The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 3.29 Who Youtube's New Crackdown Is Hurting, Why Venezuela Might Get Even Crazier, & More

Starting point is 00:00:00 Sup you beautiful bastards, hope you're having a fantastic Friday. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show. And if you're new here, on Fridays we do things a little bit different. On Fridays I try to cover more viewer requested stories from the week. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. But with that said, let's just jump into it. And the first thing we're gonna talk about today is a viewer requested story. And that involves the updates to the YouTube situation regarding the mass disabling of comments across the platform.

Starting point is 00:00:21 If you don't recall, there was a big controversy around YouTube comments section specifically focused on videos featuring children. When you were on YouTube, you could find certain videos where it was just very obvious that there were predators in the comments. I'm gonna kinda oversimplify this part, but there were people, there were whole like campaigns meant to raise awareness around the situation. Some people used that as a situation to then seemingly attack YouTube by targeting advertisers. YouTube was hit with a wave of backlash, some from consumers, some from advertisers. They then made a big move themselves. There were a good number of YouTube accounts that were reported to the authorities. Shut down. You had people with their ads getting removed off of videos. And then of course we saw them close down comment sections on millions of videos. This then resulted in a lot of backlash towards YouTube

Starting point is 00:01:00 with people saying this is anti-creator, seemingly punishing the creator because you have predators in comment sections, just target the predators. And this is something that affected a lot of channels and outside of some of the mainstream YouTube celebrities that were hit, I mean, one of the channels that gained a lot of traction was Special Books by Special Kids. And it's a channel where they feature interviews

Starting point is 00:01:17 where they talk to someone that has a certain diagnosis. And they say this is for the intention of spreading empathy and inclusion. And personally, I wasn't aware that this channel existed until this controversy happened. It's a really beautiful channel with a beautiful goal. And like I said, for the intention of spreading empathy and inclusion. And personally, I wasn't aware that this channel existed until this controversy happened. It's a really beautiful channel with a beautiful goal. And like I said, they were one of the channels that was impacted by this. They put out a video that went viral.

Starting point is 00:01:32 It was called, YouTube's discriminatory new policies are destroying our mission of inclusion. We need your help. They started a petition to get their YouTube comment section back. That petition, as of recording this video, has over 360,000 signatures. You know, as of today, their comment section is still disabled. They uploaded a video just yesterday. I watched it in the first hour, comments disabled. And looking around on YouTube on other channels,

Starting point is 00:01:50 it appears that the crackdown's still happening. I mean, for example, another massive creator, Miranda Sings, AKA Colleen Ballinger, she posted a video called Body Update, My Thoughts on YouTube. In that video, she's talking about YouTube removing comment sections from videos. At one point she says,

Starting point is 00:02:03 I have a baby. Like, I would do anything to keep him safe. And I would do anything to keep all children safe. So me complaining about videos getting demonetized with the comments taken off is not me being like, man, that's not fair for me. It's me angry that that is not a solution to this problem. By demonetizing those videos,

Starting point is 00:02:24 all you're doing is helping the pedophile. And then, not so fun update for Colleen, that video was demonetized and the comments section removed. Colleen tweeting, so in my vlog today, I talked about how YouTube is disabling comments and demonetizing videos of innocent people instead of punishing the pedophiles

Starting point is 00:02:38 who are commenting on them. My video got demonetized and comments are disabled just because I called them out on it. This is nuts. That said, I will say the update to this story is that video has been remonetized, the comments section enabled, which kind of seemingly crushed the debate that was happening around the video.

Starting point is 00:02:50 Because obviously you had people saying, that is crazy that they would do that to your video just because you were talking about this thing that was happening. Whereas you had others saying, well in the beginning of the video you featured your baby just in a diaper not wearing anything, you even say like, my little naked boy, it appears you might be breastfeeding. But because the ads are there, the comments section there it appears that you know that debate kind of Got squashed, but it brought up a different argument around the situation and that is preferential treatment, right? Why did the big youtuber get their stuff reinstated but SBSK who once again uploaded a video yesterday?

Starting point is 00:03:18 It features this just adorable little girl talking about being blind having a growth deficiency Why is that disabled you know and this idea of preferential treatment is also something the SBSK channel talked about about a week ago. They're only selecting certain channels featuring- At random, it seems like. It is at random. Really at random, and I don't wanna push it,

Starting point is 00:03:36 but it seems like channels that are larger or that have corporate or advertisers behind them, that they're not being impacted at all, even if their content is more subjective to the type of predation that they're not being impacted at all, even if their content is more subjective to the type of predation that they're trying to combat. And I will say as far as my reaction to all of this, I don't even know what to say. It's just an all across the board shitty situation

Starting point is 00:03:53 that makes me feel sad. You know, YouTube's gonna get hit no matter what they do. The crackdown's too hard, they don't care about creators. If the crackdown isn't hard enough, they're not doing enough to stop this, do they really care? And while I'm generally of the mindset of, well, if you still have ads, but you're just not getting comments, what's the big deal? I do look to channels like SBSK and I see the impact there.

Starting point is 00:04:10 You have these kids in a variety of situations that where they probably put themselves in the other box. You know, they might feel disconnected. They're sharing this story that they're in a very vulnerable place. And those comments may make them feel more tethered to society. They may make them feel good about what they're going through. Now they're not getting that, you know? You know, Chris Ulmer, the guy in the SBSK videos, he brings up another massive YouTube channel called Barcroft TV.

Starting point is 00:04:31 He writes, it's a YouTube channel which is owned by a major corporation, has interviewed many of the same people I have. Their comments remain while ours are silenced. Non-profits lose in this new system and big money wins. YouTube creators, please explain. And in my head it brings up a question of, well, what does it take?

Starting point is 00:04:43 Why some and not others? You know, without assuming, I don't know the answer. As far as solutions, I don't have them. Like, is there a situation where several channels can get together and put money towards, like, a 24-7 comment moderating service? You know, like, in addition to the banned words, so that YouTube isn't scared that some bad actor is going to leave a bunch of shitty comments, screenshot it, and try and reignite this whole controversy? Like, a service that has been approved and verified by YouTube, I mean,

Starting point is 00:05:06 I'd even throw some of my money at that to help SBSK. And you know, I understand this is a situation that's bigger than just SBSK, and there are probably other well-intentioned channels that are being affected like this, but seeing what's happening to the SBSK channel, it's really hard for it to not hurt, and I can't even, and this is me as an outsider.

Starting point is 00:05:23 I can't even imagine what it's putting all of them through. Then this week we had Dr. Dre in the news for a reason that made me kind of laugh. Dre, of course, rapper, producer, mogul. And he took to Instagram this week to post this photo with the caption, My daughter got accepted into USC all on her own. No jail time! Seemingly making a joke and poking fun at Operation Varsity Blues, which, if you missed it, we talked about it on the show. I'll link to it down below, but TLDR. Dozens of wealthy and famous parents allegedly paid bribes, money to falsify test scores so their kids could get into a good college. A story, of course, that involved Lori Loughlin, Aunt Becky, and very notably her daughter, Olivia Jade, who was actually a YouTuber slash influencer herself. But back to Dr. Dre. After there were some people going, haha, that is funny, he ended up deleting the post after fans and others started pointing to the 70 million dollars

Starting point is 00:06:07 He and his buddy gave USC back in 2013 Which is funny because as noted in our coverage as noted in the legal documents this whole illegal service that allegedly involved bribing coaches Falsifying test scores this was seen as an alternative to what Dre did right essentially to paraphrase the elevator pitch It's like you know people, super rich people, they have enough money to just give it to the school as a donation, their kid gets in, yay. But what if we could get your kid in for a lot less money? So you know, it ends up kind of being a throwing stones in a glass house situation. But also, I feel like we should note, because the daughter kind of got dragged into this situation,

Starting point is 00:06:42 we don't know what her grades are. You know, we don't know if she was or could have been accepted to USC on her own merit. And technically there is a difference because what Dr. Dre did was legal, whereas Lori Loughlin and the others, no. But at the same time, I completely understand the mocking and the shade because this whole situation from different avenues, it really shines a light on the the bullshit that is going on around our college system. And then let's talk about how this week, Facebook announced that it will be banning all white nationalist and separatist content

Starting point is 00:07:08 from their website. In a post called Standing Against Hate, the company said that they would be enforcing the policy on both Facebook and Instagram starting next week. And in this, they said that while they had already banned other forms of hate speech, they viewed white nationalism and separatism differently, writing,

Starting point is 00:07:21 "'Our policies have long prohibited hateful treatment "'of people based on characteristics such as race ethnicity or religion that has always included white supremacy and adding we didn't originally apply the same rationale to expressions of white nationalism and white separatism because we were thinking about broader concepts of nationalism and separatism things like American pride and Basque separatism which are an important part of people's identity But they then said that they had spent the past several months speaking with Organizations academics and other experts on race who all said that these ideologies were too closely tied to white supremacy and hate groups, which moved them to change their policies, saying, Going forward, while people will still be able to demonstrate pride in their ethnic heritage,

Starting point is 00:07:54 we will not tolerate praise or support for white nationalism and white separatism. Also, in addition to banning this content, Facebook said that it's working on its speed and efficiency when it comes to removing hateful content. Also saying that anyone who searches content relating to white supremacy will now be linked to an organization called Life After Hate, which is an organization that was founded by former extremists and provides outreach, education, and crisis intervention. Now one of the questions this situation brings up is, well, what prompted this? And well, I mean, this change in policy comes after the company received criticism for the way that it monitors hate speech. In 2018, Motherboard leaked Facebook's training documents that mentioned white supremacy content was banned while specifically okaying white nationalism.

Starting point is 00:08:28 Following that, many civil rights groups disagreed, likely prompting discussions that ultimately led to the decision we saw this week. And while Facebook doesn't mention this specifically in their post, the timing of this announcement also follows the recent tragedy in New Zealand, a horrific tragedy that was actually live-streamed to Facebook.

Starting point is 00:08:42 And following this move, we saw a number of reactions. You had the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, saying in a press conference, "'Arguably these categories should always fall "'within the community guidelines of hate speech, "'but nevertheless it's positive the clarification "'has now been made in the wake of the attack "'in Christchurch.'"

Starting point is 00:08:57 Kristen Clark, the president of the National Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, an organization that actually lobbied Facebook on this matter, congratulated the company in a tweet saying, "'Today's action by Facebook is an important victory "'in our fight against the rise in hateful activity "'and violent white supremacy "'that often are incited online.'"

Starting point is 00:09:12 And then you have people like Vera Eidelman, an attorney for the ACLU, that thinks Facebook has the right sentiment, but is concerned about potential unintended consequences, telling NPR, "'White supremacist, nationalist, and separatist views "'are repugnant, and Facebook as a private company "'is well within its rights to remove such hate and bigotry from its platform.

Starting point is 00:09:27 And then adding, in its attempts to police the speech of over two billion people, Facebook runs the risk of censoring those that attack white nationalism too. Further, every time Facebook makes the choice to remove content, a single company is exercising an unchecked power to silence individuals and remove them from what has become an indispensable platform.

Starting point is 00:09:42 So there was all of that, which I'd love to know your thoughts on. Are you happy with the move? Are you concerned? Do you think it's a slippery slope? Etc, etc. But, also of note, that's not the only reason Facebook was in the news this week. The Department of Housing and Urban Development has filed a lawsuit against Facebook, accusing them of housing discrimination. Facebook's targeted advertising allows ads to be targeted by race, gender, age, religion, and more.

Starting point is 00:10:01 And HUD claims that this restricts who sees ads for housing, and therefore violates the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against those who are not able to see ads. And given the other Facebook story, I found it to be kind of an interesting pairing regarding news this week. And I will say personally, I've been thinking more and more about something that was touched on

Starting point is 00:10:15 by the attorney with the ACLU. Right, you have a select few platforms that have become indispensable, right? They are the big players. And while they are private companies, it is interesting to think, you know, the amount of power they have. For example, I'm gonna squeeze in another story here.

Starting point is 00:10:26 There was a report that came down this week, and I'll just read you this small section from TubeFilter. YouTube is responsible for 37% of all downstream mobile internet traffic worldwide, far ahead of Facebook, including Instagram and Snapchat, which are in second and third place with 14.1% and 8.3% respectively. And the thing I do wanna note with this story

Starting point is 00:10:44 is when we're talking about mobile web, this isn't including like if you were using your phone on your wifi, right, it has to be cellular data. But given that consumption is more and more on these mobile devices, mobile technology, and services are getting better and better, everything's migrating this way. And let's say that 37% number, right,

Starting point is 00:11:00 that translates to all internet ever. That would be and already is to a certain degree an immense amount of power. I don't know, that's where I'll leave it for now. And then let's talk about some of the updates coming out of Venezuela. And if you haven't seen our previous coverage of what has been happening in Venezuela

Starting point is 00:11:13 these last few months, I'm going to try and give you kind of a TLDR, condense, it's gonna be oversimplified, but you need to have some understanding of what has happened so you can understand what is happening now. So in January, Venezuela's National Assembly declared opposition leader Juan Guaido interim president

Starting point is 00:11:26 until the country holds fair election. And that is a power that the National Assembly has under the Constitution. And of massive note here, the National Assembly is essentially the last remaining branch of Venezuela's government that is democratic in any way. And that is because Nicolas Maduro has filled the rest of the government and military leadership

Starting point is 00:11:39 with people who back him. And that's incredibly important to today's update. Since January, Guaido has been recognized as the rightful president of Venezuela by more than 50 world leaders. And the last time we talked about Venezuela, they were facing massive power outages all over the country that lasted for six days.

Starting point is 00:11:52 There are conflicting reports as to how many people have died with some reporting as many as 21 people, but Guaido, among other sources, say that the death toll stands at 17. Many have said that this is the worst blackout the country has ever seen. And while this is not the main focus of what we are covering today,

Starting point is 00:12:05 it is important to note that just two weeks after power was restored, another wave of power outages has hit the country, leaving 91% of the country in the dark. And according to Reuters, three more people have died in hospitals due to the lack of electricity. Now obviously, the situation is constantly changing. New things are happening. There's a lot going on. But the main update we're gonna be talking about today actually happened yesterday. In a state television address on Thursday, Venezuela's financial comptroller, Elvis Amoroso,

Starting point is 00:12:27 announced that Guaido will be banned from holding public office for 15 years, which is the maximum number of years someone can be barred under the law. And the reason for this is because the comptroller claimed that Guaido's personal financial statements had inconsistencies. Back in February, the comptroller started an audit on Guaido

Starting point is 00:12:41 for allegedly lying on his financial disclosures and accepting gifts from foreign governments. And this move is especially significant since the decision to ban Guaido for allegedly lying on his financial disclosures and accepting gifts from foreign governments. And this move is especially significant since the decision to ban Guaido from office would come into effect if he decided to run for re-election when his current term in the National Assembly ends. And unsurprisingly Amoroso was appointed by Maduro which immediately calls into question his motive and the accuracy of his findings. Now following this Guaido rejected the announcement and said that Amoroso was not Auditor General. Guaido also argued that because Amoroso was appointed by Maduro, his decision is a legitimate saying. The legitimate Congress is the only one with power to designate an Auditor General. And a spokesperson for Guaido also told CNN that a ban from public office can only be legally issued by the judiciary, adding,

Starting point is 00:13:17 all usurped authority is ineffective and its acts are nullified. We also saw US Senator Marco Rubio chiming in on Twitter saying, no judge or prosecutor in Venezuela should follow this illegitimate order from someone placed there by an illegitimate Constituent Assembly. Now is the time to align yourself with the Constitution not the illegitimate presidency of Nicolas Maduro. And unsurprisingly this is not the first time that Maduro's government has barred an opposition leader from running for office. I mean we don't have to look far. I mean for example back in 2017 a similar ban was imposed on former opposition leader Enrique Capriles. Hell, I mean Thursday's news about Guaido comes just a week after Guaido's chief of staff

Starting point is 00:13:48 was arrested after being accused of planning acts of sabotage against Venezuelan officials. With Venezuela's interior minister, another Maduro appointee, saying that security forces found, quote, weapons and foreign currency during a raid on his home. To which Guaido responded by saying that the security forces committed an illegal

Starting point is 00:14:02 and unconstitutional act, and added that he believed that the items had been planted before we end this story We also need to note another big update from Venezuela earlier this week officials from both Venezuela and Russia confirmed that Russian troops are in Venezuela Russian aircrafts landed outside of Caracas and reportedly over 100 troops were on board the planes and we had a Russian foreign ministry Spokesperson saying in a briefing military experts are there they are tasked with the practical implementation of provisions of military technical cooperation agreements. And of course that, plus Russia being one of the few countries supporting Maduro, is a massive deal. Also regarding this, when asked about the country's presence in Venezuela, President Donald Trump made it clear he does not think that Russia should be there, but gave no further comments.

Starting point is 00:14:38 What sort of complications does the Russian involvement now pose? Russia has to get out. Alright, what's your next question? And of course, this is significant, as many have been wondering if the United States military would intervene in any way. President Trump and the Trump administration have been very supportive of Guaido, and have been very critical and called for Maduro to step down. And the language that has been used can be described as aggressive. And just today, we saw National Security Advisor John Bolton issue a statement saying,

Starting point is 00:15:04 The administration condemns Nicholas Maduro's continued use of foreign military personnel in his attempt to remain in power, including the introduction of Russian military personnel and equipment into Venezuela. And continuing, we strongly caution actors external to the Western hemisphere against deploying military assets to Venezuela

Starting point is 00:15:20 or elsewhere in the hemisphere with the intent of establishing or expanding military operations. We will consider such provocative actions as a direct threat to international peace and security in the region." But ultimately that is where we are right now. It's gonna be very interesting to see how the situation develops. And of course with this story, I pass the question off to you. What do you think about this? What do you feel about the story? What do you think will happen? What do you think should happen? This could be about Guaido or President Trump.

Starting point is 00:15:43 And that's where we're going to end today's show. And remember, if you like jumping into the news with us, let us know. Hit that like button. Also, if you're new here, you want more of this every single day, or at least we post every single day and then you can consume it however the hell else you want. Be sure to subscribe and even click that bell to turn on notifications. But with that said, of course, as always, my name's Philip DeFranco. We have made it to the end of the week. I love yo faces and I will see you Monday.

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The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 3.29 Who Youtube's New Crackdown Is Hurting, Why Venezuela Might Get Even Crazier, & More

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