The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 3.17 We Need To Talk About This Spring Break SHUTDOWN, Trolls, COVID-19 Crackdown, & More

Starting point is 00:00:00 Sup you beautiful bastards, hope you have a fantastic Tuesday. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco show. Buckle up, hit that like button And let's just jump into it. And the first thing we apparently need to talk about today is spring breakers It appears that while a lot of people have been talking about self quarantining, social distancing Uh, still a hell of a lot of people are like nah, I'm good bro. People and outlets sharing videos and pictures of what appears to be Clearwater Beach, South Padre, Texas. Right, and these posts of course blew up because you had a number of people going like, are you living in a different reality? But also because you had celebrities like Shane Dawson pleading,

Starting point is 00:00:32 tweeting, if you live in this area, please text your friends kindly and ask them to go home. I genuinely don't think people understand how rebelling against social distancing could make this worse for everyone. Though I will say on the note of like, if you live in the area, contact your friend. As a former Floridian, I'm pretty confident in saying most of those people probably are not local. And the thing is if certain specifics to this situation were changed I probably would not get angry. Right like if the only people who are at risk were the people going to the beach. Right that would be one thing but it looks like the people involved here, they're young, they're healthy so yeah they'll probably be fine. But the worry is if they get it, they go home, they give it to grandma or someone that's immunocompromised,

Starting point is 00:01:07 it feels incredibly selfish. Now I try to remove myself from my own brain. I try to put myself in someone else's shoes and I'm like, well maybe they feel like they're being robbed of a unique experience. But everyone else is right now. There is a sacrifice being made. I think adding on to the anger,

Starting point is 00:01:24 I feel it's like, well you know those people don't have to be there, this is recreational. And then it makes me think of the experiences of everyday Joe and Jane Blow that are still having to interact with others for their job because they're living paycheck to paycheck. That they will unfortunately cross paths with someone who is ignorant or reckless.

Starting point is 00:01:39 Right, and so I think it's good that we see headlines from over the weekend like Miami Beach temporarily shut down. And also, this afternoon we got the news that the Florida governor announced bars and nightclubs will be closed for the next 30 days. All parties accessing public beaches in the state of Florida must follow the CDC guidance by limiting their gatherings to no more than 10 people.

Starting point is 00:01:55 And restaurants will now be required to limit customer entry to 50% capacity. Once again, to reiterate, not to cause panic, but just so people are aware and concerned and act accordingly. This is a serious issue. As of recording this video, there are more than 194,000 confirmed cases.

Starting point is 00:02:10 And just in the United States, there are over 5,700 known cases, but of course, remember asterisk. That's with an incredible lack of testing in this country. Over 7,800 deaths worldwide. Internationally, I mean, we saw a big move out of France. French President Macron announcing that citizens cannot leave their homes. This for 15 days or they'll face punishment. And then the European Union announced its external borders will be closing for 30 days,

Starting point is 00:02:32 though people within can still travel. Up in New York, you have the New York City Council Speaker calling for a citywide quarantine, but New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said it would not happen. Though last night he was on CNN saying that he's been asking Trump for the Army Corps of Engineers to help him build hospitals, saying they are not ready for the increased number of cases that they know they are going to get. Also today we saw New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio saying that a decision will be made within the next 48 hours on whether to order the city's more than 8 million citizens to shelter in place. That's a similar move to the six counties we talked about in San Francisco yesterday. Also a thing to consider with this, according to a study that was published today

Starting point is 00:03:05 in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers said that the virus that causes COVID-19 remains infectious in the air for up to three hours, on copper for up to four hours, on cardboard for up to 24 hours, and on plastic and stainless steel for up to three days. So just some things to consider, I guess. Really the only way that feels appropriate

Starting point is 00:03:23 to end this story is once again, don't be stupid, stupid. And then let's talk about, I don't know if it's right to classify it as good news. It's at the very least interesting entertainment industry business news. And what I'm talking about is that Universal has now announced that The Hunt, The Invisible Man, and Emma, which are currently in theaters,

Starting point is 00:03:40 will be made available on demand starting on Friday. And along with that, Trolls World Tour, which comes out in theaters on Easter, will also be released as a video on demand starting on Friday. And along with that, Trolls World Tour, which comes out in theaters on Easter, will also be released as a video on demand that same day. And all four of these movies will cost $19.99 for a 48 hour rental. With the company adding in a statement, "'Given the rapidly evolving and unprecedented changes

Starting point is 00:03:55 "'to consumers' daily lives during this difficult time, "'the company felt that now was the right time "'to provide this option in the home as well as in theaters. "'NBC Universal will continue to evaluate the environment as conditions evolve and will determine the best distribution strategy in each market when the current unique situation changes. Following this, you had a variety of reactions to this news.

Starting point is 00:04:13 Troll star Anna Kendrick tweeted, "'I'm so happy we can spread the joy "'while everyone stays safe' with a fair amount of excitement "'that these pictures are coming to home so quickly "'and at a time where people really feel "'like they could use them.'" But on the other side of this, you also had a number of people upset

Starting point is 00:04:25 at the cost of a rental being $20. Though I think the easy argument against that is this is not a regular sort of release. The regular model is a movie gets a theatrical release, there's a lot of money and tickets, and then not until later down the road do you get, you know, a rental for $4.99 or $6.99 or whatever it is for you.

Starting point is 00:04:41 Whereas the rental fee here is essentially like a super, super discounted ticket for your family, unless you're watching it by yourself, which hey, no judgment, but I know as someone with two kids, I'm very excited about this move. And if anything, I'm very, very interested to see what kind of numbers we see in the first two weeks that it has a theatrical and VOD release.

Starting point is 00:04:58 Because if this test does see good numbers, then maybe we're gonna see the evolution of an industry. And honestly, I know a lot of things are concerning, a lot of things are unknown. If there was a time that this test could be successful, it would be now. With people social distancing, self quarantining, how many families do you have at home just needing to entertain the children? Also, it turns out that Universal is not alone with this strategy. We've seen a number of studios making similar decisions. For example, Warner Brothers will be releasing Birds of Prey starring Margot Robbie to VOD early.

Starting point is 00:05:23 Also, Disney Plus announcing that Frozen 2 and The Rise of Skywalker will be hitting the streaming service early as well. With that, there are also online calls for Disney to release Onward there, which just came out two weeks ago in theaters. And one of the big important things to point out is all of this comes after a few major things.

Starting point is 00:05:36 First of all, for the past week or two, we've seen major films like the new James Bond movie push back the release date because of the coronavirus outbreak. We also saw reports late Sunday night and early Monday indicating that The Week weekend's box office was the worst in 20 years. The box office as a whole brought in only $55 million

Starting point is 00:05:50 over the weekend, which is a number so low, usually one movie could make that on its own. You know, and this is in part because a number of people are practicing social distancing, but also because a number of movie theaters in certain states have been closed. Right, and so major chains like AMC and Regal have announced nationwide shutdowns.

Starting point is 00:06:04 And of course, as often is the case, when someone loses, another wins. And as far as who wins in this situation, it's gonna be television and streaming services. According to Nielsen, during major events that force people to stay home, media consumption can increase about 60%. And that data reportedly comes from findings

Starting point is 00:06:19 when looking at viewing patterns from times when people were stuck inside due to large weather events. Also noting that people who work remotely generally watch three more hours of television each week than those who work in office. When it comes to streaming, I mean, just looking at Disney Plus alone, reportedly half of the homes in the United States

Starting point is 00:06:32 with kids under the age of 10 have already subscribed to the service. Right, so now with all these kids stuck at home with no school, not only are subscription numbers expected to increase, but also the amount of time that kids spend watching Disney Plus as well. But that's kind of the now. As far as entertainment moving forward, this may actually hurt everyone in the long run.

Starting point is 00:06:48 We're seeing production on TV shows and movies suspending, shutting down. And right now the impact of this is unknown, but Wired said that right now Hollywood is on track to lose some 20 billion dollars. But ultimately, like everything about the situation, we're gonna have to wait and see. And I specifically will be focused on how Trolls World Tour does. I'm sure Universal would rather not beta test this with a movie that costs them so much money. You know, unique times, unique measures. And the question I'll pass off to you with this is,

Starting point is 00:07:15 whether it be in the interim or, hey, forever, moving forward, would you like to have a future where theatrical releases are released for $20 at home? Is that something that works for you? Also, if yes, at what price does it not make sense for you? Or think about how much it costs for theater tickets, how many tickets do you normally go, like is it usually a family event?

Starting point is 00:07:33 One, it'll be interesting to hear from you now, and two, it'll be interesting to see how true or not true that is when we see Trolls World Tour release. And then, as you've probably noticed, the internet has been heavily saturated with information about COVID-19 in recent weeks. Some of it accurate and some of it just not. And the World Health Organization has labeled

Starting point is 00:07:49 this phenomenon an infodemic, an overabundance of information that makes it hard for people to find trustworthy sources and reliable guidance when they need it, which I know a lot of you are like, yes, that's literally the only reason we're here. Now though, to face this pressing issue, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Reddit, Twitter,

Starting point is 00:08:02 and YouTube released a joint statement on Monday saying that they are working closely together in the response efforts, writing, "'We're helping millions of people stay connected "'while also jointly combating fraud and misinformation "'about the virus, elevating authoritative content "'on our platform, and sharing critical updates "'in coordination with government healthcare agencies

Starting point is 00:08:18 "'around the world,' and adding, "'We invite other companies to join us "'as we work to keep our communities healthy and safe.'" Now, as far as how they plan to tackle misinformation over the past few weeks, each company announced and updated its own individual strategy. Facebook and Instagram, for instance, already banned ads and listings selling medical face masks,

Starting point is 00:08:33 with product director Robert Leather in promising more action if the company sees people trying to exploit this public health emergency. On top of that, the site's rolled out automatic pop-up cards featuring information from the World Health Organization and other health authorities authorities among other measures. Facebook's COO Sheryl Sandberg even said that Facebook,

Starting point is 00:08:48 which has a policy of not checking political ads posted by politicians, would remove coronavirus misinformation shared by politicians, celebrities, and private groups. Meanwhile, you have Reddit setting up a banner on its site linking to the coronavirus subreddit. This for timely discussions and information from the Centers for Disease Control.

Starting point is 00:09:02 We've also seen Reddit say that it will hold AMAs, right, Ask Me Anythings with public health experts. Additionally, they've warned that they may apply a quarantine to communities that contain hoax or misinformation content. Right, and here, essentially a quarantine will remove the community from search results, warn the user that it may contain misinformation

Starting point is 00:09:16 and require an explicit opt-in. Then, as far as Twitter, they said that they will be monitoring tweets during the outbreak, but warned that they're relying more on automated systems to help enforce rules while they support social distancing and working from home. With the company saying this might result in some mistakes, but adding, we're meeting daily to see what changes

Starting point is 00:09:31 we need to make. Here though, the platform did stress that it will not permanently suspend accounts based solely on automated enforcement systems. Also saying that it would review its rules in the context of COVID-19 and consider the quote, ways in which they may need to evolve to account for new account behavior.

Starting point is 00:09:44 Similarly, Google warned customers to expect some changes while its employees work remotely. In a blog post saying that its products will be active, but quote, "'Some users, advertisers, developers, and publishers "'may experience delays in some support response times "'for non-critical services, "'which will now be supported primarily

Starting point is 00:09:58 "'through our chat, email, and self-service channels.'" YouTube specifically warning that there may actually be an increase in videos that are removed for policy violations because like Twitter, they are depending more on automated systems. However, YouTube explained that it will only issue strikes against uploads where it has quote,

Starting point is 00:10:12 "'high confidence' that the video violates its terms." Now of course, creators can appeal this decision, but notably, it is incredibly likely and should be expected that there will be a delay in the response time. All right, so potentially concerning situation because I feel, you know, once you get humans out of the process, it feels a little bit like the policy is a Jesus take the wheel.

Starting point is 00:10:30 But ultimately as far as the effectiveness, the potential errors, the fallout from this, we're gonna have to wait to see what that is. And then let's talk about prisoners because it's actually incredibly important to include prisoners in our discussions about the coronavirus and public health for a number of reasons.

Starting point is 00:10:42 And this is actually especially true in the United States, which has the highest prison and jail population in the world by far, with 2.3 million people in prisons, jails, psychiatric hospitals, immigration detention centers, and other similar facilities. And in fact, according to the Prison Policy Initiative, even the states with the lowest incarceration rates

Starting point is 00:10:58 still lock up more people than nearly every other country in the world. Now, a thing with these facilities is that they are super high risk when it comes to the spread of the coronavirus. I mean, kind of just think about it. The vast majority of incarcerated people cannot social distance.

Starting point is 00:11:10 Right, in US prisons you have multiple people sharing cells, often upwards of four. You have this huge group of people sharing bathrooms, eating areas, laundry facilities. Often they live in incredibly unsanitary conditions. Oftentimes toilets don't have lids, they double as sinks. So you get people washing their hands and brushing their teeth there.

Starting point is 00:11:24 And that's even when they can wash their hands. In some places soap might only be available if you buy it at commissary. That in itself discourages proper hygiene and it's actually made worse by the fact that almost all prisons do not allow hand sanitizer because of its alcohol content. And all of that is made even worse

Starting point is 00:11:39 by a number of other structural issues. Prisoners are notoriously underserved medically. In many places basic medical care is often delayed or denied. This making it more likely that if there was a virus spreading, it might not be detected or it might just be brushed off as the flu. What's more, this was news to me,

Starting point is 00:11:53 a large percentage of prisoners are already considered at-risk populations. According to the New York Times, around 40% of incarcerated people suffer from chronic health conditions, meaning some of them are immunocompromised. And reportedly, there are about 274,000 people that are 50 or older in state and federal prisons. Now, at this point,

Starting point is 00:12:07 you might be thinking, well, if there is a coronavirus outbreak in a prison, at least it's going to be contained. That is not true. Those facilities have tons of people going in and out every day, including employees, healthcare workers, vendors, visitors, educators, and more. In some towns, a local jail or prison is a major employer. And to make matters worse, more than half of the people in jails are only in there for two or three days. There are also concerns regarding homeless populations here as well. This according to an expert who works

Starting point is 00:12:30 at both local jails and homeless shelters saying, "'There's a lot of overlap between jailed "'and homeless population. "'Someone released from a jail then could infect someone "'in a homeless shelter or vice versa, "'causing an outbreak that could bounce back and forth "'between both places, infecting far more people "'than would be in a jail or homeless shelter alone.'"

Starting point is 00:12:44 Right, so there's a lot of in and out, meaning that it wouldn't just be bad for the inmate population, but for everyone. And according to Dr. Homer Venters, the former chief medical officer of the New York City jail system, coronavirus in these settings will dramatically increase the epidemic curve, not flatten it,

Starting point is 00:12:57 and disproportionately for people of color. Right, and so as far as what should prisons and other facilities do, you know, you do have experts suggesting pretty basic solutions like making hand washing and other good hygiene practices easier know, you do have experts suggesting pretty basic solutions like making hand washing and other good hygiene practices easier and more accessible. Others also recommending canceling activities and non-medical visits, especially near areas

Starting point is 00:13:11 that already have an outbreak. But also, some experts have now pointed to recent guidance by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, where in addition to screening staff and people who are arrested, the guidance also recommends a couple of more unconventional possibilities. Things like releasing some inmates

Starting point is 00:13:24 either permanently or temporarily. Also asking police to consider scaling down arrests for certain crimes so you have fewer people getting thrown into the mix. And in fact, already there are some places that are taking precautions. Last week, the Federal Department of Correction announced visits from family, friends, and attorneys

Starting point is 00:13:36 will be stopped in all 122 federal correctional facilities in the United States. Also after an employee at a correctional facility in Pennsylvania tested positive, 34 inmates and staffers were quarantined. The New York City Department of Correction is screening people for flu-like symptoms and looking at other measures,

Starting point is 00:13:49 which they will likely ramp up after it was reported yesterday that a Department of Correction investigator died from the coronavirus. And even more significantly, some places have even started releasing inmates. According to reports, hundreds of inmates were released from a county jail in Ohio over the weekend. Yesterday, the Los Angeles County Sheriff

Starting point is 00:14:04 also announced that it was releasing some inmates as well as cutting down on how many people they were bringing into custody. This is also happening in other countries as well. If you didn't see, Iran has temporarily released a total of 85,000 prisoners. There's also pressure in other countries as well. I mean, before Italy was completely shut down,

Starting point is 00:14:18 we talked about jailbreaks in the country, specifically in Milan. There's over concerns that the prison population was not being properly cared for amid the outbreak. According to reports, 16 prisoners were able to break free. They're still at large. Though that number is nothing compared to Brazil, where reportedly hundreds of prisoners

Starting point is 00:14:32 escaped from four different prisons. This reportedly in connection over fears around the coronavirus and anger over Easter holidays and visits being canceled. But ultimately, that's where we are with this right now. It is gonna be very interesting to see, you know, how the situation with prisons and jails develops internationally,

Starting point is 00:14:46 but also specifically with the United States. Because once again, we just have such a high number of people incarcerated. And that is where I'm going to end today's show. And hey, if you liked today's video, hit us with that like. If you're new here, you wanna make sure you get more of these videos in the future, subscribe, and definitely click that bell so it looks like this.

Starting point is 00:15:00 Also, if you're looking for more to watch, maybe you missed yesterday's show, or maybe you're catching this video late and you wanna watch the newest episode of the Philip DeFranco Show, you can click or tap right there to watch either of those right now. But with that said, of course, as always,

Starting point is 00:15:10 my name is Philip DeFranco, you've just been filled in, I love yo faces, and I'll see you tomorrow. I hope you liked this video. Subscribe if you like it.

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The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 3.17 We Need To Talk About This Spring Break SHUTDOWN, Trolls, COVID-19 Crackdown, & More

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