The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 2.16 "WE CAUGHT THEM!" Guess Who Got Exposed, Billie Eilish Pokimane Harassment, Blackmail, & More

Starting point is 00:00:00 Just watch. We got first and last names of six witches that are in our church. And you know what's strange? Three of you are in this room right now. Three of you in the room right now. You better look in my eyeballs. We ain't afraid of you, you stinking witch. You devil-worshipping Satanist witch.

Starting point is 00:00:27 We cast you out in the name of Jesus Christ. We break your spells. We break your curse. We got your first name. We got your last name. We even got an address for one of you. You so much as cough wrong and I'll expose you in front of everybody in this tent, you stinking witch So that completely normal insane individual is Greg Locke, the pastor of the Global Vision Bible Church So a little extra context here, he's telling his congregation about a conversation that he had with demons Who then revealed the names of those goddamn forsaken witches

Starting point is 00:00:59 Something that was just really fantastic with this video is I watched this with my wife And in the first 30 seconds she was like, how much do you want to bet some of the witches or women that he doesn't like talking to his wife because they're probably like your husband's crazy literally the moment she finished saying that he says you were sent to this church to destroy us you were sent to this church to lure us in you were sent to this church to cast spell listen some of you been sick because you befriended that witch two of you in my wife's latest Bible study and you know who you are and we're going to ask you to get out or I'll expose you in front of everybody. With Pastor Greg Locke then going on to give these witches an ultimatum.

Starting point is 00:01:36 You can leave with your spells all by yourself or I'll show up next Sunday with a stage full of brooms and I'll give you one and I'll fly your tail up out of this place in the name of Jesus but we ain't playing your spell casting witchcraft nonsense sage burning games everybody okay witches are like nope and your little dog too. You're out, witch. You know, I watch this video and I understand why so many people are like,

Starting point is 00:02:08 wow, this Greg Locke guy, he's just out there. But really the most concerning thing about this is the audience, the people eating this up, cheering it on. I'm not going to equate like what's happening here to all religious followers, but it does feel like an example of just more and more people going off the deep end. Also regarding Greg Locke,

Starting point is 00:02:25 this is not his first witch or demon rodeo. You know how some joke the Simpsons predict everything? He says that's because demons. The Simpsons predict- no, no, no. A demon used the medium of a Simpsons cartoon. He also recently made headlines for a massive burning, a deliverance from demons, which was- it was just a book burning. Writing, bring all your Harry Potter stuff, laugh all you will haters. I don't care, it's witchcraft 100%. And then, I mean, the deeper you look,

Starting point is 00:02:50 you find out he's an anti-vaxxer, COVID denier, he helps spread QAnon conspiracies. Which is also why it's not shocking that regarding autism, he says that's not autism, that's just what doctors call it, it's demons. I'm telling you, your kid could be demonized and attacked, but your doctor calls it autism. But all of that together brings us to the final two points here.

Starting point is 00:03:13 One, Greg Locke, you are our douchebag of the day. And two, it is horrifying what people are able to get away with and garner audiences with by bastardizing and taking religion to the most extreme. Be careful out there, y'all. Psychotic grifters are getting bigger audiences by the day. And then, what better way to celebrate Black History Month than wearing blackface?

Starting point is 00:03:34 Did Justin Trudeau write this script? Well, you may think this could be a month where we focus more on educating each other on racial issues, finding ways to be an ally if you're not black yourself, or just learning about actual black history, there is a preschool teacher in Newton, Massachusetts that had a different idea. Have a classroom full of toddlers,

Starting point is 00:03:51 make blackface masks out of paper plates, and then wear them. With this happening Tuesday of last week, and it became public when a mother picked up her kids from school, found out what happened, and then promptly pulled them out of that school, saying this is unacceptable and don't really understand the concept of this project.

Starting point is 00:04:02 Then word and backlash spread. Ultimately, I see kids in school in question apologizing in a Facebook post. And when the Facebook post drew criticism, it posted a statement on a window at the school saying the curriculum was not executed or completed in the manner that it should have been, so we apologize.

Starting point is 00:04:15 Adding that the daycare had closed over safety concerns, explaining that hearing of protests happening at the center will put the children and staff at risk. And finally firing the teacher who did it in the school, apologizing for what they said was an inadequate apology the first time. But yeah, ultimately that is the story. And I guess just a quick tip,

Starting point is 00:04:29 it feels weird having to say this in 2022, blackface usually not the answer. Unless someone asks the question, wait, they got fired because of what? Blackface, oh yeah, yeah, yeah, that adds up. And then let's talk about the very real issue of online harassment. No, I'm not talking about Kanye West again,

Starting point is 00:04:43 which once again, I know that he's like apologized. Give him some days and months and years to prove that this isn't just cyclical abuse. But we're not talking about Ye or Instagram, rather we're talking about Twitter and Twitter's safety mode. Right, so Twitter actually announced this back in September when they began beta testing it and described it as, "'A feature that temporarily blocks accounts for seven days

Starting point is 00:05:00 "'for using potentially harmful language, "'such as insults or hateful remarks, "'or sending repetitive and uninvited replies or mentions. So when the feature is turned on, Twitter will assess the likelihood of negative engagement, but also try to take into account existing relationships so that people you follow or often interact with are not auto-blown. Which, I will say, it'll be interesting to see how that works, because I've seen so many people end up getting like blocked on Twitter because, you know, we have our throat punch joke. Which, by the way, I've never gotten hit for, so I also have questions about if they're going to apply this to big and small accounts equally.

Starting point is 00:05:26 But, main point, they ended up rolling this out to a select small feedback group with Twitter announcing yesterday, "'After months of feedback from beta users, "'we're excited to expand this to some of you "'in several new English-speaking markets "'to gain more feedback and insights.'" With the Twitter spokesperson adding that the initial test

Starting point is 00:05:38 was for around 750 people, but now roughly 50% of Twitter users in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand will have access. The spokesperson also adding, Since the initial rollout, we've learned that some people want help identifying unwelcome interactions. For this reason, our technology will now proactively identify potentially harmful and uninvited replies and prompt people in the beta to consider enabling safety mode. Saying this update further reduces the burden on people dealing with unwelcome interaction. And let's say you've spent roughly, let's say five seconds on Twitter, you know that unwelcome interactions are a very real thing It's great for news and jokes and conversations and debates

Starting point is 00:06:08 But also harassment is a very real issue on all platforms and over the years We've seen everyday people as well as large creators like Pokemon speaking up about the hate. She's a massive streamer She's popped up in the news several times talking about the hate she and other women creators receive online something that she has said has Become more rampant and normalized even sharing specific examples of the harassment that she's faced including insulting and threatening spam messages on Twitter and elsewhere. Other creators like Addison Rae also addressing this saying bullying is real and it's not a joke. But also I do want to say on the note of Addison Rae, I am not saying that she has not been bullied. There have been examples of that that I have seen. But also we do need to make sure that this mode doesn't turn into like you don't get

Starting point is 00:06:41 criticism or we're blocking people just because of blatant criticism because recently I mean she had that Controversy where she actually like had a makeup that was like blue light Protecting and so many people were like what the fuck are you doing this dunking on her for something that has been disproven? But that said honestly I think the bigger the creator the more important is that they speak out about these things So I think it's important that we've seen people like Billie Eilish speaking up in the past about their struggles I don't know if you already saw but she was asked about online bullying in a GQ interview, and she actually said, oh god, it's unbelievable. I almost killed myself because of Twitter a couple of years ago. Like, for real. But all of that brings us to the safety feature, which more people are going to be able

Starting point is 00:07:14 to test, more people are going to get to experience, and the question is, how will it be implemented? Because I think almost everyone can agree that online harassment is a very real problem, but very few people can agree on how to deal with it. With a range of reactions being, just don't look at the internet, all the way to nuke those accounts. And so that's why with this story, I'd love to know your response. What are your thoughts on this mode

Starting point is 00:07:32 and the implementation of it? But from that, two things. First, hit that like button to help support some common sense news coverage. And two, I wanna take a second to thank the fantastic sponsor of today's show, Ridge. Y'all know, I've had a Ridge wallet before they even became a sponsor.

Starting point is 00:07:44 I love that Ridge is a minimalist front pocket wallet that's slim, RFID blocking, and comes with a lifetime guarantee. Because men's wallets just get too bulky, right? You got receipts, hotel room keys, gift cards, cash, and like just the old stuff, it's not practical for modern men and women. And the Ridge helps you carry less,

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Starting point is 00:08:20 And then, let's talk about the curious case of Jeff Bainbridge. You've probably never heard of this guy, but he's the CEO of Australia's largest whiskey company, Lark Distilling. Or rather at least he was the CEO before a video leaked of him smoking a meth pipe shirtless, and as the newspaper, The Australian put it, bundling himself in skimpy black underwear. So now he's resigned from his position.

Starting point is 00:08:37 His company's stock fell 21% by late afternoon, but it does seem like this story is actually more involved. Because according to him, he doesn't know how all of this happened. Saying the story began in December of 2015 when he was visiting a country in Southeast Asia for business. He says after a day of meetings, he meets a woman at a bar,

Starting point is 00:08:50 he goes back to her apartment where another couple's present, they share a joint and some drinks. And that is when he claims his memory fades and the next thing he knows, he's waking up in an unfamiliar apartment with two men who confront him with the video. Bainbridge recalling,

Starting point is 00:09:01 my stomach hit the ground, I was just horrified. You're like, what else happened? What else don't I remember?' Adding that he's not a methamphetamine user and doesn't know how the drug ended up in his hands. And all of that began a years-long extortion scheme in which he paid them off to keep the footage under wraps.

Starting point is 00:09:13 Initially paying the extortionist 3,000 Australian dollars and then for years, nothing happened until 2019 when they came back, this time through WhatsApp, demanding more money. Bainbridge then making 14 payments to them, totaling 9,000 Australian dollars with the demands getting bigger and more frequent. And at this point, he finally to them, totaling 9,000 Australian dollars with the demands getting bigger and more frequent.

Starting point is 00:09:26 And at this point he finally approaches a London based threat assessment agency, which says you have two options. You keep paying them for however long they're going to keep it up, probably forever. Or you stop and just pray that this goes away. With him choosing the second option, and obviously that didn't work.

Starting point is 00:09:37 With Bainbridge saying I'm a victim of extortion, but also adding that wouldn't have occurred without my poor judgment. I am deeply remorseful for my own actions. Well, I think it makes sense that he's like, not just trying to make himself out to be a victim. He's like, I, you know, I had the choice to go and put myself in this situation.

Starting point is 00:09:50 1000% does need to be remembered that that doesn't mean he is not a victim. Extortion of all kinds happens to thousands, if not millions of people every year. This is just a high profile case. It ranges from a simple threat by an ex-partner to leak nudes to international organized crime rackets. And for normal people who aren't CEOs

Starting point is 00:10:04 in multi-million dollar companies, stuff like this can be devastating because the price to keep your reputation alive is too high. And also while different, this reminds me of another story I wanted to cover earlier this week but I just didn't have enough time. Like Bainbridge was probably scared to go to the police because he was like, am I gonna get in trouble for doing drugs? But while possibly messy, I think we need to figure out how to separate certain things. Right, for example in San Francisco there's an ongoing investigation into the story of a woman who was arrested for a felony property crime, which sounds kind of like an okay who cares story, but the way they found her was from DNA collected years ago

Starting point is 00:10:30 from her own domestic violence involved rape examination. To me, that just feels insane. I'm not saying whatever crime she may or may not have committed, like that's okay. But to add all this risk to a victim trying to report a crime, I think that's horrible. Plus there are legal experts who believe that this just violates the constitutional protection

Starting point is 00:10:45 against unreasonable searches and seizures. And if you take out the human element, like I can understand, you know, the police may be like more data means more arrests, but it just feels like the authorities have their priorities backwards. If there is a situation or even concerned that they're gonna care more about you smoking a drug

Starting point is 00:10:57 rather than extortion racket, or that there was a property crime when you were raped. I don't know, that's the story, some of my thoughts on it. And of course I'll pass the question off to you. What do you think? And then y'all, we need to revisit the situation between Russia and Ukraine. So if you've been living under a rock, here's a speedrun version. Russia's been sending troops to line the border with Ukraine under the claim that they're part of military drills. This including its northern border with Belarus. And at the same time, what a happenstance. Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded that Ukraine not be allowed ever to be admitted into NATO. Not to mention past demands that included removing all NATO troops

Starting point is 00:11:23 from the region. NATO and Ukraine have denied those demands, leading to a tense standoff. And one of the big things is this is a fight on many fronts. With one, for example, being information. Right, last Friday, with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs accusing the press and Western nations of a, quote, large-scale disinformation campaign in order to divert attention from their own aggressive actions. Saying at the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, the global information space faced a media campaign unprecedented in its scale and sophistication. The purpose of which is to convince the world community that the Russian Federation is preparing an invasion

Starting point is 00:11:48 to the territory of Ukraine. But on the flip side, Western nations have largely ignored this claim, pointing out that satellite imagery can clearly show Russian troops building up along the border. And it was even shown that over the weekend, many troops left those bases to move closer to the border.

Starting point is 00:11:59 On top of that, you have the digital war. There are recent reports of Russian cyber attacks against Ukrainian banks and infrastructure systems, actions that are arguably actually engaging in warfare. All these concerns and more leading to the US to announce that at least temporarily we'd be moving the embassy from Kyiv to Lviv in Western Ukraine.

Starting point is 00:12:12 Then on Tuesday, things seem to maybe have died down. Putin claiming that Russian troops were being pulled back after finishing their drills, with his government also releasing video showing some troops seemingly leaving the region. But still, adding that major drills would continue to happen. Shortly after that, President Biden gave a statement. From the beginning of this crisis,

Starting point is 00:12:27 I have been absolutely clear and consistent. The United States is prepared no matter what happens. We are ready with diplomacy to be engaged in diplomacy with Russia and our allies and partners to improve stability and security in Europe as a whole. And we are ready to respond decisively to Russian attack on Ukraine, which is still very much a possibility." Biden reiterating that he continued to push for a diplomatic solution to the crisis

Starting point is 00:12:53 after speaking with Putin over the weekend. And such a solution, according to the president, includes, "...new arms control measures, new transparency measures, new strategic stability measures. These measures would apply to all parties, NATO and Russia alike. But Biden and Putin seem to remain at a standstill when it comes to the big question, will Ukraine join NATO? The country still very much wants to join

Starting point is 00:13:13 while also being realistic that it may not happen. However, even if it does happen, Biden conceded that if Ukraine joins, neither NATO or the US will deploy missiles to the country, but that's not enough for Putin. And from there, if Russia were to invade, the president promised to impose powerful sanctions, saying we will put intense pressure

Starting point is 00:13:25 on their largest and most significant financial institutions and key industries. However, Biden did definitively say that US troops would not go in to defend Ukraine and is instead relying on sending military equipment. Comments that may have emboldened Russian politicians or this may have already been part of the plan. With its legislature voting yesterday

Starting point is 00:13:39 to put pressure on Putin to recognize Donetsk and Luhansk, two Russian-backed Ukrainian regions. Things also escalating again when Putin started claiming that there was a genocide in those regions. Also today, you have the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs claiming that Russia was concerned about a potential Ukrainian attack into those breakaway regions.

Starting point is 00:13:53 With all this seeming to line up with what US intelligence agencies have been saying, that Russia would outright lie or false flag their way into justifying a war with Ukraine instead of it just looking like naked aggression. Also, notably despite Biden's comments about wanting a diplomatic solution and saying we're not going to go into Ukraine,

Starting point is 00:14:06 it hasn't stopped NATO from still sending more troops to the region in a show of force. This also hasn't stopped Russia from attempting a show of force in the Pacific near Japan by deploying more warships to the region. With this likely done because Japan has showed support of Ukraine, which could be partially fueled

Starting point is 00:14:17 by its alliance with the US as well, as because it has its own territorial dispute. But generally speaking, any action that could arguably provoke the Japanese to break its long-held stance on forever revoking war just seems dumb. Especially because despite being called a defensive force, Japan is one of the most powerful navies in the world. But ultimately, that is where we are, though this is still a developing situation. We kind of just have to wait to see what happens next. Especially because what's being claimed and what's actually being seen, it's not matching.

Starting point is 00:14:38 Russia continues to claim that it's pulling troops back and satellite imagery alongside videos on the ground continue to show that's not necessarily true. And while many, including myself, hope that things will calm down, it is important to remember that the possibility of an invasion is still very much on the table. But ultimately, that is where that story and today's show ends. Thanks for watching.

Starting point is 00:14:53 If you want some more new news, you can click or tap right there. I love yo faces and I'll see you tomorrow.

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The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 2.16 "WE CAUGHT THEM!" Guess Who Got Exposed, Billie Eilish Pokimane Harassment, Blackmail, & More

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