The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 6.6 Why People Are Freaking Out On Miley Cyrus, VOX Walkout, Horrible Sudan Crackdown, & More

Starting point is 00:00:00 Sup, you beautiful bastards. Hope you're having a fantastic Thursday. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco show. Yesterday, I gave you a 23-minute. Today, I'm giving you 19. For those of you who say you like these large shows, you better hit that like button, otherwise I'm gonna punch you in the throat. But with that said, let's just jump into it. And the first thing we're gonna talk about today is we had Miley Cyrus in the news for a non-Black Mirror reason. Which, side note, I'd love to know your opinion. I think Striking Vipers might be the the best episode of the three episode season. One, I think it brings up an interesting hypothetical situation regarding the the consequences and the weight of actions when when virtual and real life kind of blend. And two, it includes the greatest line of dialogue that has been written in the last century. Ahem. Quote, I fucked a polar bear and I still couldn't get you out of my mind.

Starting point is 00:00:43 But no, back on topic. Miley was not in the news because of Black Mirror, but rather because she posted this photo to her Instagram. We see Miley leaning in, licking a cake that reads, abortion is healthcare. It was a photo that promoted her new collaboration with Planned Parenthood, her own nonprofit, Happy Hippie Foundation and the clothing brand Marc Jacobs.

Starting point is 00:01:00 And in addition to the first two main reactions, one being a bunch of love and hate around this post because of the message that it was putting out there, two were the memes that were created because it's incredibly easy to just white out the center of that cake and then put whatever the hell you want in it, but then also three, you had people beginning to point out

Starting point is 00:01:15 that the cake in Cyrus' photo looked a lot like a cake that was in a viral Instagram post from a different account called The Sweet Feminist, whose real name is Becca Rhea Holloway, and she first posted a picture of the cake back in June of 2018. Then, also three other times, including just last month. And really adding fuel to this fire,

Starting point is 00:01:29 we even saw Becca call out Miley Cyrus on Instagram with her own photo comparing the two cakes. And in the caption, she tags Miley and says, "'It is a direct theft of my own original artwork "'from May 2018 with no credits. "'It's literally my exact handwriting, "'message, and concept. "'Swipe for comparison.

Starting point is 00:01:43 "'Cake art is for everyone, but this is inexcusable. Miley then responded to Becca and explained that she saw the photo of her cake and used it as an inspiration to promote her collab. Writing, hi, we saw the image online and didn't realize it was yours. We will absolutely tag you for your work.

Starting point is 00:01:56 Miley then clarifying that the image wasn't being used on any merchandise to be sold as part of the collaboration, and adding, if you could please correct your post, as we're going to make sure you have all the credit you deserve. Thanks for sharing your art and inspiring us. And Becca is now tagged in Cyrus' post, collaboration and adding if you could please correct your post as we're going to make sure you have all the credit you deserve thanks for Sharing your art and inspiring us Becca is now tagged in Cyrus's post and everything's good. He said sarcastically Oh, man, you can really see how tired I am sarcastically that responded while I acknowledge your tag

Starting point is 00:02:16 Oh, this is gonna be long isn't while I acknowledge your tag, although it should also be in the caption itself It doesn't change the fact that my work was used without compensation and without my consent and it is not sufficient. My original image was shared widely, but it certainly would not have been difficult for someone on your team to trace it back to the source. This is clear from the number of people who immediately recognized it as my work. This was not an oversight. It was blatantly and willfully neglectful and deceitful. I would have been more than happy to work with you on a collaboration for this project, but instead my work was just copied without compensation. Someone got paid to make, style, and photograph this cake and it wasn't me. It's also totally unacceptable that you deleted

Starting point is 00:02:48 my comment on the post. And in another post she continues saying that because she's now had to make this attempt to receive credit, she says she is now being harassed by Miley Cyrus fans. Writing, I have gotten hundreds of threatening horrible comments and messages in the past couple of hours for simply pointing out that my work had been stolen. I hope you understand that this sort of mistake has serious tangible consequences for artists like myself." And adding, "'Honestly, I find it laughable "'that you think you're in a position

Starting point is 00:03:09 "'to ask me to edit the language on a post on my own feed, "'advocating for myself in a way "'that has no incorrect information.'" Finally ending with, "'This is not inspiration, it's theft.'" And in her Instagram story, she shared some examples of the messages she had been receiving.

Starting point is 00:03:22 Although at the same time, there are people still coming to Becca's defense Supporting her standing up to Miley Cyrus also of note in case you were wondering because we just we find things out when we're researching Something turns out if you were wondering you can technically copyright a cake design It just has to be two or three dimensional and qualify as a protectable design or as explained by Sonia G Bono a professor of law at Georgetown University copyright attaches the moment It's fixed in tangible form Then it has to be original expression, and I think a cake would qualify as a sculpture,

Starting point is 00:03:48 which I will say I was personally surprised to hear. So if you walk away with anything from this video, I guess it is that. But also, this isn't the most unique situation. It feels like every month or almost every week now, there's some big name that puts something out, and it's like, did you just rip off that small person? Right, whether it be in the past few years,

Starting point is 00:04:03 we've seen accusations against, I mean, organizations, Buzzfeed, accusations against individuals like Kylie Jenner, Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown recently. Ariana Grande got called out by a Russian painter. But ultimately, I mean, that's the end of this story and I'm more interested in your thoughts around this. What do you think about this particular situation

Starting point is 00:04:18 and when things like this happen? I think in other instances, you know, there could be a conversation or debate around parallel thinking. You know, there are already so many damn people on this planet, everyone could have creative thought, but sometimes things line up. And then you have instances like the Miley Cyrus one

Starting point is 00:04:31 that we talked about, where even without Miley Cyrus's admission, it seems pretty transparent. What are your thoughts on that? What do you think should happen? As far as what do you think will happen, I don't personally think anything will. Historically, it seems like a person kind of gets some bad press for a little bit,

Starting point is 00:04:44 but then it just goes away. Especially because the main story regarding this specific picture has to do with the message itself and the reception to the audience, people loving it or hating it. Yeah, I just love to know your thoughts there. Then let's talk about some chaos around stories that we've covered earlier this week. Of course, we've been covering the Steven Crowder, Carlos Maza, Vox YouTube situation. If you're unfamiliar, you haven't watched those videos, how dare you? Ultimately where we left off was YouTube responding in around the last 36 hours. With Crowder's channel having done nothing wrong, we're not gonna touch it. To then upon further investigation,

Starting point is 00:05:10 demonetization of the channel. This move because of egregious actions. Then noting that Crowder would have to stop selling a certain shirt to get monetization back. And then finally a clarification that it's not just the shirt, that it's actually a number of things. And since we recorded that video, YouTube has now issued another update.

Starting point is 00:05:22 Where they say a lot, I'll link to it down below, but there are two key points. The first of which seems to address Mazza's cut of Crowder saying things about him. With YouTube writing, as an open platform, we sometimes host opinions and views that many, ourselves included, may find offensive. These could include edgy standup comedy routines,

Starting point is 00:05:35 a chart-topping song, or a charged political rant and more. Short moments from these videos spliced together paint a troubling picture. But individually, they don't always cross the line. They say the reason for that is for harassment. We look at whether the purpose of the video is to incite harassment, threaten, or humiliate an individual, or whether personal information is revealed. For example, is it a two-minute video dedicated to going after an individual? A 30-minute video of political speech where different individuals are called out a handful of times? Is it focused on a public or private figure? And adding for hate speech,

Starting point is 00:06:00 we look at whether the primary purpose of the video is to incite hatred toward or promote supremacism over a protected group, or whether it seeks to incite violence But then also to the big note is they write in the coming months We will be taking a hard look at our harassment policies with an aim to update them and adding we are determined to evolve our Policies and continue to hold our creators and ourselves to a higher standard So it looks like right now the plan is at least in the near future and maybe this is too cynical of a way to Explain it but it appears that YouTube is saying that they will be moving the goalposts soon.

Starting point is 00:06:27 So there's that. Also, this story continues to grow. We even saw Ted Cruz tweeting it out. Right, so it's not just this little digital thing anymore, like you have US senators getting involved. And then, because timing has played such a pivotal role in this story, while all of this is happening today, hundreds of employees for Vox Media walked out today.

Starting point is 00:06:44 This, not in connection to this whole situation. This is because the Vox Media walked out today. This not in connection to this whole situation. This is because the Vox Media Union is demanding competitive wage skills, strong guaranteed raises, better severance, and subcontracting work. And as far as Vox's reaction to this, according to a report from Bloomberg, Vox CEO Jim Bancroft tells employees he's disappointed by the Vox Union walkout

Starting point is 00:07:00 and saying, quote, while paying people a lot more than market wages sounds great on the surface, it's not realistic or smart. But also saying he wants a fair and highly competitive agreement quickly So I guess the main point that this story ends on is can we call the people that work for Vox that walked out? anti-voxers Don't don't use that that's probably a dumb joke that a billion people have said by now also Yes, James. I am realizing in this moment, now you definitely wanna use this stupid joke.

Starting point is 00:07:27 Anyway, moving on. And then let's talk about this story that in part has to do with the spread of fake news. There was a 17-year-old Dutch girl who went by the name Noah Pothhoven, and she experienced severe depression, PTSD, and anorexia after she was sexually assaulted numerous times as a child. Throughout her life, she had tried numerous kinds

Starting point is 00:07:41 of treatment and reportedly even attempted suicide. She even wrote a book about her struggles. And recently, she looked into euthanasia, citing that the pain she experienced from all of this was just too unbearable. And for those who aren't aware, euthanasia is actually legal in the Netherlands, and it can be performed in very specific circumstances

Starting point is 00:07:55 when a patient experiencing credible pain has no other options. And the way it works is this patient must make a voluntary request, and that request must be approved. And Podhoven recently made one of those requests. Also later posting this now deleted photo to Instagram with a caption that translates to, after years of fighting and fighting it is finished. After many conversations and assessments

Starting point is 00:08:12 it was decided that I will be released because my suffering is unbearable. And after this several English-language media outlets, specifically British and American sources reported that she had been legally euthanized and died over the weekend, with even Pope Francis seeming to tweet about this incident. But, as it turns out, these reports were wrong. Yesterday, a political Europe reporter by the name of Naomi O'Leary posted a thread debunking these articles, writing, wrote the original Dutch story. Noah Podhoven asked for euthanasia and was refused. Infuriatingly, it's too late. This misinformation has already spread all over the world from Australia to the United States to India. Her name is even trending in Italy. And when you go to the original reports on this story,

Starting point is 00:08:53 which were done by Da Helderlander, it even says that Podhoven went to the end-of-life clinic to request euthanasia without anyone's knowledge, but was denied and in a December interview. She even told the newspaper, "'They consider that I am too young to die. "'They think I should complete the trauma treatment and that my brain must first be fully grown.

Starting point is 00:09:07 That lasts until your 21st birthday. It's broken me because I can't wait that long. And so it turns out that what actually ended up happening was that Noah, yes, did die over the weekend, but it happened at home in a hospital bed after she refused to eat or drink anything. And the thing is, this information actually came from Botthoven's Instagram post,

Starting point is 00:09:22 which was often cited in those false reports. And also to try and curb the spread of this Misinformation to get people to understand what the real story is end of life clinic that denied her requests even addressed reports in a statement Saying to put an end to incorrect reporting in foreign media in particular about her death We refer to the statement made by friends of Noah this afternoon. Noah Podhoven did not die of euthanasia stop her suffering She has stopped eating and drinking And as Naomi O'Leary explained, a decision to move to palliative care and not to force-feed at the request of the patient is not euthanasia. And that's because, as the Netherlands government website says, euthanasia is performed by the attending physician. And this, what actually happened, was not a procedure

Starting point is 00:09:56 performed by a doctor. This is a decision that Pothoven made, right, a decision to refuse care that those around her allowed. So it appears, as far as how did this false information spread, it seems like in large part, it's because there was a misinterpretation of Dutch reports. There was an understanding that she had looked into euthanasia, then a post that seemingly pointed out that she was no longer here,

Starting point is 00:10:14 and people kind of just connected those dots, even though there were reports and interviews that said otherwise. And so now several outlets, including the Washington Post and the Daily Beast, have had to issue corrections. And I will say, looking at this story, for me, it stands out for two reasons.

Starting point is 00:10:26 One is obviously what we've discussed, right? The fake news, misunderstanding situation. Right, I think the misinformation around this hurts the legal euthanasia situation in that country. They have rules as far as when and why they will do this. It was falsely reported that they did something that they actually denied, and that's an issue. And two, this story stands out to me

Starting point is 00:10:42 just around the subject of euthanasia. You know, while I think about it, I would have the same concerns that the end-of-life clinic had, right? That she was just so young. For me personally, because, you know, it would be impossible for me to put myself in her shoes, it raises a lot of red flags. A lot of potential concerns around such a permanent choice. But at the same time, hearing that she ended her life by having to just stop eating and drinking, I just, I can't imagine how horrible that is. And it's part of the reason why I do think that it should be legal in certain situations. Especially when you look at the figures around legal euthanasia.

Starting point is 00:11:10 Like in the Netherlands in 2017, the vast majority that died from euthanasia had pulmonary disease, cardiovascular diseases, neurological disorders, or like incurable cancers. And personally, I don't think I or the government have any right to say, "'Hey you, you have to deal with the endless pain "'and suffering.'"

Starting point is 00:11:24 That to me seems way more cruel and unusual. That's also the thing, that's a story, my personal opinion, and you can agree or disagree with it. And on that note, I'd love to know your thoughts. Do you think that euthanasia should be legal everywhere? No, do you think it should be criminalized? Only in certain circumstances, right? Physical versus mental, age requirements,

Starting point is 00:11:40 any and all thoughts, I'd love to hear from you. But also on a personal note, whenever we talk about stories like this, I do want to say if you are someone that is dealing with a lot, you've thought about self-harm, I've been in dark places, I know plenty of people who have been in dark places. A link down below, you can check out the Suicide Prevention Lifeline, there's a 1-800 number that's on screen right now. Whatever you're feeling does not make you lesser. Reaching out for help doesn't make you lesser.

Starting point is 00:12:01 In my opinion and in my experience, we're all these kind of broken pieces that that need help as little as some of us like to admit and then let's talk about What is happening in Sudan? So this is a very big story There are a lot of moving parts that go all the way back to December So before we break this down kind of keep that in mind This is a summary of key events to get you up to date on what has happened So back in December of 2018 There are these huge Anti-government protests that break out all across Sudan over steep price hikes and shortages.

Starting point is 00:12:25 The demonstrators initially called for economic reforms, but quickly shifted to calls for the Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir to step down. I understand when I say president, right, it's a different situation. Al-Bashir had been president of Sudan for 30 years and he was planning on running for re-election in 2020. Right, so as you can imagine, he didn't want to go. And so we saw these protests continue over the next few months and in response, security forces launched a violent crackdown that killed dozens of people and arrested thousands.

Starting point is 00:12:46 And the exact numbers here are hard to pin down, but these crackdowns were extremely aggressive. What we saw happen around the end of February is al-Bashir escalated these efforts. He declared a state of emergency, he dissolved the federal and provincial governments to install security forces, basically just giving them a blank check

Starting point is 00:13:00 to end the protests at all costs. And he also banned any and all unauthorized gatherings. And after this, the protests did slow down, but they didn't stop. But then in April, we see the protests gain momentum again. This after the president of Algeria, who had been in power for 20 years, resigned following similar demonstrations in his country. We saw the protests in Sudan reach a tipping point on April 6th when demonstrators staged a huge sit-in outside the military's headquarters, which of note is near the presidential residence in the capital city of Khartoum. And again, these protesters were met with violence and arrests from security forces.

Starting point is 00:13:27 But the sit-in at military headquarters seemed to have actually worked. Al-Bashir was removed from power and arrested by a military coup. And after his removal, the military installed a transitional military council, the TMC, to oversee a transition of power that they said will last at most two years.

Starting point is 00:13:40 But now, demonstrators have demanded that the military ruler hand over power to a civilian-led government immediately. And so reportedly, military leaders agreed to negotiate with protest leaders to form a transitional government. But with this, they haven't been able to agree on the role of the military in that transition. So, over the last month or so, what we've seen are on-and-off negotiations, as well as continued protests and demonstrations. Some of which have reportedly, once again, been met with violence from security forces. And while all of this was happening, that same sit-in that started back in early April, it was still going strong until this week. According to reports, on Monday,

Starting point is 00:14:07 paramilitary security forces attacked the longstanding camp, opening fire at civilians and torching their tents. And reportedly, they were also using live ammunition inside a hospital where the wounded protesters were being treated. And after several hours, the security forces were successful in gaining control over most of the camp, having effectively dispersed the protesters

Starting point is 00:14:23 and sealing off nearly a square mile area that the sit-in had previously occupied. This was a massively concerning event because while demonstrators have been clashing with security forces for months, Monday's attack was especially violent and lethal. According to a post by the Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors, a total of 108 people

Starting point is 00:14:37 were killed in the attack and more than 500 people were injured by gunshot wounds. However, and this is why I said the numbers are hard to pin down, the Director General of Sudan's Health Ministry contradicted this report, and instead telling Reuters this morning that the official number was 61 dead. Now following these attacks, we saw a lot of responses from foreign leaders. U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton tweeted,

Starting point is 00:14:54 The unprovoked violence of Sudan's security forces against peaceful demonstrators in Khartoum is abhorrent. The TMC must respect the right to peaceful demonstration and speed transition to a civilian-led government, which the Sudanese people have rightfully demanded." And this sentiment was also backed up by a US State Department spokesperson who said the United States condemns the recent attacks on protesters in Sudan. We also saw UK Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt tweet, "...condemn the attack on protesters by Sudanese security forces. This is an outrageous step that will only lead to more polarization and violence. It will not help Sudan build the future the people are demanding. The military council bears full responsibility for this action and the international community will hold it to account.

Starting point is 00:15:28 The following day, the United States, Norway, and the UK issued a joint statement calling for an agreed transfer of power to a civilian-led government. Also, according to reports, the African Union, Egypt, Germany, Qatar have also issued separate statements calling for protest leaders and the TMC to return to negotiations. We also saw Human Rights Watch refer to the attack

Starting point is 00:15:43 in a statement as egregious rights violations that require urgent international action to halt further violation. Also calling for the UN to launch an official investigation. Which on that note, the UN Secretary General's office released a statement saying, "'The Secretary General strongly condemns the violence and reports of the excessive use of force

Starting point is 00:15:58 by security personnel on civilians that have resulted in the deaths and injury of many.'" And just today, the African Union suspended Sudan's membership saying in a tweet, "'The AU Peace and Security Council has. And just today, the African Union suspended Sudan's membership, saying in a tweet, the AU Peace and Security Council has, with immediate effect, suspended the participation of the Republic of Sudan in all AU activities until the effective establishment of a civilian-led

Starting point is 00:16:14 transitional authority as the only way to allow Sudan to exit from the current crisis. But as far as what is going to happen next, it's very unclear. I mean, this confrontation clearly marks a turning point. Following the attack, the TMC said they would no longer negotiate with protesters and called for snap elections in nine months.

Starting point is 00:16:28 But then yesterday, military leaders went back on that decision saying they wanted negotiations. But that was rebuked by protest leaders who refused to negotiate with them after the attack. And all the while, demonstrators are still protesting, the military is saying they're going to investigate the attack. And so that's where we are right now,

Starting point is 00:16:40 this terrifying, concerning situation that is both unique and not unique. Unique in the specifics to any given Country but also not unique in the chaos that that always follows the removal of some sort of strongman But as far as what happens next we're gonna have to wait and see but of course like with everything we covered I'd love to know your thoughts on this and that's where we're going to end today's show Remember if you like this video you like these daily dives into the news Let us know hit that like button

Starting point is 00:17:03 Also, if you're new here, definitely hit that subscribe button, ring that bell to turn on notifications. Also, if you're not 100% filled in, maybe you missed the Wednesday show, the Tuesday show, you can click or tap right there to watch and catch up. 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.

Starting point is 00:17:22 Hi Daddy!

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The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 6.6 Why People Are Freaking Out On Miley Cyrus, VOX Walkout, Horrible Sudan Crackdown, & More

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