 15:18 - DOJ Intends to Release Election Interference Volume of Jack Smith Report 16:54 - South Korean President Holed Up in Compound Resisting Second Arrest Warrant  22:32 - Sponsored by SeatGeek 23:08 - Comment Commentary ——————————   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  ———————————— For more Philip DeFranco: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-philip-defranco-show/id1278424954 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6ESemquRbz6f8XLVywdZ2V Twitter:   https://x.com/PhillyD Instagram:   https://instagram.com/PhillyDeFranco Newsletter: https://www.dailydip.co TikTok:   https://www.tiktok.com/@philipdefranco?lang=en ———————————— #DeFranco #LosAngeles #Fire ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What's happening in Los Angeles right now is horrifying, right? Los Angeles is on fire. You have tens of thousands being forced to flee their homes. And I mean, the fires are in almost every direction of the LA metro area with coastal Pacific Palisades, Eastern Pasadena, and even the Valley to the North, all experiencing blazes that are quickly growing and encroaching on the densely populated areas. Something that you can clearly see from this clip of a flight pulling into LAX last night. Now, so far, overall, two people have died and over a thousand homes, businesses, and other structures have been destroyed across the area.

But of course, as I'm filming this, everything is actively developing. So let's talk about what we know and start with the first blaze, the Palisades fire. So this one was first reported around 1030 a.m. yesterday in the Pacific Palisades. And according to NBC Los Angeles, it was started by a backyard fire in the small affluent suburb north of Santa Monica. However, it didn't take long to go from a small backyard fire to a thing that burned over 2,200 acres as of last night, and now nearly 11,000. You know, when you compare that to other fires in California that burn nearly a million acres, that might seem like a small number, but I mean, we're talking about right in the middle of a major city. And this is the fire is not considered to be contained at all and just keeps

growing as hurricane-strength Santa Ana winds are just fueling it. And in the Palisades and other areas like Malibu and parts of Santa Monica, we've seen that in full effect. So much so that Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, both of which straddle the Santa Monica mountains and where the fire seems to be moving. Now with that, so far, 10,000 homes are under mandatory evacuation orders. And the photos and the footage coming out of this, it's crazy. Like for example, some of the most startling footage I've seen are these two guys who left a home as the fire was closing in.

We tried, we tried bro. Sorry. Sorry. We tried our best. We tried our best. We gotta get out of here. Luckily, it seems like they got out okay. But as you can see, everything around them is burning.

And while I feel like it should go without saying, please do not do this. If you are facing down a fire, just get out. You will be shocked at how fucking fast these things move, especially when they are moving as fast as the wind goes, right? They're having gusts of up to 80 miles per hour. And while, you know, we hope for the best,

it is expected that this fire will get far worse as it grows, although it does seem to be moving westward towards Malibu and Ventura counties. And while obviously that is horrible for the people living in those parts of the Santa Monica mountains, they are far less densely populated than if the fire moves south into Santa Monica or West LA itself. And again, with that, remember that is just one fire out of the several burning through LA right now. With the second biggest being the Eaton fire, which is in the San Gabriel mountains, and that's

already killed two. With the blaze as of recording threatening Pasadena and its suburbs. Also, I will say if you're unfamiliar with LA, you know, me saying the fire is in the mountains, that does not mean that they're not close. These mountain ranges, right, they cut through the cities. And just like the Palisades fire, this one seems to have started yesterday and then quickly blew up, burning over 10,000 acres so far. And unfortunately, that's also not where

the similarities end because it's also led to forced evacuations of tens of thousands and homes burning down with thousands more in danger. And with this one, investigators are still trying to figure out exactly what caused the fire. But as you can imagine, they also have bigger things to worry about in the short term, especially because fires just keep popping up.

I mean, in Santa Clarita, there's the Hearst fire, which went from like 50 acres at 10, 10 p.m. last night to over 500 just four hours later, with all that leading to its own mandatory evacuation orders that push into the city itself. You know, one of the biggest issues facing firefighters right now is manpower, right? These fires all propped up very quickly

and one after the other. And the cities here, they just don't have enough people to fight the fire with Northern California and Arizona all sending firefighters to try and help out. Help that'll sorely be needed because officials are warning that the worst of all this, it is yet to come as the weather's not expected to get much better over the next day.

Although I really wanna stress, it is very hard to predict what's gonna happen because blazes can make localized weather conditions that help feed the blazes. And it's actually a common theme that you'll see with these fires and most SoCal fires. The region is pretty much always very dry with a lot of vegetation in the nearby mountains and hills,

making it a prime candidate to burn. And then in areas where there's not a lot of plans to burn, well, you have homes which are particularly susceptible because almost all of their construction is wood construction. And then you add dry, fast Santa Ana winds carrying embers all over the place, and it's a recipe for disaster.

Now also, while this whole terrifying situation is playing out, there are a few other things that have popped up. One of the things that people are super worried about is what's gonna happen to all those homes or businesses that were damaged or destroyed from these fires. Because for years now, fire insurance has become increasingly more expensive,

if you can even get it. And that trend, I mean, it really escalated after the massive fires in 2017 and 2020, where insurance companies got completely wrecked. And it's been argued there that part of the reason insurance companies took such a beating those years is because they didn't properly take into account

the risk of wildfires, leading to California having some of the lowest insurance rates. And so like just last year, State Farm announced that it was cutting the policies of 30,000 homes and 42,000 other buildings across the state. And for Californians without insurance, they'll need to rely on the fair plan, which is kind of an insurer of last resort, where its day-to-day operations are run by private insurance

companies, but it allows those who can't otherwise afford things like fire insurance to get it. But that plan can also still be prohibitively expensive, leading many to just forego the coverage completely. Even those who were covered, they may be in for bad surprises. The plan is super underfunded, especially after ballooning since 2020 to cover 452,000 homes. Now, one attempt to try to fix this was a new regulation passed in December that requires private insurance companies to offer insurance to those in wildfire prone areas. But it reportedly doesn't necessarily address it being prohibitively expensive. And then also another thing that's popped up, right? Speaking of companies doing less than ideal things in this situation,

there's Airbnb. Because they've been getting a ton of shit online after it came out that they were seemingly not refunding Airbnb visits to Pacific Palisades. With a scene, for example, one customer posting on X the message she received from Airbnb, which claimed that the fire was, quote, not covered under our major disruptive events policy. With her then also adding some more context, saying, to clarify, I called Airbnb to request help with rebooking accommodations farther from the danger zone. As always, their policies fail to account for context. The fires keep getting worse, and unfortunately, many others are probably stuck explaining bushfires to someone in another country right about now. And all this to say that she wouldn't be getting any refund for

canceling her visit. And so as you can imagine, a lot of people came to her defense, writing things like, a similar thing happened to me as a host during Hurricane Beryl. My Airbnb lost power for eight days. Day one after the hurricane, Airbnb was super helpful. Day two, they were basically like, "'Why can't you host your guests? "'If you can't, we're gonna penalize you "'for canceling last minute.'"

As well as I had a similar experience when Hurricane Helene hit. You could turn on the news and see it rolling in. My property had no power or internet and had to tell the guests, good luck. The Airbnb staff said, "'We have to wait for X person to approve "'that this is a covered event before taking any action. Beyond disappointing and pathetic. However, it appears what we've seen is that Airbnb has since backed down and said

that the areas being affected by the fires are now covered under their major disruptive events policy and added, our thoughts are with everyone affected by the fires and we have issued a full refund. Right. And then the last thing that I'll touch on with what's been popping up is we're seeing a lot of people mad at Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and the city's decision to cut the LAFD's budget by $23 million back in June for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, with many claiming that this is partially why the department is struggling to contain the fires. However, you have some saying, you know, that $23 million claim, it's not completely true, although pointing this out is, I think, splitting hairs a bit, and that is because the budget was slashed by $17.5 million.

And so people aren't wrong, right? The budget got slashed just by $5.5 million less. And this is good people pointing out that when she signed the budget, Bass assured people that the department would continue hiring and expand training for medical training. Since being paramedics is such a huge part

of being a firefighter in LA. And then a statement you had her adding, "'This budget serves as a reset, in part by continuing to hire for critical positions, including police officers and firefighters, while eliminating some of the department's vacant positions, thereby prioritizing our city family over empty desks. And with that, reportedly the LAFD hasn't responded to multiple media outlets asking for a comment about whether the budget cuts affected their readiness, which, you know, I think is understandable. They have their hands busy right now. But also here, you know, you have some noting that while $17.5 million

is a lot of money and is a cut, it's just about 2% of the department's annual budget of about $820 million. In this, as you have others arguing, you know, there's more nuance here, considering the fact that the LAFD is hardly the only department dealing with this. And that, because like with most wildfires in the state,

many agencies are responding, including the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, alongside the Los Angeles County Fire Department. In this, as resources are still expanding, with Governor Gavin Newsom announcing that the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection alongside the Los Angeles County Fire Department. And this is resources are still expanding with Governor Gavin Newsom announcing that the California National Guard would have resources deployed to try and help.

For now, we'll have to keep our eyes on this, hope for the best. If you're out there, please, please be safe. If there are warnings, listen to them. If there are mandatory evacuations, leave. Mother nature is fucking undefeated. Period, end of story. And while you're maybe leaving a comment about your opinions, reactions, or even experiences with all that chaos in that

first story, or maybe you're just digesting it, let me say, welcome back to the Philip DeFranco show. You daily dive into the news, how the news is covering stuff, and how people are reacting to things. And I'll just remind you, because this is our third show back, be subscribed, turn on all those notifications, because I got a brand new show for you every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday at 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 p.m. Pacific. With that said, I got a lot of news you need to know about today, starting with this huge backlash we're seeing

about this tattoo artist who gave a little girl a permanent tattoo. So this is Sosa, and in a recent Instagram post, he told the story of how he tattooed a nine-year-old girl. And according to the original post, this girl walked into Sosa's shop called Black Onyx Empire Tattoo in Yuma, Arizona with her parents. And notably, I will say in Arizona, it is legal to tattoo children with the permission and in the presence of their parents. So this is technically legal. And according to Sosa's post, the girl

initially said that she wanted a portrait of Donald Trump tattooed on her neck, but he then talked her down to an American flag on her upper arm. With the men also claiming that he tried to scare the parents away by overcharging by several hundred dollars, quoting them 500 on what would otherwise be an $80 tattoo. But instead, he said the parents were all for it and they jumped at that price. Sosa then tattooed this little girl

and said that she should think on that Donald Trump portrait for a year and if she still wants it, then she should get it. And like I said, that was the original post. Now, a year later, that girl is 10 years old and she apparently came back, but just for a touch up of her flag. Or with Sosa saying the girl told him

that she did end up changing her mind about the portrait. So as you might expect, especially if you're watching right now and part of, or all of your brain is going, what the actual fuck? This story blew up. It got a bunch of headlines and it sparked a lot of backlash,

especially against Sosa. You're seeing people online saying things like, anybody that tattoos a nine-year-old deserves to be thrown in prison. You're a garbage human saying things like, "'Anybody that tattoos a nine-year-old "'deserves to be thrown in prison. "'You're a garbage human being.'" And, I am pro-tattoo all the way, the more the better. However, this is insanity. What tattoo artist agrees to tattooing a nine-year-old,

regardless of parental approval? This is beyond stupid. With also Sosa on this telling a local news outlet that the backlash hasn't just been limited to him, saying, "'I'm getting a lot of hate from it. "'My employees are getting hate from it. "'My business, I'm getting so many bad reviews on Google. With the man going on to say

that this situation was an exception, right? Saying that he usually cuts off at 15 years old with parental consent. But in this case, there was more to the story than what was in the original post. Slamming now that the girl and her parents, that they're from Turkey, and after listening to their story

and hearing how important this was to them, he decided to give her the ink. Saying they were just very grateful to be here in the United States. They were just being grateful. They said they saw Donald Trump as a hero and adding to the New York Post, it was a cultural thing.

Would I do it again? Probably not. However, I was moved by the story they had. You know, with all this, even in the face of all the backlash, you have Sosa standing by his decision, even as he's also saying there should be more regulations on tattooing minors.

Saying, I don't think tattoos on kids is the right thing to do. I think laws should be made. I think a SOSA law should be made because I posted it. There should be an age limit.'" However, I will say that hasn't stopped even those within the tattoo industry itself from criticizing SOSA's decision here.

For example, Ben Shaw, who's with the Alliance of Professional Tattooists, telling WBTV that, "'While tattooing a kid may be legal with parental permission in Arizona, that does not make it ethical,' saying, "'It can give us professionals a bad reputation if you see a 10 year old child with a professional tattoo

and they say they got it at a tattoo shop. That degrades us as a whole. Also, I do wanna note here that amid all the conversation that's very much been focused around Sosa, there is also a lot of criticism towards the parents of the girl. With us also seeing people online saying things like, "'No nine year old should ever be getting a tattoo

"'in the first place. "'The parent of that child is so irresponsible "'and does not deserve their kid at all. You know, with all that, I got to pass the question off to you. What are your thoughts here? Is SOSA in the wrong? Are the parents in the wrong? Is the law in the wrong? Yes to all, no to all. What are your thoughts here? But from that, I'm going to take a quick break from the news to say the new year is great for setting goals and getting organized. But let's be real. Like we don't magically get more hours in our day. And that is exactly why tools like today's sponsor, Rocket Money, are key for me.

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But with that said, jumping back into the news, we should talk about how the guy behind the Las Vegas Cybertruck explosion and attack, apparently he used chat GPT to help plan it. It happened New Year's Day at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas, and it was reportedly carried out by a highly decorated soldier

who had been deployed to Afghanistan twice and was struggling with PTSD, among other issues. With us previously really only knowing that the authorities said that he took his own life just before the explosion. But now police have just released some additional information about both the attack and the attacker. And with that, they said the guy used chat GPT

to work out some of the details of the plan. But I'm saying that they uncovered searches on chat GPT for information on explosive targets, the speed at which certain rounds of ammunition would travel and whether fireworks were legal in Arizona. And so with that, you had the sheriff of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department calling the use of AI here a quote, game changer and adding,

"'This is the first incident that I'm aware of on US soil "'where ChatGPT is utilized to help an individual "'build a particular device. "'It's a concerning moment.'" Now with that, we've seen OpenAI respond to the situation, saying in a statement that they are committed to seeing their tools used responsibly and that they're designed to refuse harmful instructions and adding, in this case,

ChatGPT responded with information already publicly available on the internet and provided warnings against harmful or illegal activities. We're working with law enforcement to support their investigation, but also everything that we're learning about, it's not just AI. For example, some of the new information being that during the drive to Vegas, the attacker said to have stopped to pour racing grade fuel into the truck, leaving it dripping. Also saying that the truck itself was loaded with 60 pounds of pyrotechnic material and another 70 pounds of birdshot.

They also released journals this guy had used, one of which he'd labeled surveillance, and it reportedly showed he believed that he was being tracked by law enforcement, though the authorities say that he wasn't on anybody's radar. Also an interesting thing is that the journals reportedly show that he considered carrying out his plan

in Arizona at the Grand Canyon's Glass Skywalk, but we don't know for sure why he changed his mind. And this, his report said that the writing showed that he was concerned about being labeled a terrorist or the public thinking that he wanted to kill other people besides himself. And with that, the authorities said that he left behind cell phone notes saying he needed to, quote, cleanse his mind of the brothers I've lost and relieve myself of the burden of the lives I took. And while investigators have been working to determine whether this attack was politically motivated, law enforcement says that it seems like this guy didn't have any ill will toward Donald Trump or Elon Musk. In fact, one of the notes that he left behind reportedly said that the country needs to rally around them. And that is on top of

what the authorities said last week, that the attacker had left notes saying that the explosion was meant to be a wake-up call to the troubles in the United States, writing, Americans only pay attention to spectacles and violence. What better way to get my point across than a stunt with fireworks and explosives? Though still with this, apparently there's more to come, with the authorities saying

that there is still a six-page document that they're reviewing with the Defense Department, so they haven't released it yet. And this is, they're also still looking through a laptop, a mobile phone, and a smartwatch. But from that, let's shift to the Donald Trump news today. Because as it turns out, we may actually be getting Special Counsel Jack Smith's

findings on Donald Trump, or at least some of them. Because Smith's report had two volumes, one on the case regarding Trump's alleged interference in the 2020 election, and the second on Trump's handling of classified documents. And just this week, the Trump-appointed judge in the classified documents case temporarily blocked the release of the whole report.

But now today, the Justice Department is saying that it intends to still publicly release part one on the election, while holding back the part on classified documents to avoid any prejudice as a case plays out against two of Trump's co-defendants. With attorney General Merrick Garland arguing that because part one of the report has nothing to do with the defendants in the ongoing case, an injunction blocking part one's release isn't needed. But with that, the filing did say that officials still intend to share a version of part two to members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees upon request.

With lawyers saying there, this limited disclosure will further the public interest in keeping congressional leadership apprised of a significant matter within the department while safeguarding defendants' interests. So with all this, as far as when we'd actually get the election section of the report, that's unclear. It is still blocked. And as the Guardian explained, the DOJ's efforts to get it out, it's still going to face hurdles. So the department is arguing that they have the authority to, at the the very least release that first section. So, you know, that is something that's still going to have to play out. But then regarding the second volume, you had the AP explaining,

the announcement lessens the likelihood that the report on the classified documents investigation, which of all inquiries against Trump had once seemed to carry the greatest legal threat, would ever be released, given that the Trump Justice Department almost certainly will not make the document public, even after the case against the co-defendants is resolved. But really with all this, what I'd say is,

as far as how this is gonna play out or when it's gonna play out, that remains to be seen. Especially as we are now just 12 days away from Trump officially becoming president. But then let's switch to international news, because we need to talk about just how insane the situation in South Korea is right now. Because really, we're just waiting to see

if all hell's about to break loose as law enforcement there is getting ready to take another crack at arresting President Yoon. Because really, we're just waiting to see if all hell's about to break loose as law enforcement there is getting ready to take another crack at arresting President Yoon. Because Yoon, he's under criminal investigation for insurrection over his failed attempt to impose martial law early last month. With that whole dumpster fire leading to his impeachment on December 14th,

with then the man who took over as acting president, the former prime minister, also being impeached on December 27th. But even with all that, while Yoon's presidential powers were suspended, he technically remains in office. With the country's constitutional court, they have roughly six months to decide whether to remove him or hold a new election or reject the impeachment and restore his powers. And in the meantime, as president, Yoon retains immunity from most charges except

insurrection or treason. But of course, insurrection is exactly the charge being levied against him, with a South Korean court actually issuing warrants to arrest Yoon and search his office and residence at the end of last year. And that then led to a nearly six-hour standoff last week in which authorities were kept from executing the warrant by a human chain of hundreds of presidential security service and military guards.

With all of this notably happening at Yoon's residence in an upscale district of Seoul known as the city's Beverly Hills, where his neighbors include the likes of K-pop stars from BTS and the families behind major Korean conglomerates like Samsung and Hyundai. Except now, it's not just a luxury villa. It is a fortress and potential battleground. I mean, the Presidential Security Service has literally been fortifying the compound this week with barbed wire and barricades, using buses to even block access to the residents. And

all of this as you had investigators asking for an extension of the warrant to arrest Yoon, with a court actually reissuing a warrant yesterday. And now, as a recording, we're waiting to see what the second attempt is going to look like. With a seeing yesterday, the head of the office leading the investigation, even apologizing for failing to arrest the president after the standoff last week, but also saying, we'll do our best to accomplish our goal by thoroughly preparing this time with great determination that the second warrant execution will be the last. Though also with that, he didn't specify how many days the court had given him before the new arrest warrant expired. Also, while he didn't object when members of parliament called for more aggressive action to execute the arrest warrant,

he didn't discuss exactly what options were being considered to achieve it. But of course, given the potential involvement of hundreds of armed men on either side, there's some concern about how this could end up. Though notably there, acting president Choe Song-mok reportedly urged authorities to do their best to prevent any injuries to citizens

or physical conflict between government agencies while executing Yoon's arrest warrant. With one expert even suggesting that police should consider delaying the use of force in favor of so-called cognitive warfare. So for example, using loud speakers to persuade presidential security agents that they could face personal consequences

by obstructing justice that could mean the end of their careers and possible criminal records. Though there, a key thing is the police have already reportedly ordered the head of the presidential security service to appear for questioning on potential charges of obstructing justice, which he has so far ignored. But they're now also threatening to seek a warrant

to detain him if he continues to defy summons. And so one of the big questions that's been raised by all this is whether the presidential security service needs to be reformed. Which on that, you had one South Korean lawyer, for example, arguing that the service has, quote, turned itself into a private militia.

And then you had an opposition lawmaker claiming, the Presidential Security Service is a symbol of imperial presidency and a legacy of our authoritarian past. And adding, we need to stop it from acting above the law and acting like an agency of absolute power. But also with all this, of course, this isn't just about politicians and law enforcement.

This whole situation has divided the country's people as well with pro-Yoon protesters facing off with anti-Yoon folks and competing protests near his residence. You know, while surveys suggest that the majority of South Koreans, they're not fans of Yoon, the supporters he does have, they're fucking hardcore. With for example, one even telling the New York Times,

"'When I leave home for this rally every day, "'I tell my wife that this may be the last time "'she sees me alive because I am ready to die for my cause.'" And going on to say, this is not just about protecting President Yoon, it's about saving my country for my descendants. And so with all of that, one of the big things that we've seen US media in particular highlighting

is that the scene that we're seeing there, it might look pretty familiar to Americans. For example, Yoon's supporters chanting, "'Stop the steal!'' donning red MAGA-like hats, and even waving US flags and CNN reporting here. For Yoon's conservative supporters who have adopted the slogans and iconography associated with the MAGA movement,

they see similarities between South Korea's current political crisis and the US where twice impeached Trump is set to take office for a second term on January 20th. And with that, what's also notable is that Yoon's own defense of his actions, they do have similarities to Trump's rhetoric. With him, for example, without evidence,

making allegations of voter fraud and talking about needing to defend the country from enemies within and without. And this is Yoon's followers have claimed that the April 2024 national election, which the opposition there won in a landslide, was stolen from them. And many of Yoon's supporters reportedly believe without evidence that the president is being removed from office because he was investigating the alleged election fraud. And this is yet another similarity. You have some blaming foreigners. For example, one protester who is holding a stop the steal sign with the

Chinese flag claiming the Chinese people have come to our country and stole our votes. And then on top of that, you have some of these supporters hoping that Trump will take action when he enters office with one quoted by Reuters saying, I hope that Trump will take office soon and raise his voice against the rigged elections in our country, plus around the world, so as to help President Yun to return to power swiftly. Though, to be clear there, right now, Trump has not commented on Yoon's situation and there are no clear ties yet between his campaign and Yoon's backers. But then with all that said, as far as where these conspiracy theories are coming from, you have many people pointing their finger at YouTube.

Because Yoon's own talking points, they've reportedly echoed those of right-wing YouTubers in the country. For example, even a columnist for a conservative-leaning South Korean newspaper claiming last month that Yoon's so-called YouTube addiction had caused him to fall into a world of delusion dominated by conspiracy theories.

And this is also a dozen participants in a recent rally interviewed for a New York Times article, for example, were reportedly all firm believers in the conspiracy theory saying that right-wing YouTubers were their primary or only source of news. With one telling the Times, they speak the truth.

I no longer read newspapers or turn on TV. They are full of bias. And so with all that, while we're waiting to see how everything with Yoon's impeachment and criminal case turn out over the next few days and months, we may also very well be dealing with something that's gonna shape South Korea's future

for years and years to come. But then to switch to the final things today, let's do a congratulations and let's talk about yesterday. Starting with congratulations to Stevie T, the latest SeatGeek prize winner who just won $500 in a weekly SeatGeek giveaway, was their choice of SeatGeek tickets. Stevie saying they're planning to see Fant SeatGeek giveaway. It was their choice of SeatGeek tickets. Stevie saying they're planning to see Fantagram with the winnings.

And for the rest of y'all, that's right. SeatGeek and the Daily Dip are still giving away up to $1,000 in tickets. And you should definitely enter today if you haven't already. You just add code PDS to your SeatGeek app profile for a chance at the weekly $500 prize. No purchase necessary. And $1,000 prizes are available to Daily Dip subscribers who add code PDS, newsletter doubling, entries, and winning. So yeah, go take advantage of that.

But then, like I said, let's talk about yesterday with some comment commentary. And holy hell, y'all were active in those comments. I think we had twice as many comments on Tuesday than Monday. And a lot of those comments, unsurprisingly, had to do with the Trump press conference and just some of the wild things that were said.

We had Bad Birdie with one of the most popular comments on the video saying, living in America as it is right now is like being stuck in the backseat of an alcoholic driver. With Enrem responding saying, being any of America's neighbors is like being a pedestrian, having that alcoholic driver veering towards them. Though this is you also had a few people like Brian popping up saying, I loved everything he said. Meanwhile, we had Taylor saying, Trump's already going back on all his campaign promises,

but he's going to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico? Thank God he's addressing this very real problem Americans are facing, the name of a body of water. Others saying, living in Western Canada, I'm just sitting here thinking, oh no, they want to liberate our oil. Meanwhile, we had Selena chiming in saying, as a Dane with no personal connection to Greenland, I find it incredibly and deeply concerning that this man is treating an entire country like it is a piece of real estate. Like the fact that people live there and it isn't just an empty plot of land seems like an afterthought. And adding, this whole make Greenland great again thing he has going on is so fucked. And the way he is so willfully threatening an ally to the United States is

just fucking crazy. But then adding, I'm not even surprised anymore. I am just deeply, deeply disturbed about and dreading what the next four years are going to bring. Meanwhile, you had others musing Hank Green at Canada joins the EU on his 2025 bingo card. And I know he meant it as a joke, but if that's the alternative, I'll take it. And then finally on this topic, since we seem to be jumping from country to country, having a representative with Nene saying as a Panamanian, I don't understand how someone can be so oblivious

to the amount of suffering the United States caused to my country when they invaded Panama, basically made their own country inside of sovereign land, Google the canal zone, and burned down whole neighborhoods, inciting riots and looting, all to catch one dictator. And let's not forget the martyrs of January 9th. Still, I remember that he is an orange man with too much control and an army of scared people who only want better living

prospects. The world is so messed up. And then, as far as the news and the story that got the second most comments, it's kind of somewhat connected, is what's happening with Facebook and Zuckerberg. Because you had Zuckerberg killing Meta's fact-checking program, making several references to Donald Trump and the incoming administration. And there, y'all were saying things like, it's crazy that people look at moderation statistics and say, this is bias against the people I choose to believe, and not, this is highlighting how much people are lying to me and I should really stop listening to them. Meanwhile, you had others simply mocking things that Zuck was saying. Right, things like, the people in Cali are too biased, so we moved to

Texas where there is no bias in sight. Thanks, Facebook. Yeah. In general, the comments on this kind of echoed the statement. If fact checkers seem to have a political bias, even when what they have is verifiable proof behind their fact checking, doesn't that tell you it's not a bias and that reality just doesn't conform to your feelings? And with that, I will say as someone in the space, it is there is a constant battle of trying to show facts that somehow override feelings. And it is a losing battle. It's really, I think, a big focus for me in 2025 is, you know, talking about the news, doing that. But then, especially with politically charged or political stories, covering how other places that are covering it are covering it. Because I would say, I think the bulk majority

of people these days have gotten algorithmically siloed into their own kind of belief systems as far as what they're consuming for news. I mean, it's something that if you're just relying on the algorithms of social media companies is incredibly simple to happen to you. You actually kind of have to punch your way out of that box because people have limited time in a day. That's something that I want to try to make more easily accessible. But what we're doing now is not the final version of everything that I want that to be. So just maybe that's a little too inside baseball. With all that said, that's where I'm going to leave it. And of course, remember the Philip DeFranco show. Yes, it's a little too inside baseball. I don't know. With all that said, that's where I'm gonna leave it. And of course, remember, the Philip DeFranco Show, yes, it's a news show,

but I also want it to be a conversation. So if you have thoughts, opinions, reactions to any of the news that I covered today, let me know what you're thinking in those comments down below. One, because I'm just interested, and two, you may be a part of this segment tomorrow. But until then, for more news you need to know,

you can click or tap right there. I got links in the description. And of course, as always, my name's Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in. I love your faces, and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.