The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 4.6 DANGEROUS Conspiracy Theory Being Pushed By Celebs, Coronavirus Karen, Ezra Miller, & More

Episode Date: April 6, 2020

Start your free trial today: http://www.Squarespace.com/Phil & enter offer code “Phil” to get 10% off your first purchase!   Check out the latest videos on my NEW A Conversation With Clips channel!: https://youtu.be/wIEbUKqD204 WATCH Full “A Convo With” Podcasts: https://www.youtube.com/aconvowith LISTEN On The Podcast Platform Of Your Choice: http://LinksHole.com BUY our GEAR, Support the Show!: http://ShopDeFranco.com   ✩ FOLLOW ME ✩ ✭ TWITTER: http://Twitter.com/PhillyD ✭ INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/PhillyDeFranco/   ✩ SUPPORT THE SHOW ✩ ✭ Buy Merch: http://ShopDeFranco.com ✭ Lemme Touch Your Hair: http://BeautifulBastard.com ✭ Paid Subscription: http://DeFrancoElite.com    ✩ TODAY IN AWESOME ✩ ✭ Zoom Surprise: Some Good News with John Krasinski: https://youtu.be/oilZ1hNZPRM ✭ Bitten While Defending A Friend: https://youtu.be/QOYvWpYDr3Q ✭ I Tried the Worst Rated Amazon Nail Products: https://youtu.be/NZUcXxKjIJk ✭ Allen Stone: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert: https://youtu.be/uMEnML6sY5Q ✭ 5 Dinosaur Dinners and What They Told Us: https://youtu.be/nWuxlXMywa8 ✭ Quibi Launch: https://quibi.com/ ✭ Secret Link: https://youtu.be/1jeAmrNpcxY   ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩   Woody Harrelson Shares False 5G Theory: https://fullfact.org/health/5G-not-accelerating-coronavirus/ https://www.foxnews.com/us/woody-harrelson-among-stars-sharing-covid-19-conspiracy-theories-tied-to-5g Viral Video of Ezra Miller Prompts Backlash: https://variety.com/2020/film/news/ezra-miller-throttling-woman-video-1234571800/ https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/actor-ezra-miller-appears-choke-woman-video-n1177796 Exemptions for Religious Gatherings During Pandemic Cause Confusion: https://roguerocket.com/2020/04/06/religious-gatherings-confusion/ White House Situation Room Clashes As Dr. Anthony Fauci and Economist Peter Navarro Disagree https://roguerocket.com/2020/04/06/navarro-fauci-white-house/ Global Updates: https://roguerocket.com/2020/04/06/lockdowns-lift-emergency/ https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/world/coronavirus-maps.html   ✩ STORIES NOT IN TODAY’S SHOW ✩   FLOTUS Calls for Public to Take Cloth Mask Advice Seriously, POTUS Goes Without: https://roguerocket.com/2020/04/06/flotus-calls-for-public-to-take-cloth-mask-advice-seriously-as-president-chooses-to-go-without/ —————————— Edited by: James Girardier, Julie Goldberg Produced by: Amanda Morones Art Director: Brian Borst   Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Lili Stenn, Maddie Crichton, Cory Ray, Neena Pesqueda,   Production Team: Zack Taylor, Luke Manning   ———————————— #DeFranco #WoodyHarrelson #EzraMiller ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can I ask you about your decision to go to church to be inside that building? I wouldn't be anywhere else. Aren't you concerned you could infect other people if you get sick inside? No. People who don't go to this church? No. I'm covered in Jesus' blood. I'm covered in Jesus' blood. But what about other people who don't go to this church who you might encounter? All of these people go to this church.

No, but you're going to be in places where other people are. I go to the grocery store every day. I'm in Walmart, Home Depot, all of those people. But you could get them sick from what happens in the church. They could get me sick, but they're not because I'm covered in his blood. Thank you very much. How is that a real person that exists in the same world I do, that has the same access to the same information that I do, but Corona Karen out there can't be bothered? Welcome to the Philip DeFranco Show, the show where apparently I and possibly you slowly slip further and further into madness

as the coronavirus pandemic exposes all the idiotic people that exist in our world. But hey, buckle up, hit that like button, and let's just jump into it. The first thing we're gonna talk about today is actually not Corona Karen, though she is part of the problem, though in a different way.

To start things off today, we're gonna talk about the 5G conspiracy theories going around and the people enabling and promoting it, like Woody Harrelson. So if you're unaware, there is this conspiracy theory out there that has been flagged as fake news, that 5G towers and 5G radiation could be acting

as an accelerator for COVID-19. And among those who to some degree have been promoting misinformation, you had Amir Khan, although in his defense, he does get punched in the head for a living, as well as, and this personally hurts me because I'm a fan, Woody Harrelson, who among other things, shared a writing

from Dr. Martin Paul, claiming that the spread of the virus developed roughly as the number of 5G antenna in Wuhan rose, with the caption, "'My friend Camilla seems this to me,' I think he meant sends this to me today, and though I haven't fully vetted it, I find it very interesting." And then I guess he deleted the rest of the caption,

"'So I guess it's completely fine to promote to my two million followers.'" And then following it up deleted the rest of the caption, so I guess it's completely fine to promote to my two million followers. And then following it up with this video and the caption, meanwhile the Chinese are bringing 5G antennas down. Which also, once again, Woody, this is fake news that I'm sure you'll leave on the internet forever, because why not? And to clarify, this video does depict a real incident that happened in China, but one, it wasn't even filmed in 2020, it had nothing to do with

5G, and it had nothing to do with COVID-19. Rather, the video in question was from 2019. It had anti-surveillance protesters tearing down a smart lamppost in Hong Kong. Now among those who have been speaking out against this conspiracy theory that some have referred to as dangerous nonsense, you have the likes of the UK's Department

for Digital Culture, Media, and Sport, tweeting, we are aware of inaccurate information being shared online about 5G. There is absolutely no credible evidence of a link between 5G and coronavirus, as well as linking to Full Fact's research on this, which I'll link to down below. Full Fact, if you don't know,

is an independent fact-checking charity in the UK, and they debunked the theory with real science. And in their research, they note, the two theories given to support the 5G claim are flawed. By regarding theory one, that electromagnetic radiation from 5G suppresses the immune system, helping the virus to thrive. Regarding that, the level of radiation from 5G

is far below levels of electromagnetic radiation thought to cause damage to cells in the immune system, helping the virus to thrive. Regarding that, the level of radiation from 5G is far below levels of electromagnetic radiation thought to cause damage to cells in the human body. And to actually go much deeper into that, they explain, radio waves are found at the low frequency end of the spectrum and alongside microwaves, visible light and heat only produce non-ionizing radiation. This means that these waves cannot damage the DNA inside cells, which is how waves with higher frequencies,

such as x-rays, gamma rays, and ultraviolet light, are thought to cause cancer. And so they go on to explain, to improve the speed and capacity of our wireless technology, 5G uses a higher frequency of radio waves compared to its older generations. The frequency of this new wireless technology

remains very low, and noting that the maximum levels of electromagnetic radiation measured by Ofcom were about 66 times smaller than the safety limits set by international guidelines. Regarding the second theory, that quote, "'Viruses talk to each other when making decisions "'about infecting a host,' they write, this is not true. "'One, the hypothesis there is disputed,

"'and two, it refers to bacteria and not viruses "'like the new coronavirus.' As well as the, you don't even need to know anything about anything fact that the coronavirus is spreading in places that don't even have 5G towers. Iran, for example, one of the hardest hit countries, and they don't even have a 5G tower. Right, and so I share all of that,

one, in hopes that we can all learn, but also, two, that we can share this information to people that are being misled by very clickable fear mongering. And I also think that's part of the reason why it's probably so frustrating for me and so frustrating for so many of you, is it feels and it is an uphill battle.

Truth very rarely beats out fear and panic. That's an unfortunate truth that we witness every single day. And this isn't a holier than thou thing. None of us are immune from this, but we need to try our best every single day. All that said, come on, Woody. Then in a situation that's still developing, it's really blowing up today.

Let's talk about Ezra Miller. You may know Miller from a number of things, including the Fantastic Beasts franchise, as well as being The Flash. And there's a seven second video that popped up last night that appears to show, well, I'll just let you watch it. Learn it? Did you wanna fight?

Is this a deal? Whoa, bro, bro, bro, bro, bro. Wanna fight? All right, and so that clip generated a lot of confusion. A number of people wondering, is this a joke, a bit, a misunderstanding, is Ezra actually attacking this girl? Everything seems so oddly paced and off. Right, just with people online,

as well as you'll notice with almost all of the reporting, a lot of the language is similar with headlines like, Ezra Miller appears to choke a woman in an alarming video. Right, because you're just injected into the situation, everything just feels off. But according to Variety, they confirmed that this incident took place around 6 p.m. on April 1st at a trendy bar that Miller frequents when in town.

Also saying the source confirmed that this was a serious altercation. And Variety goes on to say, according to a source at the bar, the altercation took place after the individual identified as Miller was confronted by a group of eager fans who were, quote, quite pushy. Things then escalated with Miller losing their temper

at one woman in particular. Then going on to say that staff escorted the actor who was upset and angry off the premises, with a number of outlets reaching out for comment, but so far I've seen none. So we're gonna keep our eyes open to see what happens next, as does Ezra respond. There also appears to be some claims

that have gone overlooked because the original poster of this video deleted it. I don't wanna be able to independently verify those things because there's really not any coverage of that yet. Yeah, we're gonna leave this for now. What are your thoughts around just that clip? And then, actually, let's come back to Corona Karen. And the reason we're going back

is it's actually part of a much broader and larger debate. All right, so yesterday when that clip was filmed, it was Palm Sunday and people all over the United States congregated in churches. This despite warnings from many, including the Trump administration, about gatherings of 10 or more people and explicit bans in some places.

And Corona Karen's Jesus blood comments aside, this is a really complicated and sticky situation because it does concern religious freedoms, but also because there's a lot of confusion about shelter in place and religious exemptions. And this is for really complicated and sticky situation because it does concern religious freedoms, but also because there's a lot of confusion about shelter in place and religious exemptions. And this is for a few reasons. First of all, it's hard to pin down exactly how many places that have shelter in place orders

have exemptions on religious gatherings. According to the New York Times right now, 41 states, three counties, eight cities, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are being urged to stay home. In some places like California, in-person religious gatherings have been outright banned throughout the entire state,

but in others, it's not as clear cut and it's not helped by the fact that there's been a lot of misreporting on how many states have religious exemptions. For example, yesterday, CNN, right, in that video, they said 14, but a lot of other sources say the number is actually closer to 11. And part of the confusion and misreporting

is due to the fact that some states explicitly list religious gatherings as exempt from shelter-in-place laws. But according to reports, other states like Alabama and South Carolina signed orders closing down non-essential businesses that instead of listing exceptions to the rule, provided a list of entities

that would have to close. Those lists did not specifically mention religious facilities. There's also an issue with overlapping authority, right? Decisions made at the state level versus the county and city level. For example, last week we talked about Florida megachurch pastor, Rodney Howard Brown,

who was arrested for holding service despite the shelter in place order in Hillsborough County. Then just a few days after that, Florida governor Ron DeSantis passed a statewide safer at home order that explicitly allowed religious gatherings. With DeSantis saying, "'There's no reason why you can't do a church service

"'with people spread 10 feet apart. "'So we definitely ask them to abide "'by social distancing guidelines. "'But I think, in times like this, "'the service they are providing "'is very important for people.'" Also regarding churches, there is a debate around the First Amendment.

Religious institutions are largely believed to be protected from regulations in the First Amendment. And the Supreme Court has ruled that a law cannot unduly burden a religion unless there is a compelling interest. And so, whether a pandemic can be considered compelling is a much bigger and more complicated constitutional debate.

There's basically no legal precedent for this. And last week, we also saw a similar situation with the one in Florida playing out in Texas. There we saw three pastors join a conservative activist in a lawsuit against Harris County where Houston is after a stay at home order in the county was implemented and barred religious gathering. Governor Greg Abbott also signed a statewide shelter

in place order that allowed religious gatherings a few days later. Right, so it's this confusing back and forth between state and local governments, mixed messaging from leaders. And finally, to bring it back to Karen, the church that that lady was leaving was reportedly at the Solid Rock Church in Monroe, Ohio.

And that church had specifically been asked by the town's mayor to stop holding in-person services and rejected those requests. But once again, in Ohio, weird mixed messaging. You have Ohio Governor Mike DeWine who has said, "'Any pastor who brings people together "'in close proximity to each other, "'a large group of people is making a huge mistake.

"'It's not a Christian thing to do. But DeWine was the one who issued the order allowing for religious exemptions in the first place. And here's the thing, that's not the only problem because even in places where there are very clear orders explicitly banning religious gatherings, some churches are just outright ignoring them. Like for example, in Louisiana where Pastor Tony Spell

of the Life Tabernacle Church held services this past Sunday. This, despite the fact that he had been arrested for violating the state's order and holding services just a few days earlier. Also in Sacramento, you had the Bethany Slavic Missionary Mega Church reportedly still holding services even after 71 members of the congregation tested positive for the coronavirus.

Though that church has now been shuttered as of this weekend. Though notably, that is not the only place of worship where the virus is spread. Right, and I mention all of this not only because it's something that we've seen happen, but we also have the Eastern Passover holidays coming up. Right, so the question becomes, how many,

what kind of gatherings are we gonna see, and what kind of spread are we going to see from that? And then, let's talk about this messy situation around hydroxychloroquine. So in an exclusive report from Axios, Presidential Trade Advisor Peter Navarro heatedly confronted Dr. Anthony Fauci on Saturday over whether or not there has been, quote,

clear evidence showing hydroxychloroquine's effectiveness against COVID-19. Reportedly, this began after the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, Stephen Hahn, began evidence showing hydroxychloroquine's effectiveness against COVID-19. Reportedly this began after the commissioner of food and drugs, Stephen Hahn, began talking about hydroxychloroquine, right? Which is an anti-malarial drug that's being investigated to possibly treat COVID-19 patients. President Trump has frequently touted it

at press conferences, calling it a game changer for the United States. However, many scientists, including Dr. Fauci, have been a lot more cautious on how to present the drug to the public since it's not currently approved to treat COVID-19. Also because it has a number of known side effects including heart and vision problems and really the argument here is that it could work. But scientists want to make sure that the benefits outweigh the risks here before it gets widespread use. Okay, so in this meeting Han reportedly starts giving updates regarding different

hydroxychloroquine trials. Navarro then gets up and according to a source familiar with the situation, the first words out of his mouth are that the studies that he's seen, I believe they're mostly overseas, show clear therapeutic efficacy. Those are the exact words out of his mouth. Fauci then reportedly pushes back saying that at the moment the evidence for those studies and hydroxychloroquine's effectiveness is only anecdotal. Right, notably that's something we've heard him say

publicly before. However, that comment reportedly sets Navarro off. According to the source, Navarro then pointed to those studies and said, that's science, not anecdote. Reportedly he then started yelling, accusing Dr. Fauci of objecting to Trump's travel restrictions, saying, you were the one who early on objected to the travel restrictions with China. Dr. Fauci and others then reportedly looked confused, that likely because publicly, Fauci has in fact praised Trump's travel restrictions on China.

Following that, you had Vice President Mike Pence and others reportedly trying to moderate the discussion, with a source saying, it was pretty clear that everyone was just trying to get Navarro to sit down and stop being so confrontational. Eventually, Jared Kushner reportedly told Navarro to agree to saying, it was pretty clear that everyone was just trying to get Navarro to sit down and stop being so confrontational. Eventually, Jared Kushner reportedly told Navarro to agree to accept that it was important to increase the supply of the drug in hot zones. And they then agreed that the administration's stance should be that the decision to use the drug

is between patients and doctors prescribing it off-label. And this whole situation isn't new. Dr. Fauci has been consistently trying to walk back a lot of Trump's language about this drug. According to the sources, the situation on Saturday was very notable because it was an escalation of that tension, saying previously there was robust debate, but there's language about this drug. According to the sources, the situation on Saturday was very notable because it was an escalation of that tension, saying previously there was robust debate, but there's never been a confrontation.

Yesterday was the first confrontation. Actually this morning we saw Navarro speak on the disagreement and defend himself on CNN saying, "- It won't take long to tell you neutrals ingredients. Vodka, soda, natural flavors. So, what should we talk about? No sugar added? Neutral. Refreshingly simple. Whatever groceries your summer calls for, Instacart has you covered. Download the Instacart app and enjoy $0 delivery fees on your first three orders.

Service fees, exclusions, and terms apply. Instacart, groceries that over-deliver. There's doctors disagree about things all the time. My qualifications in terms of looking at the science is that I'm a social scientist. I have a PhD, and I understand how to read statistical studies whether it's in medicine, the law, economics or whatever. I'm sorry, that doesn't qualify you to treat patients. You know it doesn't qualify you to treat patients.

However, all of that aside, none of what happened over the weekend seemed to stop Trump from propping up the drug again. I mean, on Saturday, the same day as the reported argument, he said, What do you have to lose? It's been out there for a long time and I hope they use it. And they're going to look at the, with doctors, work with doctors, get what you have to get. And I hope they use it because it's been used for a long time and therefore it's passed the safety test.

In fact, I might do it anyway. I may take it. Okay? I may take it. And I'll have to ask my doctors about that, but I may take it." Alongside that, you have Trump saying that the United States has stockpiled 29 million pills of hydroxychloroquine. We also saw him continue this push yesterday.

We don't have time to go and say, gee, let's take a couple of years and test it out. And let's go and test with the test tubes and the laboratories. We don't have time. I'd love to do that. But we have people dying today. As we speak, there are people dying. Also notably, yesterday we saw this moment. Would you also weigh in on this issue of hydroxychloroquine? What do you think about this? And what is the medical evidence? Can you answer that question?

Maybe 15 times. You don't have to ask the question. He's your medical expert, correct? He's answered that question 15 times. And yes, while Dr. Fauci would have been likely saying the same thing that he has been stating, it is rather notable that Trump wouldn't let him say anything on the issue at all, especially one that he's been so vocal about.

Now, with all that said, one of the biggest questions here is when will we know if it's effective against COVID-19? Well, officially, likely not for several more months. Clinical trials have already begun in New York last week. The Food and Drug Administration also approved hydroxychloroquine for emergency treatment. Yesterday, we also saw Pence announcing

that a 3,000 person clinical trial is set to begin in Detroit. Now that study will likely take at least a few months, but you have a number of doctors saying this is probably for the best. People like President of the American Medical Association, Dr. Patrice Harris, saying, There could be negative side effects. There could be deaths. This is a new virus, and so we should not be promoting any medication or drug for any disease that has not been proven and approved by the FDA. You could lose your life. It's unproven. And so certainly there are some limited studies, as Dr. Fauci said. But at this point, we just don't have the data

to suggest that we should be using this medication for COVID-19. All right, so that's what we're seeing there. As far as what else we're seeing with the coronavirus right now, the last thing I wanna do on today's show is talk about the general updates that we've been seeing. You know, yesterday we had US Surgeon General Jerome M. Adams

on Fox News saying, This is going to be the hardest and the saddest week of most Americans' lives, quite frankly. This is going to be our Pearl Harbor the saddest week of most Americans' lives, quite frankly. This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9-11 moment only. It's not going to be localized. It's going to be happening all over the country. You know, we saw Trump making similar comments

over the weekend, and actually, regarding the United States, as of 2 p.m. Eastern time, the number of confirmed cases in the U.S. was at 347,003. Total deaths now over 10,000, with 10,335, and the total recoveries at 18,003. Total deaths now over 10,000 with 10,335 and the total recoveries at 18,953. Worldwide now over 1.3 million cases. Total deaths 72,638. Total recoveries 273,546.

But notably in the United States, specifically New York, yesterday we saw for the first time Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the first daily dips in death. Though notably the number of new deaths on Saturday was 630 and only went down to 594 on Sunday. But until we get further into the week right now, there's really no indication as to what that means

for the long run for the state. Cuomo saying we're not really 100% sure what the significance is as we're feeling our way through this. Also saying this could just potentially be a blip. But also, New York isn't the only place around the world where people are noticing a change in the patterns for their numbers.

Spain is starting to see a slower rate in cases and death as well, with 674 deaths there in the past 24 hours, which is a lot of people, but also notably the lowest increase in fatalities in nine days. There's some reports saying that this could be a result of effective lockdowns,

also saying that these measures could be working in Italy as well, with the New York Times reporting that Italy has seen the numbers of new infections plateau. As far as what this looks like long-term, of course we have to wait and see, especially there are concerns because once this is seen as kind of beaten, or how do you make it so things

go back to normal without coronavirus popping up again? Because like a Forbes article that went out today said, China thought it had beaten coronavirus, but new and asymptomatic cases are cropping up. Right, and the public numbers that we're seeing here are small, but all the numbers started small. And there's also the question of the validity of the numbers, it's all a mess,

but of course we're gonna be watching. And that is where I'm going to end today's show. And hey, if you liked this video or watching me slowly lose it over time, hit that like button. Also, if you're new here, you want more of these daily videos, be sure to hit that subscribe button.

Definitely tap that bell to turn on notifications. Also, if you're looking for more to watch today, maybe you missed that last Philip DeFranco show where we did a deep dive on the history of pandemics and what we can learn, or maybe just wanna watch something lighthearted, like one of our new clips. You can click or tap right there to watch one of those.

But with that said, of course, as always, my name's 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.