The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 6.17 Disgusting ImAllexx Video Leaks Expose Psychotic Threats & Abuse… & Today’s News
Episode Date: June 17, 2024Start your free trial today: https://www.Squarespace.com/Phil & enter offer code “Phil” to get 10% off your first purchase! https://beautifulbastard.com June Flower’s Drop Live! Snag It Whil...e You Can! ==== ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩- – 00:00 - YouTuber ImAlexx Accused of Abuse by Ex-Girlfriend 05:19 - Media Coverage of Angel Reese’s Foul on Caitlin Clark Earns Backlash 08:13 - Deadly Bacteria Spreading at an Alarming Rate in Japan 10:31 - Sponsored by Squarespace 11:25 - Reuters Reveals International Anti-Vax Psyop Conducted by the Pentagon 16:07 - Surgeon General Calls for Warning Labels on Social Media 19:43 - India’s Modi Accused of Targeting Sikh Leaders in Australia —————————— Produced by: Cory Ray Edited by: James Girardier, Maxwell Enright, Julie Goldberg, Christian Meeks, Matthew Henry Art Department: William Crespo Writing/Research: Philip DeFranco, Brian Espinoza, Lili Stenn, Maddie Crichton, Chris Tolve, Star Pralle, Jared Paolino ———————————— #DeFranco #ImAllexx #AliceHez ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcript
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Sup you beautiful bastards! Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show, your daily dive into the
news. And we got a lot of news to talk about today, but first I got an announcement. It's
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out first but that's it we got a lot of news to talk about today so let's just jump into it
starting with acting like this is all just me and that's something you really need to fix
i'm gonna bashing head against the wall
with a brick if you don't shut the f*** up.
So that is just a small piece of a leak
around longtime YouTube creator Alex Elmsley,
otherwise known as I'm Alex.
Who, if you don't know,
he's a 25-year-old British YouTuber
with around 2 million subscribers.
He's known for doing a lot of commentary
and reaction content.
But now he's facing incredibly detailed
allegations of abuse from his ex-girlfriend,
who's another creator by the name of Alice Hez,
who has about a million followers on TikTok.
And over the weekend, she released several videos
and logs of their interactions
along with an 82-page statement.
With that saying, it's best it was made public
how horrible this person with a platform is.
I'd hate to see another woman go through this.
They're sharing a link to a Google Drive folder
with audio and video files documenting the alleged abuse,
which I will say,
because I'm gonna try to make this consumable, I'm not going to
be hitting on every single detail, but you can access the Google Doc yourself if you
want to go through everything.
With that said, you know, what we see here is Alice describing how it started when, quote,
small arguments worsened to the point where he would turn on his camera and start shouting
at her on call.
Now, when it's too f***ing late, you admit you did everything f***ing wrong.
But when it actually matters, when you should lay down like
a good dog you don't do it acting like this is all just me and that's something you really need to fix
i'm gonna bash your head against the wall with a brick if you don't shut the up your boyfriend's
a famous internet celebrity and doesn't trust these people because he has to keep his circle
small because you might not have anything to lose because your life might be down the drain but i still have quite a lot
that i would like to give also the screenshots that alice shared appear to show more of the
same behavior in those more than once he calls her a dumb whore he also uses the n-word telling
her to kill herself saying things like just die in a fucking hole and please bury yourself in the
fucking garden and then appearing to go so far as to threaten to do it himself writing in one
conversation i'm going to fucking kill you. I'm going to break
your neck. Right? And all of these are just some of the insults, threats, or otherwise manipulative
and emotionally abusive texts that Alice says that Alex sent to her over the course of their
relationship. And unfortunately, Alice also says that it gets worse, saying that once they moved
in together, it sometimes became physical. Describing one instance where she says he
grabbed her hood and pulled her back until she fell on the floor, saying that when she got up to run he grabbed her put her in a headlock and covered her mouth and saying after that argument there were days where he would just scream in her face and tell her to kill herself multiple times even saying that it got to the point where she would be shaking and scared for her life every time he came closer was in the same room as her while arguing and as far as people possibly asking her you know why would you stay in this relationship she seemed to touch on that saying, saying, "'Believe me, I wish I could turn back time,
"'but I believed his lies when he apologized to me,
"'and I really tried to believe
"'he would stop going so far if I asked him to.'"
Though there, you know, Alice did eventually get herself out.
They're even appearing to get this recording
while she was packing her things to leave.
And then you look like a miserable
little all the time.
Like, your face is annoying to look at,
like, when I come downstairs.
They're saying that even after she left, he wouldn't leave her alone.
And so with that, saying she's decided to speak out now because he's threatened to, quote,
create a contradicting story to discredit her own.
And seemingly with that, also acknowledging that she also insulted Alex in their conversations, writing,
In no way am I trying to make myself look as if I never said anything mean.
I stooped down to his level and became reckless with my language to try to prove a point.
They're even appearing to have changed his contact name and her phone to racist n-word at one point. And on top of that, she
admitted to slapping him in the face at one point, but are saying that she only did that after he
backed her into a corner while screaming at her. And with all that said, as far as the other side
of this, we haven't seen a response from Alex yet. And I mean that as far as him releasing any sort
of public statement, as well as we reached out last night to see if he had anything to say. As
of recording, he has not responded. Though among all the other people who have reacted to this, notably, this includes several internet personalities
who have been a part of Alex's circle at one point or another, such as with YouTuber WillNE,
saying there have been rumors of Alex's behavior last year, and also saying the severity of the
abuse that Alice published was far worse than anything I'd heard being discussed. That Google
drive is fucking abhorrent, and what he put her through is inexcusable. Also, Twitch streamer Mia
Mom saying Alex's behavior was something, quote, well-known throughout the industry. They're also adding that she found
it genuinely hard to believe the creators close to Alex had no idea this was going on. And creator
Mimulus writing, I would usually wait until both parties have said their side publicly before
speaking about it, but I think the evidence here is overwhelming. It's awful and disturbing and
has seriously shocked me. I'm still processing what's happened. This is one of the worst
situations I have ever seen in my life, and I hope Alice is okay. It took a lot of courage to speak about this. But ultimately,
as of recording, that is exactly where we are. And so for now, we're going to have to wait to
see what happens, right? Does more come out? Does Alex respond? But in the meantime, I got to ask
you, what are your thoughts about this incredibly disturbing situation? And then when you look at
professional sports, you see rivalries everywhere, right? The Bears and the Packers, the Yankees and the Red Sox, the Jets and winning.
It just takes a game and puts it on another level.
I don't even watch college football.
Auburn versus Alabama, I'll watch that game.
But in the WNBA right now, you've got a lot of people saying it doesn't feel like people are talking about rivalries so much as trying to stir a race war.
And at the center of all this, you've got Kaitlyn Clark.
Because she's currently one of the biggest names in sports. She's constantly being credited for bringing so many new eyes
to the female game. And since getting into the WNBA, while yes, there's been a focus on some
of her stats, a lot of the focus has been on her hits. I mean, a couple of weeks ago, we talked
about the Kennedy-Carter shoulder check to Kaitlyn Clark, as well as all the fallout and the outrage
that ensued afterwards. With some saying she's being targeted because she's the new it girl,
others saying she's getting coddled because she's the new it girl, others saying she's getting coddled
because she's the new it girl.
But now because of this latest incident
between Clark and Angel Reese,
you know, the online discussion has taken a sharp turn.
Well, I can't show you the hit
because I'll go straight to copyright jail,
not pass go, not collect $200.
In Sunday's game between the Indiana Fever
and the Chicago Sky, Reese swung her arm up for a block
and she knocked Clark in the head.
And regarding that and general officiating,
after the game, we saw some accusations and favoritism towards Clark,
with Reese saying,
I think we went up really strong a lot of times and we didn't get a lot of calls.
And going back and looking at the film,
I've seen a lot of calls that weren't made.
I guess some people got a special whistle, but...
Whereas on the other side you had Clark dismissing the foul as just being a part of the game.
It's just part of basketball. It is what it is.
You know, just trying to make a play on the ball and get the block.
But yeah, I mean, it happens.
But Clark's mild reaction, it didn't stop people from saying things like,
Angel Reese takes a total swing at Kaitlyn Clark's head, gets flagrant foul.
They hate Clark because she's white.
Beaver has to get an enforcer or Clark's going to be knocked out for the year on one of these plays.
And notably, despite there being a lot of big plays in that game, that foul became the clip of the game.
With media outlets just highlighting it again
and again and again,
which then led to strong reactions
from those within the women's basketball sphere.
Like for example, we saw a four-time WNBA All-Star
Swin Cash saying on X,
to have the only highlight of Angel be the foul
is nasty work by these outlets.
You know what you're doing
while also questioning her intent is nonsense.
They got it right.
It was a flagrant one.
It was called by the refs and the players played on.
We've also seen others criticize media outlets for their coverage, saying things like
not to be hyperbolic, but the way media is continuing to go down this road is very dangerous
for Angel Reese. It's time to put the brakes on this. We've seen the type of people congregating
around Caitlin Clark. What media outlets are doing for ratings is a dangerous game. And others
claiming Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese are being used in a race war that's not fair to either
athlete or the game of basketball.
You know, with all that said, I gotta ask you, what are your thoughts on this?
And I especially would love to know your thoughts if you've been a fan of the WNBA or female sports for a while now.
Because it definitely feels like part of this is, you know, a lot of people that were not in this space all of a sudden being in this space all at once.
And there's all this, like, excitement, but chaos.
Also, regarding some of the games I've watched, it feels like there is an officiating problem.
Like, in some games, it feels like they're not calling anything.
Then they get criticized.
All of a sudden, they're calling fucking everything.
But also talk to pretty much any sports fan and they'll have a problem with at least someone that's officiating a game.
And then, hey, you want to hear about something just horrifying?
A disease caused by an incredibly dangerous flesh-eating bacteria that can kill you in just two days is spreading at a very alarming rate in Japan right now.
And so the disease in question is called
streptococcal toxic shock syndrome, or STSS.
Normally, STSS is caused by the same group of bacteria
that causes strep throat in children.
But in some rare cases,
the bacteria morphs into more dangerous diseases like STSS,
which then can lead to rapid onset symptoms,
including limb pain and swelling,
fever, low blood pressure, breathing problems,
loss of limbs, organ failure, and death.
And experts say that this can all happen in just a few days, with one explaining,
most of the deaths happen within 48 hours.
As soon as a patient notices swelling in a foot in the morning, it can expand to the knee by noon, and they can die within 48 hours.
And an alarmingly high number of people who get STSS do ultimately die.
But the CDC reporting that the disease has a mortality rate of up to 30%.
Though notably, there are certain groups that have a higher risk here, like adults 65 and older,
those with open wounds, and people with diabetes or alcohol use disorder. And all of this is you
have the CDC noting that experts don't know how the bacteria got into the body for nearly half of
the people who get STSS. And at that point, Japan reportedly doesn't know what's causing its current
spike, just saying that it is very high and very concerning. I mean, early this month, Japan's health ministry had recorded 977 cases of STSS,
which notably is the highest ever since the country first started tracking 25 years ago,
and already outpacing the previous record of 941 cases reported for all of last year.
While the ministry has so far reported 77 deaths between January and March,
the real number is likely much higher because it only accounts for three months
and cases have risen significantly in recent weeks. And this is all these figures are expected to rise this year, which is absolutely
horrifying for something that has a 30% mortality rate right now. But also very notably here,
Japan isn't the only country that has seen a spike in STSS in recent years. In fact,
in December of 2022, at least five European nations reported an increase in invasive group
A streptococcus, which includes STSS. But as far as what you can do with this information,
as far as if you live or if you're traveling to Japan,
you have experts saying to have basic hygiene,
like washing your hands and keeping wounds clean as well,
is wearing masks in busy places.
With some also noting that having vaccines
from other upper respiratory tract infections
like flu or COVID can actually help reduce the risk.
I guess the main takeaway here is being alive is stressful.
Like just existing and learning about what's out there. I just wanna listen takeaway here is being alive is stressful. Like just existing and learning
about what's out there. I just want to listen to audio books and go for walks and be ignorant to
the world, man. Knowing stuff sucks. And then for those of you looking to kickstart a business,
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And then a lot of the time
when you're talking about conspiracy theories,
they're just crazy, bogus bullshit.
But then every once in a while,
you find out the actually real fucking nuts thing is true.
What we're seeing right now
is that a Reuters investigation
uncovered a secret US military PSYOP
that spread anti-vax propaganda
at the height of the pandemic.
And this specifically targeting China's Sinovac vaccine, sowing doubt about its safety and efficacy. Though notably,
it was then later approved by the World Health Organization. And the PSYOP also attacked other
life-saving aid like face masks and test kits. With this operation having a special and specific
focus on the Philippines. Because that's where Sinovac was the country's first and primary
vaccine for about a year. I mean, the Philippines got hit hard by the coronavirus,
killing nearly 50,000 people by fall of 2021.
And all the while, little did they know
that there was a team of psychological operation soldiers
and defense contractors at the MacDill Air Force Base
in Tampa, Florida, that had been stoking fear for months.
Reportedly, starting in spring of 2020,
when they began creating hundreds of fake accounts
on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter,
and posting a hashtag that translates to
China is the virus and saying things like COVID came from China and the vaccine also came
from China. Don't trust China. As well as from China, PPE, face mask, vaccine, fake. But the
coronavirus is real. So altogether, we saw these accounts gathering tens of thousands of followers
and this in a country that was already vulnerable to anti-vax nonsense. With one official saying
public concern about a dengue fever vaccine in 2016
led to broad skepticism toward inoculations overall.
But reportedly, the Pentagon's propaganda
didn't stop just in the Philippines
or even in Southeast Asia, for that matter,
saying in the summer it actually reached
across Central Asia and the Middle East,
undermining trust in both Chinese and Russian vaccines.
With a post there preying on Muslims' faith
by claiming that the vaccines contained pork gelatin,
and that notably, even though Sinovac said that was not true.
And with this, they created crazy images like a pig made out of syringes,
or a Chinese flag as a curtain separating Muslim women in hijabs, and pigs stuck with needles.
But then also with this, after Biden arrived in the Oval Office,
Facebook alerted his new national security officials that the military had ignored its request to stop spreading anti-vax misinformation.
With one senior official telling Reuters that they were shocked and the National Security Council terminated the program
by the spring. Though for one reason or another, Reuters still found posts continuing as late as
the summer, by which time the Philippines had one of the worst vaccination rates in Southeast Asia,
with only around 2 million out of the 114 million people getting the shot. And notably, this could
have actually weakened trust in U.S. vaccines as well, because research has shown that when people
become skeptical towards one vaccine, they often become skeptical about others as well. And ironically
enough, we've known that for a long time, thanks to the CIA. Because the agency used a fake hepatitis
vaccination program in Pakistan to hunt for bin Laden. And after that operation was discovered,
it led to attacks on a real vaccination campaign for polio. Now, with secret ops like this,
they're usually associated with a cold war. Notably, after 9-11, you have former officials
telling Reuters that the Pentagon actually began doing
the kind of psyops previously associated only with the CIA,
setting up front news outlets,
paying off prominent local figures,
and funding television soap operas
to turn public opinion against militant groups.
With then, by 2010, the military bringing its operations
to social media.
And notably, after Russia's internet troll farms
and hackers tried to fuck with the 2016 election,
calls for America to fight back
against its adversaries grew louder.
So among the things we saw is in 2019,
Trump authorized the CIA to launch a secret campaign on Chinese social media
aimed at turning public opinion against the government,
with four former officials even telling Reuters that the operation
also targeted public opinion in Southeast Asia, Africa, and the South Pacific.
Then, in March of 2020, U.S. officials felt even more justified in playing dirty
after China launched its own propaganda campaign,
with Chinese officials suggesting baselessly that the virus may have actually originated
in a U.S. Army research facility at Fort Detrick, Maryland,
with the Justice Department alleging that Chinese intelligence operatives
set up networks of fake social media accounts to promote that conspiracy theory.
You know, also, with all of this, you have people saying these revelations
are probably going to hurt the U.S.'s foreign relations more than China's,
which is also, notably, exactly what numerous senior diplomats feared would happen
when the operation was first proposed.
But reportedly their objections were just ignored,
overturning a prior rule
that the Pentagon needed approval from embassy officials
before conducting psychological operations
in a specific country.
Or because in 2019, then Defense Secretary Mark Esper
signed a secret order elevating the Pentagon's competition
with China and Russia to the priority of active combat,
bypassing the rule.
And the military budget passed that year also explicitly authorized the Pentagon to conduct secret
influence operations against other countries, even, quote, outside of areas of active hostilities.
And so today, according to former officials, the military employs a sprawling ecosystem of social
media influencers, front groups, and covertly placed ads to influence overseas audiences.
And actually, last year, an unclassified strategy document said the military could undermine
adversaries such as China and Russia using disinformation spread across social
media, false narratives disguised as news, and similar subversive activities to weaken societal
trust by undermining the foundations of government. But then finally, one of the biggest things to
come from all this is that General Dynamics IT, right, the same contractor that did the anti-vax
They won a $493 million contract in February to continue
providing secret influence services for the military. And then do you think that social
media should have warning labels like cigarettes? Why? Why not? Would it be helpful? And I ask you
because that's actually a question that's being debated right now with the U.S. Surgeon General
explicitly calling on Congress to take this step. And in fact, just this morning, Dr. Vivek Murthy
published an op-ed in the New York Times pushing for a warning label on social media platforms, noting that they can be harmful to adolescents' mental health.
With him pointing to a study that found that the risk of anxiety and depression was doubled in teens who spent more than three hours a day on social media.
Which ends up being extra concerning because as of last summer, that age group was spending a daily average of 4.8 hours on social media.
With him also adding that nearly half of adolescents say that social media makes them feel worse about their bodies, which is why you had Murthy going on to compare social media use to
other instances where the federal government has taken action to protect consumer health and safety.
Right in there, pointing to the grounding of Boeing planes after the door plug debacle,
as well as recalls on contaminated food and the rules requiring seatbelts and airbags being put
into place in response to high levels of car accidents. Writing, why is it that we have failed
to respond to the harms of social media when they are no less urgent or widespread than those posed by unsafe cars, planes, or food?
These harms are not a failure of willpower and parenting.
They are the consequence of unleashing powerful technology without adequate safety measures, transparency, or accountability.
Murthy arguing that social media should be treated in the same way, which is why it should have a warning label.
And that, also notably because warning labels are one of the most powerful tools that the Surgeon General has in their toolbox.
But with that, they also can't take any action by themselves.
Congress has to approve it.
And Murthy noting here that studies of warning labels on tobacco products have indeed shown that they can increase awareness and change behavior.
Back in 1965, Congress voted to require a warning from the Surgeon General on cigarette packs stating that the product may be hazardous to your health.
And notably, at the time those labels first appeared, nearly 42% of American adults were daily smokers.
But now 50 years later,
that number has dropped to just 11.5%.
And Murthy arguing that there's evidence
that we could see direct impacts
from a similar warning on social media sites.
With him there pointing to another recent survey
of Latino parents, where 76% said
that a surge in general warning would encourage them
to limit or monitor their children's use of social media.
Though of course, Murthy says
that the surge in general warning
is just one part of the equation. Saying a warning label would not, on its own, make social media safe for
young people. With that, calling on Congress to take a number of different policy actions,
things like passing legislation protecting young people from online harassment, abuse,
and exploitation, and from exposure to negative content, as well as approving measures that,
quote, prevent platforms from collecting sensitive data from children and restricting features like
push notifications, autoplay, and infinite scroll. You know, those things that get the dopamine hooks in you.
Murthy adding that these tech companies should be required to share data on health effects and
allow independent safety audits. But of course, with this, not everyone is united. Plenty of
people are divided on this. For many, this is kind of akin to the whole video games make people
violent debate. Some experts saying that even though the rise of social media has coincided
with overall declines in well-being, there's no causal evidence between the two. Noting that there are a lot of
other factors at play here, like economic hardship, isolation caused by the pandemic, societal factors
like racism, school shootings, and the opioid epidemic. On the other side of that, I would argue
that there are a lot of negative impacts of social media. If my job didn't require me to be online
and I could have a show like mine that like I could get all the news I
would hopefully want in a day and 20 to 30 minutes, I would do that because it is my least favorite
feeling to be looking at my phone and going, oh my God, I just lost another fucking hour. Why am I
doing this? And I'm still actively scrolling, just being inundated with 90% bullshit and horrible.
But also in this specific situation, like would a warning label and some of the legislation that's
being talked about here actually impact anything? I don't know. Like part of the reason I've never smoked a cigarette wasn't
because I saw a warning label. It was because I saw my parents barely able to have a conversation
without hacking up a lung. Didn't seem like a fun time. You know, the lung and throat cancer that
you got from cigarettes, it's more tangible than the brain rot and depression that I think comes
from social media. But all that said, what do you think here? And then, oh, let's talk about India. Because despite retaining the prime ministership, Modi and
his government are in a major PR nightmare right now. As you've got headlines about alleged
assassinations and murder plots of Sikh activists just making their way around the world. With one
of those plots even happening here in the US, when you had an Indian official plotting to assassinate
a Sikh leader who wanted an independent Sikh state in northern India. Right. And one member of that plot actually
fled back to India, was out of DOJ's reach until he made the massive mistake last month of traveling
to Prague. Because once he got there, Czech officials arrested him. While the would-be
assassin tried to fight off his extradition, Czech justices weren't buying it, with him clearing the
way for him to be sent to the U.S. this past Friday. And what's crazy is that this is really
just the tip of the iceberg. And there are concerns that such a plot could happen in places like Australia.
Over there, a huge report just came out that India has actually been building a large spy network
and promoting the ideology of Modi's BJP.
With those spy networks allegedly doing things they'd expect spies to do,
getting access to sensitive defense information or airport security protocols.
And while the spying is something that Australia would crack down on,
it by itself isn't something that normally would be headline making news. But what did make headlines
was the fact that on top of all that, they were also gathering an increasing amount of information
about Australia's Indian community. And in particular, they were trying to track down
Sikh leaders who were part of the independence movement. With this reportedly having been going
on since at least 2021, and over that time period, Australia has quietly removed at least four of
them from the country. And with all that said, I mean, Australia's government's been very quiet about this matter, which has also rubbed
some leaders the wrong way. And so we're seeing things like one senator saying that India should
have been condemned and that, quote, not only would have it been good to have an honest baseline
for our relationship with India, but it would have also sent a message to the diaspora communities
here that we've got your back. And Sikh activists have warned that if something isn't checked soon,
a country like Australia could be in the same position as Canada in a few years.
Right, and what he means by that is that the Indian government has been explicitly linked by the Canadian government to the assassination of a prominent Sikh leader.
Which you know is a noticeable difference from how the US is tackling the issue as they claim that the plot was due to a single Indian official.
But that could be because the accusations from Canada have seriously strained relations between the two and the US wanted to avoid that.
But regardless, there is substantial evidence that the Indian foreign minister had sent out messages to embassies and consulates
in North America ordering them to keep tabs on these Sikhs. And in instances where they were
deemed a threat, concrete measures were to be taken, such as assassination. Though the Indian
government has denied the authenticity of this evidence. But also, there are hints beyond just
the spying that India is taking a forceful approach with Australia's Indian community,
with multiple people claiming they've gotten questioned when returning to India about alleged ties to the
separatist movement. And in some cases, they're even being held up from going back to Australia.
Then in other instances, Sikh leaders claim they get threatening phone calls at random hours in
the night, warning them to stop their activism. Though also with everything, the big question is
whether these plots will actually have serious ramifications for India and Modi. I mean,
the country is an increasingly important trade partner around the world, and Modi has made it clear that he wants India to make its own mark
in the world. And to that end, you know, his balancing act is on full display. But y'all,
that is where your Monday, evening, Tuesday morning dive into the news is going to end.
And just remember, as always, my name is Philip DeFranco. You've just been filled in. I love
yo faces, and I'll see you right back here tomorrow for more news.