The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 7.17 "Maniac Cult Leader" Busted Trying to Poison Kids with Secret Nazi Santa, Piers Morgan vs Destiny, &

Episode Date: July 17, 2024

Just go to https://www.zocdoc.com/phil and download the Zocdoc app for FREE. Then find and book a top-rated doctor today!  Go to https://incogni.com/defranco and use code DEFRANCO to get 60% off an annual Incogni plan.    Use code “PHIL” for $20 OFF your first SeatGeek order & returning buyers use code “PDS” for $10 off AND your chance at weekly $500 prizes! https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/PHIL  Daily Dip newsletter subscribers can win up to $1,000 in SeatGeek credit so make sure you’re subscribed: https://www.dailydip.co/ ==== ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩- – 00:00 - Destiny Suspended From Kick After Making Fun of Trump Rally Victim 03:30 - Regular Citizens Lose Jobs Over Trump Comments 06:10 - DOJ Indicts Alleged Cult Leader For Santa Poison Plan 09:06 - Nearly 45 in 100 Workers Are Injured in Amazon Warehouses 11:47 - Sponsored by ZocDoc 13:02 - Musk Moves SpaceX HQ After CA Gender Notification School Law  17:02 - 988 Crisis Hotline Answered 10 Million Calls, Texts, & Chats in First Two Years 20:05 - Bangladesh Shuts Universities, Deploys Border Forces After Student Protests  23:19 - Sponsored by Incogni 24:25 - Social Media Is Increasing Desire for Cosmetic Procedures 31:48 - Comment Commentary Full Segment With Piers Morgan and Destiny: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt_CipOPPs0 ——————————   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 Associate Producer on Cosmetic Surgery: Maddie Circhton ———————————— #DeFranco #Destiny #PiersMorgan ———————————— Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sup, you beautiful bastards. Welcome back to the Philip DeFranco Show, your daily dive into the news. And I got a massive show for you today. There is so much we need to talk about. So you just buckle up and hit that like button to let YouTube know you like these big daily dives into the news, and I'll just jump into it.

This is a news show. So as heavily requested, let's talk about this Destiny, Piers Morgan, Donald Trump situation. And Destiny, if you don't know, is a controversial political commentator and streamer. And he's been getting a lot of heat for his comments following the Trump assassination attempt. With a lot of the stuff he has said in the aftermath, both on stream and on Twitter, pissing off a lot of people. With this, including comments that he made about the firefighter who was killed during the shooting at the Trump rally. Get the dude, the firefighter guy, Trump, the people that support him. If one of you were in the crowd and you're a conservative fan of mine and you end up,

you know, getting blown away or whatever the fuck, I'm making fun of you the next day on Twitter. He's made points similar to that a handful of times, also tweeting about the situation seemingly nonstop since Saturday, with some of the posts gaining the most traction saying things like, A person in a crowd cheering for and supporting a traitor to this country caught astray. I'm so sad. Please. I'm sure Corey and Babbitt are both having fun with each other in hell right now. As well as Donald Trump incited an insurrection and then was granted full criminal immunity for possibly all of his involvement. I have zero sympathy for anything that happens to him or anyone who supports him. And so with that, you had a lot of people calling the remarks sad and disgusting, adding things like,

do you think it's just generally fine to murder any Trump supporter? A number of people calling for his account to be demonetized. Elon Musk actually responded, saying, you're right, this is not appropriate content for advertisers. Destiny also posted that he was suspended from Kik for hate speech, which I didn't even know you could get kicked from Kik. Though it does look like he'll be allowed back

on the platform at the end of the month. But also amid all this criticism, he's really only doubled down, writing things like, never apologizing for the way I treat conservative shits in this country. If I've offended anyone with my recent tweets, I'd like to make things right. DM me and I'll buy you front row seats

to the next Trump route. But then all of this blowing up even more when he went on Piers Morgan. And while there are numerous highlights in it, something that's gotten a lot of attention was there was this moment where Piers Morgan says you seem almost gleeful, then saying that makes you frankly despicable

with Destiny responding. I don't think I'm gleeful about anything. I don't think anybody should die. I don't think anybody deserves to die. But you want to talk about gleeful, look at I don't think anybody should die. I don't think anybody deserves to die. But you want to talk about gleeful, look at the conservative response to Pelosi's husband. Which I will say was interesting, especially given that one of the other people

on that panel was Dave Rubin. With him being a conservative commentator who Destiny and others have essentially said is being a hypocrite in this situation. Tweeting out a screenshot of Rubin memeing about Hammer Time after what happened to Paul Pelosi. Also linking to when Rubin wrote,

here's hoping that AOC, Rashida and Ilhan join Aaron Bushnell in his brave protest. Who if you don't remember is the service member who lit himself on fire to protest what was happening in Gaza, which is also why Destiny then continued to say to peers, conservatives have been turning the temperature up on the rhetoric. They have been making fun of these types of events for years. And now when something happens to them, now they're looking for sympathy from the liberal side? Absolutely not. And so a lot of the discussion, which by the way, I'll link to the full panel down below.

There's a lot that's said, and it's just too much to try and fit into this one video. But yeah, in general, his stance was, I'm not gonna apologize for what I said. Right now we're seeing so many hypocrites and pearl clutching from people as guilty as me. They are just on the other side politically. And so all of that together, as you can imagine, it's been very divisive. The seeing people landing in just a

number of camps. There's the more basic of fuck that guy or love that guy. And then other camps of people going, you know, I'm disgusted about what he said about the firefighter that was killed, but he's not wrong about the hypocrisy. There's also a good chunk of people that are more focused on the fact that Kik banned him. With people saying that if you look at what's actively being streamed and allowed on Kik, it feels like they're picking and choosing who to enforce the rules on. That's why with all this,

I'd love to hear from you in those comments down below. Also, I will say something connected to this story, but different, is what happens in a situation like this when it involves someone that's like an ordinary working class citizen, not an online streamer. Because if you scan socials, you scan through the news, there's been more than one normie suddenly finding themselves in the spotlight for expressing anything but sympathy

for the shooter's victims. Though most of the situations have involved people like this woman who appears to have posted on Facebook, too bad they weren't a better shooter. And actually with that specific one, apparently someone saw that, found the Home Depot she worked at, approached her at the register,

confirmed her identity, and then asked her this. And you think that the shooter should have been a better shot? Is that what you posted on Facebook? As a veteran, I'm disgusted. What have you provided to this country? Huh? I'm sorry.

This is ridiculous. You are ridiculous. And I'm making you famous. And he did end up making her famous because that clip ended up getting picked up by none other than libs of TikTok. With her tagging Home Depot and writing, are you aware that you employ people

who call for political violence in the assassination of presidents? Any comment? Then also many people jumping on board saying things like, as a contractor who spends about $2,500 a week at Home Depot, I am demanding that she be fired or I'll take my business to Menards and Lowe's. As well as release a corporate statement to your team and fire anyone not on the side of America First or get ready for

the Bud Light treatment. But then ultimately, Home Depot itself actually responding, writing, this individual's comments don't reflect the Home Depot or our values. We can confirm she no longer works at the Home Depot. But then also with that, you saw a fair amount of people criticizing Libs of TikTok and others for effectively doxing this random woman, as well as Home Depot for caving in to what they said was the mob. Saying things like, sorry, but if you show up at a stranger's work to film and shame them for posting something you don't like on social media, there's a 99.99% chance you're the asshole. As well as nobody cares or should care what random Home Depot employees think about political events. Wasn't that the point of all the cancel culture whinging? Though also, this woman wasn't the only one pointed out by libs of TikTok. But there's

also seeing them going after the captain of a fire department in Pennsylvania. Though also, this woman wasn't the only one pointed out by libs of TikTok. With us also seeing them going after the captain of a fire department in Pennsylvania. For in this, after he made a post to his 20,000 followers on Facebook saying, too bad it didn't hit him square. That of course going viral, many outraged in the replies, pointing out that the person who died in the shooting was a fellow firefighter. With us then seeing on Monday that the captain announced

that he was resigning from his job. Saying, I can't do this. This is so beyond anything that should ever be happening. I have been threatened. My family has been threatened. My family has been threatened. My friends have been threatened. I have never felt so unsafe in my life. This is so far past anything that should ever be condoned.

I made a mistake with that simple statement. I own that. But to threaten those around me with harm that had no part in this, I can't do it. I've already lost several people extremely close to me. I expect to lose more. But with all that now said, I gotta ask, what are your thoughts here?

Do you see this more as a fucking around and finding out or targeted harassment and doxing? And also, why do you feel how you feel? And then, brace yourself for this, the alleged leader of a neo-Nazi murder cult has been charged over a plot to have someone dress up as Santa and hand out poisoned candy to Jewish children and minority kids in New York. And according to a Justice Department press release, the man in question is a 21 year old Georgian national named Mikhail, AKA Commander Butcher, the alleged leader of the Maniac Murder Cult, which is reportedly a violent international extremist group

with members in the US and abroad that the DOJ said, quote, here's to a neo-Nazi accelerationist ideology and promotes violence and violent acts against racial minorities, the Jewish community and other groups it deems undesirables. With members reportedly sharing a quote, "'common goal of challenging social order and governments via terrorism and violent acts that promote fear and chaos.'"

And since 2021, Mikhail has distributed a manifesto called the Haters Handbook that says he has murdered for the white race and instructs others to engage in acts of mass violence and ethnic cleansing. With this including school shootings, using kids for suicide bombingsings and other mass killings, which he specifically encourages in the US. And Mikhail who stayed with his grandmother in Brooklyn

twice in 2022, told others that he himself had committed hate crimes while in the US. Even bragging that he was glad to have murdered and that he would murder more, but he wants to make others murder first. And so around the same time that he visited the States, Mikhail solicited others, mostly via encrypted messaging, to commit violent hate crimes and other acts of violence.

The problem for Mikhail though, is he asked the wrong people. Because it turned out one of the people that he asked to commit mass violence in New York was an undercover FBI agent. And so back in September, this agent asks Mikhail if there's an application process for joining the maniac murder cult.

Right, is there a sit down interview where you're gonna ask me questions like, what's your worst trait? Where are you weakest? Which I imagine in this setting, an applicant would be like, I think I just like committing hate crimes too much. But Mikhail reportedly responded,

well, yes, we ask people for brutal beating, arson explosion, or murder vids on camera. And adding that poisoning and arson are best options for murder and suggesting that the agent consider a large mass murder in the US against low race targets. Within a few months later, him asking the agent to commit violent crimes,

such as bombings and arsons for the purpose of harming racial minorities, Jewish individuals, and others. Even providing, quote, detailed plans and materials like bomb-making instructions. And reportedly at the same time, Mikhail had also started planning out

a mass casualty event in New York set for New Year's Eve that involved, quote, an individual dressing up as Santa Claus and handing out candy laced with poison to racial minorities and children at Jewish schools in Brooklyn. The main thing going as far is to draft step-by-step instructions to carry out the scheme

and shared detailed manuals on creating and mixing lethal poisons and gases with the undercover agent. But ultimately this ended up being a flawed plan, not only because Jewish kids don't really do Santa, but of course, because he showed this to an undercover agent and they nabbed his ass. And so now we've seen a grand jury

indict him on four charges. One count each of soliciting and conspiring to solicit violent felonies, including hate crime acts and transporting an explosive with intent to kill or injure, as well as two other counts of distributing information about how to make explosives and sending threatening communications. And if he gets convicted,

this absolute psychopath could face up to 50 years in prison. So yeah, I guess at the very least, add secret Nazi Santa on the list of random fucking things to be scared of now. And then Amazon's Prime Day kicked off yesterday and it's expected to bring in nearly $14 billion in sales. But although sales, they come at a cost. And in the case of Prime Day, that cost is the wellbeing of Amazon warehouse employees.

And we know that because a new report from the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions has made Amazon's internal data on warehouse injuries public for the very first time. And the revelations in this about Prime Day, they're horrifying. Like according to the report for 2019's Prime Day, the rate of recordable injuries was more than 10

in every 100 workers, one in 10, which I mean, there's a decent number of injuries happening in the US warehousing and storage industry, but that is more than double the average. And a big thing is that the recordable injuries are just the ones that Amazon is required to tell OSHA about, right? The ones that need more attention than double the average. And a big thing is that the recordable injuries are just the ones that Amazon is required to tell OSHA about, right? The ones that need more attention than just first aid.

And so when you actually look at the total number of injuries, I'm sorry for laughing. It's just so insane. The rate of injuries is nearly 45 of every 100 workers. Like I have to imagine even third world sweatshops are like, Jesus Christ, does Bezos throw in bricks from his office? But also the report says that these rates are likely an undercount because Amazon is notorious for misclassifying and failing

to report injuries. And the committee's probe also finding that the high injury rate around peak sales times like Prime Day or the holidays, it's a symptom of Amazon's understaffing. With the report reading, these injury rates are especially egregious in light of the incredible revenue the company generates and the resources it has available to make its warehouses safe for workers. And so with this, you had Senator Bernie Sanders, the committee's chair, echoing that sentiment in a statement saying,

"'Despite all their wealth and profits, "'Amazon and its executives end up doing everything they can "'to stress out their workers "'and push them as hard as they possibly can "'to make as much money as they possibly can.'" And if at this point you're thinking, "'Phil, the data's five years old, "'why isn't the Senate using more recent information?'

Well, according to a spokesperson for Bernie Sanders, the Senate committee had to use data from 2019 and 2020 because that's what Amazon provided for the inquiry. And notably here, you have an Amazon spokesperson responding to this report saying that the company's recorded injury rate has improved significantly since 2019, but they weren't able to provide any recent data

on the total injury rate. So as of now, their source for the data is trust me, bro. Also, we saw Amazon dispute the understaffing allegations with a spokesperson saying, we carefully plan and staff up for major events, ensure that we have excess capacity across our network, and design our network so that orders are automatically routed to sites that can handle unexpected spikes in volume. They also said that the claim that Amazon underreports injuries is false, saying that federal labor investigations have not found any errors in their reporting. And really, the spokesperson disputing the committee's report as a whole, saying it draws sweeping and inaccurate conclusions based on unverified federal labor investigations have not found any errors in their reporting. And really the spokesperson disputing the committee's report

as a whole saying it draws sweeping and inaccurate conclusions based on unverified anecdotes. And it misrepresents documents that are several years old and contain factual errors and faulty analysis. Again, as of now, this report is just the preliminary findings. So we'll have to wait to see what happens. And in the meantime,

you can still go to Amazon and get that $120 thing that is down from $180, even though it is normally priced at $120. And then, being an adult, it has its high points. Like you can eat ice cream for dinner while playing graphically violent video games, those sorts of things. But you also gotta do some of the other things,

like pay your taxes, figure out what's for dinner every night, and make doctor's appointments. So actually with that, I wanna give a massive thank you to ZocDoc, not only for sponsoring today's show, but also having the healthcare app that makes adulting that much easier.

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and go to ZocDoc.com slash Phil to find and instantly book a top rated doctor today. Z-O-C-D-O-C.com slash Phil. ZocDoc.com slash Phil. And then let's talk about California, Texas, and the best friends that are Elon Musk and Gavin Newsom. You know, a big part of the news today is that over the last year or so,

California schools have been culture war battlegrounds. We've seen more than a dozen mostly conservative led school boards create policies that require school staff to notify parents of a student request to use a different name or pronoun, which isn't completely uncommon according to the AP with at least six states having similar requirements, including Alabama, Arkansas, and North and South Carolina.

However, liberal leaders in California have pushed back, saying that these policies force transgender and non-binary students out to families that may not be supportive of their identity. And while we've seen this tug of war just happening for over a year now, California Governor Gavin Newsom put his foot down on Monday, signing the nation's first law banning those policies.

Now with this, it is important to note that parents still have the rights to access their students' records and kids still can't change their names legally without parental permission. With a spokesperson from the governor's office saying, "'This law helps keep children safe "'while protecting the critical role of parents.'"

And adding, "'It protects the child-parent relationship "'by preventing politicians and school staff "'from inappropriately intervening in family matters "'and attempting to control if, when, and how families have deeply personal conversations. And so given the topic, as you might imagine, this prompted a mixed reaction, even within the state.

Some parents for it, like Christy Hurst, a Chino Valley parent who said, it's an excellent bill that will keep students safer in the state of California. And the bill has also been applauded by LGBTQ plus advocacy groups like Equality California, whose executive director said in a statement, "'This critical legislation strengthens protections

"'for LGBTQ plus youth against forced outing policies, "'provides resources for parents and families "'of LGBTQ plus students to support them "'as they have conversations on their terms, "'and creates critical safeguards "'to prevent retaliation against teachers and school staff "'who foster a safe and supportive school environment "'for all students.'"

But notably, Sonia Shah, who was elected to lead the Chino Valley Unified School District in 2022, was less enthused. Her reportedly accusing Newsom of being part of a quote, "'political cartel' and promise to fight the bill in court saying, it is morally corrupt and was enacted to prevent parents from exercising their rights. This battle is far from over and we will not rest

until justice is served and parental rights are fully restored." And they have already lived up to that promise with Chino Valley Unified School District suing Newsom yesterday. However, with that, you had a spokesperson for Newsom's office calling the lawsuit, quote, deeply unserious and saying

that they are confident the state will prevail quickly. But also a key thing with this is that the impact of this law goes beyond parents and lawsuits. With, for example, folks like Elon Musk saying that Newsom signing this bill, it was the final straw and he's moving his companies from the state. Saying because of this law and the many others that preceded it

attacking both families and companies, SpaceX will now move its headquarters from Hawthorne, California to Starbase, Texas. With him then adding, I did make it clear to Governor Newsom about a year ago that laws of this nature would force families and companies to leave California to protect their children. And then saying that X headquarters will also be moving to Austin. The other is saying that the final straw thing doesn't fully make sense because he already moved Tesla to Austin from California back in 2021. With many saying this is already probably the plan, especially with Musk leaning more

and more conservative these days. So I would say lean is probably not the right word. I think it's closer to a full-fledged base jump to the right. But among other things, the Wall Street Journal reporting that he plans on donating $45 million a month to a pro-Trump super PAC.

Also, as it pertains to what we're talking about, in response to the company's relocation, Governor Newsom's office pointed to a tweet that he made on Tuesday saying Elon Musk, quote, bent the knee to Trump. Though then Musk responded saying that Newsom's always on his knees. But with that said, as this continues to play out, we're gonna have to wait to see what happens with the lawsuit. There's also another court that matters, and that's the Court of Public Opinion. There, we've seen a lot of different things, some expressing their displeasure, saying this is a horrifying overreach, parents have the absolute right

to know what's going on with their kids, not to be kept in the dark by some bureaucratic nonsense. And going further to say gender identity delusions have no place in schools and certainly not at the expense of parental rights. This has gone too far. Of course, there's also no shortage of people supporting it, saying things like, safety is the point.

Ask yourself if a child, one, felt able to open up to a teacher and not their parents, and two, asked their teacher not to tell their parents, why might this child feel this way? And perhaps they have good reason not to feel safely able to open up to their parents. But then, of course, with all that said, I got to pass a question off to you, and that is, where do you stand on this? Do you love the bill? Do you hate the bill? Are you conflicted? What are your thoughts here and why? And then, we've got some great, but also concerning, but also concerning, but also just interesting news about 988 today. Which if you don't know, 988 is a mental health hotline.

It just celebrated its second birthday. And its report card this year, it reveals a lot. Right, so Trump signed 988 into law in 2020 and Biden both implemented and expanded it when he took office. With all of that now bringing us to today where there are more than 200 call centers usually operating around the clock.

And since this first went live, the hotline has reportedly answered more than 10 million calls, texts, and chat messages. Which you know, may sound like a lot, and to be sure, it is. You know, there's a lot of individuals who got help they otherwise may not have gotten, but it's still very obviously a fraction of the number

that we would see if as many people knew about 988 as they do about 911. According to a recent survey, two thirds of people have at least heard of 988, but only about a quarter say they're at least somewhat familiar with it. And this is federal officials are trying to boost awareness through advertisements, billboards, buses, even podcasts.

Meanwhile, I'm talking about for free like a schmuck. But also a key thing is that the hotlines are already struggling to handle the current number of calls which isn't surprising because if you go to the 988 website, the open job listings hits the floor and goes out the door. And that is probably at least partially connected to their counselors saying they work long grueling hours for modest pay, with just so many of them complaining

about burnout over the past two years. And then that problem is made worse by patchy and unreliable funding from state and federal governments. Because while the Biden administration has poured almost one and a half billion dollars into 988 so far, and earmarked more than 200 million in grants for states in the 2024 fiscal year, experts say that the program just still needs a stable permanent source of funding, which is also something at least 10 states have moved toward providing themselves. And they do

this by exacting small fees on monthly phone bills to subsidize the call centers, which is actually how 911 is funded. But again, even despite the staffing shortage and the issues we've talked about, 988 has done a very impressive job of staying on top of the ballooning demand. With, for example, over the past year, calls and texts jumping 34 and 51%. And also a key thing is that the percentage of people who hang up before reaching a counselor, that's actually relatively small.

With it being said that centers answer 88% of calls, 83% of chats and 97% of texts. With arguably the most important number with everything we're talking about here being that of the people who say they or their loved ones contacted the hotline, 68% said they got the help that they needed. Which one, yeah, there's still a lot of room for improvement but two, that's 13 points higher than last year.

And three, a gigantic leap from before this existed. So for you, please know that 988 exists for maybe your friends, your family, let them know 988 exists. And I'm also specifically talking to you fucko if you don't think that you need or you deserve help. Trust me, when you're down, it fucking helps to have someone reach a handout.

And this existing, even in a non-perfect form and in early stages form, that's a hand reaching out. And if you're even remotely questioning or asking, call. Because you're not alone there. Reportedly, half of people aren't sure when a situation is serious enough to warrant calling the hotline. But the thing is, you don't have to be actively suicidal

to call 988. You don't even need to be experiencing crisis. Even if you're just having a hard time with it, with substance abuse or a relationship or general anxiety or depression, maybe you just need to talk to someone who's not gonna judge you. 988's there to help.

And I also wanna mention that they have special call options for vets, LGBTQ youth, Spanish speakers, and American Sign Language speakers. Yeah, main thing. I love your face. If you need help, get help. And then just huge international news. We gotta talk about these protests in Bangladesh. Because for the past few weeks,

we've been seeing tens of thousands of students protesting across the country. And with that, hundreds have been injured in clashes with police and counter protesters during that time. But now things have turned deadly. At least five people have been killed this week. And this deadly turn of events has led to the government

indefinitely shutting down all public and private universities. And the government now even deploying its border force, they say, to try and calm things down. Because, you know, nothing brings peace and calm like sending your country's paramilitary forces into major cities. But also, if we're talking about this, we should talk about what the protests are about. Because when you look at that, you see that these students are speaking against the government bringing back part of the country's old quota system for government jobs. And specifically, and this is a key thing here, the part of the system that reserved 30% of government jobs

for the descendants and family members of veterans who fought in Bangladesh's War of Independence in 1971. Especially as these government jobs are highly desired in Bangladesh. They're relatively stable, they're well paid, they come with lots of benefits, but they're also highly competitive. In fact, each year, nearly 400,000 graduates compete for just 3,000 jobs in the civil service exam. And then on lots of benefits, but they're also highly competitive that each year nearly 400,000 graduates compete for just

3,000 jobs in the civil service exam and then on top of that the country is also in the middle of a major unemployment crisis I mean you've got more than 30 million young people not in work or school out of a population of 170 million as you can probably see why so many jobs going to people in part based on whether like their granddad fought in a War seems unfair to protesters with also another big thing to keep in mind is that the quota system also reserves jobs for women, people with disabilities, and members of ethnic minorities. Though there, protests have really just been focused on ending the quota for families of veterans.

Especially because back in 2018, they successfully fought to have that part of the system abolished. But then last month, the high court overturned that decision with them restoring the so-called freedom fighter quota and that immediately sparking this wave of protests we're seeing. With them first starting at the University of Dhaka,

which is the country's leading university, then spreading to other schools and other cities. And notably, they've actually gotten the attention of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court there temporarily pausing the reinstatement of the freedom fighter quota while they take a look at it. But this also is the students say they will continue protesting until it's permanently done away with.

And also you have a lot of other people saying this is bigger than just one specific issue. Right beyond just the fact that people are struggling, you have experts saying that it's a response to the repression of the authoritarian regime, specifically of Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League Party, who notably have ruled nonstop since 2009. With them also having won another term in power just last January in an election that was widely believed to be rigged, and one where you had tens of thousands of political opponents jailed. And ruling there is a bit of a family thing,

where the League was founded by Hasina's father, the guy who led the fight for independence and who was the country's first prime minister, which is why so many protesters say, you know, those who support the ruling party are the primary beneficiaries of quotas for freedom fighter descendants. And actually with that, the prime minister only made things worse this week,

where they're calling the student protesters a word that's now become a derogatory slur describing those who, quote, betrayed the nation by collaborating with the enemy, Pakistan, during the 1971 War of Independence. But of course, even if the League fought for independence in the past, it is now mainly known for cracking down hard on dissenters. In 2018, for example, party members violently tackled another student demonstration. In another case, the party's student wing even brutally attacked school children to disperse protests. And then, with the violence and the deaths this week, at least some of it's been

attributed to when members of the student wing of the league began attacking student protesters. And there, there's actually graphic images and videos circulating on social media showing men beating female students. So with that, it's also important to say we have seen both sides accused of participating in violence. But for now, as things continue,

it's gonna be very interesting to see what happens. And then, y'all, do you really want companies collecting, aggregating, and trading your personal data without your permission? Is that on the wishlist, the mood board? I'm guessing it's gonna be a resounding no. But also, yeah, who has the time or the patience to actually request data brokers to delete this information?

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But then also within a week, they already started having them scrubbed out 200 plus and counting. And Incogni has saved me over 154 hours, not to mention my sanity if I'd done this myself. So hey, if you do not like the idea of some randoms finding out where you live or work, Incogni is a service you need

to keep your information private. Do what you can to take control back. Just go to incogni.com slash DeFranco and don't forget to use code DeFranco to get 60% off. That's incogni.com slash DeFranco and use code DeFranco to take your personal data off the market Incogni.com slash DeFranco and use Code DeFranco to take your personal data off the market. And then, have you ever heard of Snapchat dysmorphia?

Because it's this very real phenomenon with very real consequences, right? It's the idea that you see your face in a filter and you want your face to look like that filtered version, but in real life. And while the term has been used as far back as 2018, I mean, these tools have only grown and we see no shortage of beauty specific versions

on TikTok blowing up. And actually a May study from dermatologists at Boston University found just how serious an influence that filters as well as social media in general have. Finding that the more time you spend on social media, the more likely you are to actually want to undergo a cosmetic procedure.

With the pointing to apps like Snapchat and Instagram and they're noting that the use of filters or like photo editing apps, especially correlated with a respondent's desire to get some kind of work done. And researchers also finding that those who follow celebrities and influencers were also more likely to have this desire.

And actually with that, you had Dr. Neelam Vashi, an associate professor of dermatology at BU's medical school saying, you know, in the past, it was always common for someone who wanted to tweak their appearance to bring in a reference photo of a celebrity. But now when people are able to filter their own face and make it look more beautiful,

even the skin tone, angulate the chin, raise the cheekbones, enlarge the eyes, in a reference photo of a celebrity. But now when people are able to filter their own face and make it look more beautiful, even the skin tone, angulate the chin, raise the cheekbones, enlarge the eyes, they bring in these images of themselves that have become very realistic to them because it's just a beautified version of their own face. Where they're also adding that there was even more interest noted post COVID.

And many people told their doctors that they wanted a procedure that would help their self-esteem. You know, it's important to note, the researchers said this doesn't mean that social media is directly responsible for everyone who goes out and seeks injections or surgeries, but someone who is already weighing a treatment

in their head is much more likely to clear their calendar after they've been exposed to certain content online. And at this point you might be thinking, doesn't everyone realize like what we see online, it's fake and filtered? Haven't we been told that ad nauseam? And well, yes, we have, but it turns out that doesn't matter.

In fact, we spoke to Renee Engel and a psychology professor at Northwestern University who specifically researches media and body image about all this. And she explained. Knowing better is not going to protect you from the media imagery you see.

It just doesn't work that way. When we compare ourselves to those images, it is lightning fast. It's automatic. Once you start thinking, oh, that's manipulated, that's filtered, it's too late. The damage has already been done. In fact, what it tends to communicate is that you should look more closely because if someone was filtered, that means maybe they were

trying to hide a flaw or maybe they were trying to look especially beautiful and you should look, try to figure out what's going on, right? So if anything, it makes you spend more time, more focus on that image. So these warnings about what we see online, right? So if anything, it makes you spend more time, more focus on that image. Right, so these warnings about what we see online, they're not only ineffective, but they can actually make us even more obsessive. And you know, of course with this, I think it is worth noting,

there is nothing wrong with getting work done. You do you, it is your body. If it is safe, it makes you happy, have at it. But I also have to mention that the researchers at BU, they explained that if people start to see these procedures as like cure-alls for bigger problems, or like if they start getting insanely unrealistic ideas about what they should look like,

then I mean, we're in very concerning territory. Of course, this all comes as cosmetic procedures, especially less invasive work, have become increasingly popular with younger people. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reporting that between 2019 and 2022, there was a 71% increase in people getting Botox in their 20s.

And that increase was also similar to the use of hyaluronic acid fillers. The uptick also being incredibly staggering when you look to people 19 and younger, are just big increases again for both Botox and filler in that time period. And of course, the most significant thing about that time was COVID,

which caused a big boom in cosmetic surgery for a number of reasons. Masks, remote work, and isolation made it so easy for people to recover in total privacy. You also have people spending so much time looking at themselves on Zoom that they found things that they wanted to change. So, you work, and isolation made it so easy for people to recover in total privacy. You also have people spending so much time looking at themselves on Zoom that they found things that they wanted to change. So, you know, that definitely helps

to explain these major upticks, but the social media aspect is also a major factor. With the American Society of Plastic Surgeons even touching on this issue last year, noting that it goes beyond people seeing filters or influencers and wanting to look like them. It's also because so many of these videos discussing these interventions,

they're so fast and quick that they sometimes create misconceptions. They make it seem like instant gratification, which makes it even more appealing. But as Dr. Danielle DeLuca-Pytel explained, the transformation that occurs after facial or body surgery, even some injections, is far longer than what you would see on an Instagram reel.

So you get a lot of people setting themselves up to be dissatisfied, especially because they don't understand what they're signing up for. You also have Professor Rangel explaining how much influencer culture specifically has impacted the trend by normalizing often expensive practices. There's a real issue with being on social media and feeling like the influencers and the other people you follow are your peers when they're not. We used to think that these kinds of practices were meant for celebrities, for models, like for people whose job it is to look good.

But now you see these people and they sort of present themselves as normal, everyday people. And the message is, if they're doing it, maybe I should be, too, because we're not so different. Though one thing social media has made progress on is the issue of transparency and that especially being the case among Gen Z. Plastic surgery and Botox, these used to be very hush-hush topics. People were reluctant to admit that they had anything done. But now, you know, you go to TikTok and it's like, get ready with me for my nose job. With, for example, one TikToker who chronicled her surgery journey, telling the Washington Post that there just seems to be less judgment associated with these surgeries and more support, more people willing to say, hey, if you want it, go for it. So at the very least,

people can feel like, hey, they're being honest about what they're doing. They're not acting like it's all natural when it's not, which of course is something that we've seen since forever with celebrity culture. Though you also had the post speaking to another author who said that while transparency is good, we could also end up over-normalizing routines that often enforce harmful beauty standards.

With Professor Engelm noting how consequential that can be. I love Gen Z's openness in terms of the way they use it to fight stigma and encourage people to be vulnerable in places where they hurt. I think that's a beautiful thing, but there's a real problem when your openness is making someone else feel vulnerable. So when we normalize facial dissatisfaction, when we normalize fear of aging in these very young populations, you are hurting people when you do that, even if it just feels like bonding. And that's not the only hurt at stake here. In fact, you had Forbes doing a piece about how all this specifically impacts people with body dysmorphic disorder, which is a condition where people are so concerned with or upset about their physical appearance that it interferes with their daily lives. And it's estimated that BDD patients

seek out cosmetic interventions, whether they be surgical or not, two to five times more than the general population. But there, the outlet also adding these enhancements, they don't make their anxieties go away and they can often just make them even worse. So it could end up being this big toxic cycle for people who are especially vulnerable.

Of course, like with any problem that you have to discuss, you have to go, okay, well, where do we go from here? And so with that, again, I wanna note that this piece is not meant to condemn cosmetic work. As always, I am a big believer of you do you. I just want you to be safe and healthy. But you do have some arguing that dermatologists and other professionals should talk to their patients more

about why they're seeking treatment to ensure that there's no unhealthy or concerning motivations. You also had Professor Engelm noting that it's really tricky though, because once the genie's out of the bottle, it's hard to put back in. As far as the situation as a whole, I mean, the genie is very, very far out of the bottle. I've been studying beauty culture for a long time, and I have yet to see any recent trend that suggests a pulling back on beauty pressures. Instead, what we see is each new thing that gets added to the list of things you have to

do to be presentable sticks. So the list gets longer and longer. Once people start accessing these products, it feels like a race. If everyone else is doing it, you feel like you have to do it too, just to stay in the middle, right? Just to stay steady. It's very hard to give that up. And while that is certainly not an uplifting note to end on,

it is at the very least a substantial dose of reality. Where I would really love to end this is I'd love to know your thoughts and experiences with this topic. But then to switch gears, we have two final things to do. The first is a congratulations, and the second is to talk about yesterday. So first, just a massive congratulations to Jimmy G,

who just won our weekly $500 giveaway towards his choice of SeatGeek tickets. Jimmy looking like he's gonna go see King Gizzard and Lizard Wizard in a few months. For everyone else, that's right, SeatGeek and The Daily Dip are like he's gonna go see King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard in a few months. For everyone else, that's right, SeatGeek and the Daily Dip are still giving away up to $1,000 in tickets, and you should definitely enter today

if you haven't already. Just add code PDS to your SeatGeek app profile for a chance at the weekly $500 prize, no purchase necessary. And also $1,000 prizes are available to Daily Dip subscribers who add code PDS Newsletter, doubling entries and winning, so get that. But then regarding yesterday,

let's talk about your comments. Cause you know, there was no shortage of people just cracking up at the idea of there being AI bots out there that have been trained on the transcripts from our videos, calling them beautiful bastards. People saying, hey Siri, sup you beautiful bastard. Oh, that's gonna accidentally pause

a lot of your guys' video, isn't it? There were also a lot of people pissed off about the Tenacious D situation. Big Watcher a thing saying, gosh, the it's just a joke crowd sure doesn't like jokes when it's at their expense. Ayanama is saying, Conservatives, well unlike you liberal snowflakes, I'm not so easily offended. I can actually take a joke.

Someone makes a joke at their expense. How dare you? And Redfin saying, Conservatives made fun of Paul Pelosi when he got attacked, now Trump can't be joked about? And there were a fair share of comments like that. Some just feel like blindsided by the situation. And some, like Adrift, saying, It sucks that just when more people were talking about Project

2025 and how horrible it is, it gets massively overshadowed. But that, my friends, is where I'm going to end today. Because I mean, for some of y'all, between this and the morning show, we've been together like two hours today. So I'm going to get out of your face, but not for too long. Because remember, tomorrow, this annoying mug is going to be right back here two times. Once in the morning, it's 7 a.m. Eastern, 10 a.m. Pacific. We'll be scrubbing through the news of the day,

polling, getting reactions. It's a great time. And then of course, because I'm nothing if not consistent, your regular Philip DeFranco show. So yeah, I love your faces and I'll see you then.