The Philip DeFranco Show - PDS 9.30 Apocalyptic Aftermath of Hurricane Helene Exposed A Lot, Mr Beast Chappel Roan Controversies, &

Episode Date: September 30, 2024

Go to http://zbiotics.com/DEFRANCO and use code DEFRANCO at checkout to get up to 15% off your first order. New Limited Drop @ https://BeautifulBastard.com is LIVE AND YOU CAN GET 20-60% OFF on Drop Week! 36 Days Until Election Day! Make Sure You Are Registered to VOTE: https://Vote.org  – ✩ TODAY’S STORIES ✩ – 00:00 - Hurricane Helene Leaves Devastation Behind in Southeastern U.S. 05:34 - Trump Draws “Purge” Comparisons By Calling for Violent Day of Policing 06:51 - SNL Faces Backlash Over Chappell Roan Moo Deng Sketch 09:06 - Judge Allows Baby Reindeer Lawsuit to Go Forward 11:42 - Sponsored by Zbiotics 12:58 - MrBeast Removes AI Job Listing 14:39 - CA Gov. Gavin Newsom Vetoes Sweeping AI Regulations 18:00 - Climate Protestors Who Threw Soup on Van Gogh Works Get Two Years in Jail 19:49 - Wordpress in Legal Battle With Hosting Provider  How to help those affected by Hurricane Helene: https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation.html/ ——————————   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 #MrBeast #ChappellRoan ———————————— 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. I hope you had a good or at the very least safe weekend. We have a lot that we got to talk about today, but let's start with this. We've got this lady drove into the area that's flooded out and she's screaming right now. I just called 911. Fire department is coming in, but she drove right into the flood water. It's just the Peachtree Creek and it is rising at the moment. So that's just one of the many horrific scenes we saw play out this weekend

as Hurricane Helene battered the Southeast, killing nearly a hundred so far and causing massive damage. And I say so far because as I'm recording this, there are people still missing. Because the way this all played out is that the storm made landfall late Thursday night in Florida as a category four hurricane before making its way through the region.

And a cat four is no joke. That means winds of 140 miles per hour. And then in addition to that, you have all the rain and the crazy flooding. Which I mean, just to give you a few of the many examples so you have an idea how bad it was. Over in Florida where Helene first made landfall, entire buildings were ripped apart.

But actually making history as the first cat four to hit the region since 1851. And you might think, hey, things are gonna be okay because from there Helene quickly became a category one storm and then a tropical storm. But the winds, they were still around 40 miles per hour and there was just so much rain. Like here in Georgia, like we were on the predicted path and then it ended up going further east and you saw homes getting ripped apart and there was major flooding. I mean, it was so bad, Governor Brian Kemp said, it looks like a tornado went off. It looks like a bomb went off. In the Augusta, we saw things like residents being told that the water would be turned off for between 24 and 48 hours because

the storm blocked our ability to pump water. You also had Atlanta, Georgia going viral because of that moment that I showed at the beginning of this story. Remember you had Fox reporter Bob Van Dillon ultimately rescuing a woman. And this after she apparently drove right into the floodwaters and was screaming for help. And while Bob tried to tell her that 911 was called, they were on their way. She just kept crying for help. And ultimately Bob said, It's a situation. We will get back to you in a little bit. I'm going to go see if I can help this lady out a little bit more, you guys.

I'll be back. With him then pulling the woman out of her car and helping her out of the waters. And actually, as the Fox News anchors pointed out, Van Dillon is apparently a giant at six foot four and the waters were up to his chest. And with that, I got to say two things. The first is that what Van Dillon did, it is brave. He is our bamf of the day. But then also too, I have to let you know that what he did was extremely dangerous

and emergency personnel do not recommend it. Though that is obviously easier said than done when someone's clearly fearing for their life right in front of you. But again, Van Dillon's a hero for what he did. Then though, moving to South Carolina, the storm left about 760,000 homes and businesses without power as of this morning.

And in fact, across the entire Southeast, we're talking about over 2 million. And then the mountain communities in North Carolina, they got extremely flooded. And I mean, about 300 roads were closed, meaning that the rescue efforts, as well as delivering supplies after the storm passed through,

they were extremely hampered. Governor Roy Cooper also emphasizing that the death toll in North Carolina was expected to rise as a ton of people were still missing from the floods and landslides. There was also considerable flooding in Tennessee that caused deaths. And while obviously the focus should be on getting help

to the people on the ground here, this whole situation has also now gotten political. Right, Donald Trump has already promised to visit one of the worst hit towns in Georgia, prompting supporters to ask, where's Biden? And while in Georgia, Trump said the governor is doing a good job, but he's having a hard time getting the president on the phone,

saying they're being very non-responsive. But that's not what Governor Kemp has said at all. He's actually had the opposite experience and even just said. The president just called me yesterday afternoon. I missed him and called him right back. And he just said, hey, what do you need? And I told him, you know, we got what we need.

We'll work through the federal process. He offered that if there's other things we need just to call him directly, which I appreciate that. And Biden has already promised to visit affected areas as long as it wouldn't hamper emergency relief efforts. And I think that last part is incredibly important. As great as visiting a town to show support can be, because unless Trump, Biden, or Harris

have some magical ability that they've just been hiding behind the scenes where they can like magically heal people and undo things and make the water split, what you could end up having is just a random sideshow that actually gets in the way of helping people on the ground. Someone chucking paper towels into a crowd is not helping at this point. And there's actually way more important things that President Biden can be doing to help, like approving funding for temporary housing

and repairs to those in affected counties across North Carolina, and making sure that there will be low-cost loans to cover uninsured property for people and businesses. And that is actually just a small taste of what Biden has approved, right? Similar FEMA emergency aid packages were approved by President Biden for Virginia, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina,

and Georgia, while top FEMA officials are on the ground meeting with their state counterparts, trying to coordinate relief efforts. And even that, it's just the tip of the iceberg. The Department of Energy is on the ground trying to help stabilize grids. Human and health services are sending tons of medical equipment and supplies, as well as personnel to hospitals. The Army Corps of Engineers is doing their usual thing to work on dams as well as provide temporary power. Urban Search and Rescue sent 1,302 people, that's 24 teams, to help rescue people trapped in flood areas. And notably, even after rescue efforts finish, there's still a long road to rebuilding, which is expected to be a lot of money. With Moody's analytics predicting there is between $15 and $25 billion in property damage

across the region. With that, we've seen the Biden and Harris administration vowing to continue support until things are finished. But also there, important to note, a big effort might be delayed considering the fact that heavy rains are expected to continue today throughout the Southeast. And I mean, even new areas like Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia are expected to be covered with water. And so for now, we're just left hoping

that this doesn't get even worse. And to all those impacted, know you're in our thoughts. To anyone that would like to try and help, I'm gonna include some links down below to charities that are trying to help. But ultimately, that is where we are. And if you or anyone you know has been affected by this,

I'd love if you'd share your story. So for me personally, this is an especially jarring situation. I actually lived in Asheville, the Buncombe County area for a while. Just seeing the photos and the videos like in this apocalyptic state, horrifying. And then, well, obviously I'm focused on this situation now

and I can't help but feel some sort of dread because, you know, studies have shown that hurricanes are now increasingly likely to become more intense because of climate change, just crazy, scary times. But then let's talk about it. Is Donald Trump literally proposing the purge as public policy? No, absolutely not.

What do you have fucking Trump derangement syndrome? Or the premise of those movies is that anyone can commit any crime over a single 12 hour period. Trump didn't say that clown shoes. All he did was suggest that there should be a day where police can commit crimes. Right while giving a speech at a rally in Pennsylvania yesterday,

he started talking about how police are quote, not allowed to do their job due to political pressures. With them getting rambly and incoherent as usual. And then saying, you know, if you had one day, like one real rough, nasty day. Now, if you had one really violent day, one rough hour, and I mean real rough,

the word will get out and it will end immediately. End immediately. You know, it'll end immediately. And with that, while this is by no means Donald Trump's first time endorsing and promoting police violence, a campaign official for Trump said he's clearly joking, saying he was, quote, floating it in jest.

And yeah, if you look at his face really close, you can see how he's joking. Also, in addition to not believing your lying eyes, don't believe your lying ears. You're not hearing people applaud for a day of police violence. They were actually laughing at the very obvious joke. Anyway, another day, another bat shit crazy thing

that somehow gets normalized by a chunk of the country. Then in possibly the dumbest fucking story from over the weekend, let's talk about Bo and Yang, SNL and Chapel Roan. There was a fucking CNN article about this. We got a presidential candidate that just soft launched the idea of fucking legalizing the purge. We got to talk about a scandal that involves Bowen Yang

wearing a baby hippo costume. But the reason this has become national news now is because as we've talked about a few times, Chapel Roan's been very vocal about struggling with her newfound fame and harassment from fans. And then more recently, there was a controversy, backlash and defense of Chapel Roan over, you know, who she's voting for and what is an endorsement

versus voting. Saturday Night Live, which just came back, they kind of touched on everything in a sketch about Mu Deng, which if you're not chronically online, is now a very famous baby hippo. I feel like I'm getting dumber the more we talk about this. I gotta go fast. But Mu, she's gotten a lot of love, right?

People on the internet just obsessed with her and her apparently diva hippo behavior. And in this bit, Bo and Yang played Mu and essentially paralleled Mu's fame to Chappell's. By making the very clear connection by saying, I'm your favorite hippo's favorite hippo. With Moo then going on to complain about her career the same way Chappell has, saying things like,

it's come to the point where I need to set boundaries. Do not yell my name or expect a photo just because I'm your parasocial bestie or because you appreciate my talent. And Moo also saying she will not be making an endorsement in the presidential election. And this sketch did not sit well with a lot of her fans. With them writing things like,

"'Chapelle's family was stalked "'and she was sexually harassed. "'This is beyond unfunny.' "'And something about men making fun "'of a young woman's struggle with fame and mental health "'does not sit right with me. "'This isn't funny.'" Chappelle's also actually set to be a musical guest on SNL

and some are now hoping that she cancels her appearance. Others also specifically mad at Bowen because he recently interviewed Chappelle for Interview Magazine in a piece very sympathetic to her struggles. With many saying this is some sort of betrayal from Bowen, but then Bowen because he recently interviewed Chappell for Interview Magazine in a piece very sympathetic to her struggles. With many saying this is some sort of betrayal from Bowen, but then Bowen actually defended himself on his Instagram story, sharing a headline claiming he, quote, mocked Chappell in writing. Oh, geez, mocks? If my personal stance on the piece aren't absolutely clear in terms of supporting her, then there it is, I guess.

Everything she has ever asked for has been reasonable, and even then, we can connect it to another story about boundaries or whatever. And with that, we've seen tons of people taking his side saying there is nothing offensive about the sketch. And that actually they're literally just saying, stop treating Chapel Roan like a zoo animal. And then separate from all that, you have people saying this, there's nothing wrong here. This is a comedy show about current events and he's doing comedy about current events.

And personally, I find myself agreeing with those last two comments, but that's the situation. A lot of people have a lot of different feelings and I'll pass the question off to you. What are yours? And then in big entertainment news, Netflix is in big trouble with his baby reindeer situation, which I mean, if you haven't seen yet, I highly recommend it.

I mean, it's also an Emmy award-winning show now, right? And it's this comedy drama written by and starring Richard Gadd, who's really experienced with the stalker, supposedly inspired the series. Thing is, though it was fictionalized, internet detectives were able to figure out the real identity of the stalker character, Martha. With that is, though it was fictionalized, internet detectives were able to figure out

the real identity of the stalker character, Martha. With that woman, Fiona Harvey, then coming forward, denying pretty much all of the big stalking accusations and then suing Netflix for defamation and other infractions. With her seeking $170 million in damages. But then we saw Netflix file a motion to have the entire suit dismissed back in July. And now what we've seen is that the judge

has granted that request, at least for the negligence and gross negligence claims, as well as for the punitive damages. But the reason we're talking about this today is he did allow one claim to go forward. Intentional infliction of emotional distress, which applies to extreme and outrageous false statements. Right in that, because as the judge points out, when Gad made the original Baby Reindeer screenplay, he billed it as based on a true story. But then when it was adapted into a Netflix series, the very first episode stated unequivocally that this is a true story, thereby inviting the audience to accept the statements as fact. And this, even though according to the Sunday Times, sources in the TV industry

said the claim that it's a true story was inserted by Netflix and Gad actually expressed concerns about presenting it as such, which we're now seeing the judge taking as evidence that Netflix acted with actual malice. But I'm also pointing to several, quote, substantial disparities between what really happened and what was shown on screen." Right, for example, Harvey denies stalking a police officer, sexually assaulting Gad, violently attacking him in a pub by smashing a bottle over his head and gouging his eyes,

and waiting outside his home for up to 16 hours a day. And in fact, Gad only reiterated some lesser claims, saying she stalked him, sometimes pinched his butt, and sent him thousands of disturbing emails and voicemails. With them also adding that in real life, she wasn't actually prosecuted or put in jail, though he did report her to the police and got a harassment warning. And so you have the judge saying there is a major difference between stalking and being convicted of stalking in a court of law.

Likewise, there are major differences between inappropriate touching and sexual assault, as well as between shoving and gouging in others' eyes. Now with this, in its defense, Netflix has put forth a few different arguments. First, they contend that the show's events should be viewed as substantially true because Harvey did arguably similar things in real life. Second, they claim that most viewers would understand the show to be quote, not factual

because it was shot in the style of a drama. And third, they're saying that similarities between the real and fictionalized people were so broad that average viewers would not be able to make the connection. But there, we saw the judge disagreeing with those arguments right in. This is not the typical case where a plaintiff happens to be one of hundreds of people that match a fictional

character's broad characteristics. Rather, Martha and plaintiff Miss Harvey have specific similarities that few others could claim to share. And so now it very much appears that we're going to see this lawsuit actually play itself out. And so far, right, based off of this judge's stinging remarks, this may not be the slam dunk for Netflix many thought that it would be. But then to take a quick break from the news for a second, you know, celebrating with a few drinks, it shouldn't have to affect how you feel the next day. Especially when the next day has kids, work, working out,

whatever responsibilities or things you wanna do involved. You don't have to feel bad the next day. And personally, I've been able to enjoy a few and get what I need done the next day, thanks to the fantastic sponsor of the show, Z Biotics. Right, because Z Biotics pre-alcohol probiotic is the world's first genetically engineered probiotic invented by PhD scientists to tackle rough mornings after drinking.

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and use code DeFranco at checkout for 15% off. Then in quickie online drama news, we got Mr. B's face some more backlash. So this time, not in relation to his previous scandals or the class action lawsuit, but now over an apparent job posting seeking an AI concept artist. Recording to Dexerto, the listing for the position

was posted on September 27th, but got removed yesterday. With reportedly no reason being given as to why it was taken down, right? If it was filled or they're just no longer hiring or what's happening. But this notably after people were slamming Mr. Beast for looking for an AI position in the first place. The folks posting things like,

"'Hey, Mr. Beast, go fuck yourself, dude. Maybe put a real artist who needs a job on payroll instead of shelling out money for someone to put a prompt into a generator. Unbelievable. And fuck Mr. Beast for his poor treatment of his employees mistreating his contestants and now using fucking AI.

He hides behind a facade of generosity when really he's the average YouTube shithead with no regard for anyone but himself." And with this, you know, as D'Azzurro said, it's no longer up. If you go to his LinkedIn job listings, the role is no longer there. What appears to have been the URL for it now just takes you to an error page. Though there is a listing for a regular concept artist, but that was posted at least two weeks ago. So before all this backlash rolled in. But with all this, you know, here's the thing. Well, obviously this is getting attention because of the Mr. Beast of it all. It's also important to know that AI job postings

are becoming all that more common. For example, the Wall Street Journal reporting back in March that AI job listings were up 42% compared to December of 2022. So as far as the specific backlash against Mr. Beast, you have some arguing that that indicates Mr. Beast has really just fallen from grace in a new way. Or with part of the argument being

that all other things being the same, like if he had not had the scandals, people would give him the benefit of the doubt or more grace here. But with that, I'll say, you know, I don't know. That you're dealing with hypotheticals there and feelings around AI art and video creation. I mean, that's polarized

even without Mr. Beast being involved. And really, I mean, given the past few months, I think Mr. Beast is probably just relieved that this controversy doesn't involve him being actively sued. But then in actually huge AI news, Gavin Newsom just vetoed a bill that would have implemented the strictest AI regulations in the nation. People saying this delivers a major win

to the powerful big tech companies that lobbied against the legislation. And if you happen to miss that episode a few weeks ago, where we talked about this, I forgive you. Because like we talked about a few weeks ago, this bill passed both chambers of the California state legislature with absolutely overwhelming bipartisan support. And specifically, this proposal known as SB 1047, it would have imposed a number of groundbreaking rules. Things like requiring safety testing for large AI systems or models before public release. Holding companies liable if their technology

has caused serious harms like death or property damage by giving the state attorney general the right to sue. As well as mandating that firms build a kill switch into certain AI systems to shut them off immediately in case of bio-warfare or other mass casualties. But this bill also proved to be very controversial. Right on one side, we saw many groups throwing their weight behind the legislation,

arguing that these pioneering safeguards are necessary to protect the public and hold AI companies accountable. With this also including 120 Hollywood actors and producers signing a letter last week, urging Newsom to sign the proposal. That also echoed by another letter signed by 50 academics, including some pioneering AI researchers

like Jeffrey Hinton, who's also known as the godfather of AI. And that letter describing SB 1047 as reasonable and an important tool to deter the rapid proliferation of unsafe models. Also arguing there that this law would only formalize voluntary commitments that tech companies have already made. Writing decisions about whether to release future powerful AI models should not be taken lightly, and they should not be made purely by companies that don't face any accountability for their actions. With also the likes of Elon Musk actually being one of the most significant backers.

But I'm saying that he supports regulating AI like any other products oppose quote, a potential risk to the public. With that said, he appeared to be alone among the tech giants there. With many other major venture capital firms and big tech companies like OpenAI, Google, Meta, and Microsoft openly voicing opposition to the legislation.

Arguing that it could stifle innovation in the state and using their considerable power and influence to lobby against the measure, and claiming that because California is home to so many of these companies, this move could undermine America's ability to compete with other global powers in the race to dominate AI, with some even threatening to leave the state if SB 1047 was signed into law. Additionally, you had a bunch of Bay Area and Silicon Valley politicians urging Newsom to veto the vote, because including basically all the Congress members who represent the areas around San Francisco, and most notably Nancy Pelosi,

who condemned the measure as ill-informed. And evidently the opponents here won out in the end, with Newsom issuing a statement explaining his veto, where he argued that the bill focused too much on regulating the largest AI models without considering risks from smaller models, claiming that those could be just as dangerous and echoing the assertion that the legislation

could stifle positive innovation. And saying, while the bill is well-intentioned, it left out important measures. Saying, I do not believe this is the best approach to protecting the public from real threats posed by the technology. But Newsom also said that he agrees with the author of SB 1047 that the state does need to approve AI guardrails

and protections, but he does not believe this is the way. Arguing that the state's approach, quote, "'must be based on empirical evidence and science' and vowing to continue working towards a solution. But the governor also announcing yesterday that his administration will work with top academics in the AI space to develop workable guardrails for the industry.

Well, we'll have to wait to see what that actually looks like in practice. In the meantime, you have plenty of people slamming Newsom for his veto. With, for example, California Senator Scott Weiner, who authored the bill, saying in a statement, the veto is a setback for everyone who believes in oversight of massive corporations

that are making critical decisions that affect the safety and welfare of the public and the future of the planet. And adding, it leaves us with the troubling reality that companies aiming to create an extremely powerful technology face no binding restrictions from US policymakers, particularly given Congress's continuing paralysis

around regulating the tech industry in any meaningful way. And then, do you remember back in 2022 when a pair of climate protesters from the group Just Stop Oil entered the National Gallery in London and threw tomato soup on Van Gogh's Sunflowers painting? Well, those two actually got arrested, charged, convicted, and now brought before a judge to be sentenced a few days ago.

And to be clear, right, the painting, which is worth over $84 million, was unharmed thanks to its protective glass. But the judge said that the soup had a corrosive effect on the painting's 17th century wood frame, the value of which was lowered by an estimated $13,000. And so with that, he sentenced the pair to two years and 20 months in jail, respectively.

Which is actually huge, right? To give you context, protesters have done these sorts of things everywhere, from France to Germany to Italy to England and the United States over the past few years. But most, they've gotten away without jail time. Some have gotten maybe a few weeks, and others just a fine. Which is why you have people saying two years is shocking.

We saw the judge justify the sentences by claiming that their actions could have caused irreversible damage to a masterpiece, with him also trying to deter similar protests in the future. But I will say if deterrence was what he was going for, he might've actually achieved the opposite effect because just over an hour after that sentencing,

three more Just Stop oil activists entered the National Gallery, Heinz Vegetable Soup in hand, and did it again. When does fast grocery delivery through Instacart matter most? When your famous grainy mustard potato salad isn't so famous without the grainy mustard. When the barbecue's lit, but there's nothing to grill. When the in-laws decide that, actually, they will stay for dinner. Instacart has all your groceries covered this summer.

So download the app and get delivery in as fast as 60 minutes. Plus enjoy $0 delivery fees on your first three orders. Service fees, exclusions and terms apply. Instacart. Groceries that over-deliver. Future generations will regard these prisoners of conscience to be on the right side of history. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God.

Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God.

Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God.

Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. like five people who got at least four years for conspiring to block a highway in London, which one, were actually the longest sentences ever imposed for a nonviolent protest in Britain, and two, perhaps not coincidentally, by the same judge. You know, with this latest sentence, you have people saying, you know, it's remarkable given how small the crime was. But with all that, you know, I gotta pass the question off to you.

What are your thoughts here? Both on the method of protest, as well as the two year sentence. Then, I don't know if this story is too nerdy for you, or maybe too specific, we'll see. Because it has to do with this whole crazy, complicated, messy WordPress controversy. And for a lot of people, it basically comes down to one question. Is WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg defending the spirit of open source software? Or is he just another executive

going after a rival company? And so the first thing that you need to know is that there's actually two different WordPresses. There's WordPress.org, which is an open source content management system that relies on donations, community contributions to run. And that's led by Mullenweg and some other lesser known board members. And then you have WordPress.com. And that is a website that sells a hosted version of the open source software. It's owned by a private for-profit company called Automatic, and it's also run by Mullenweg. But of course, because the software is open source, any company can basically do the same thing. In fact, the WordPress CMS is reportedly used by around 43% of all websites.

Though it's not clear how many are actually hosted by WordPress.com. But for sure, like one of the biggest services goes by the name WP Engine. And despite the name, it actually has no affiliation with either version of WordPress. But still, since its founding in 2010, it's become a major rival to Automatic and WordPress.com

with more than 200,000 websites using the service to power their online presence. And very notably to this story, WP Engine was actually acquired by a private equity firm by the name of Silverlake back in 2018. And actually with that, you had Mullenweg all of a sudden coming out swinging at a WordPress conference last week that actually had WP Engine as a sponsor.

The company is controlled by Silverlake, a private equity firm with 102 billion in assets under management. Silverlake doesn't give a dang about your open source ideals. It just wants return on capital. So it's at this point that I ask everyone in the WordPress community to go vote with your wallet. Who are you giving your money to? Someone who's going to nourish the ecosystem or someone who's going to frack every bit of value out of it until it withers.

And then after all that, he wasn't done. He ripped into WP Engine even more in a blog post saying that it's strip mining the WordPress ecosystem and giving users a crappier experience so they can make more money. And adding, this is one of the many reasons they are a cancer to WordPress. And it's important to remember that unchecked, cancer will spread.

And with that, you also had him highlighting that WP Engine reportedly contributes just 40 hours per week to the development of the open source WordPress software. Whereas Automatic, on the other hand, reportedly contributes just under 4 just 40 hours per week to the development of the open source WordPress software. Whereas Automatic, on the other hand, reportedly contributes just under 4,000 hours per week. But of course, like a very big thing here is WP Engine isn't technically breaking the rules

of WordPress's open source license. Right, maybe it would be nice and a lot of people would love if the company did more, but they don't actually have to give back to the WordPress community just because they're making money off the open source code. Which is why in addition to what he's saying here, Mullenweg's actually going after the company's name,

accusing WP Engine of trademark infringement. Claiming WP Engine is profiting off of the confusion caused by the company's brand. With the very key thing being that as of September 19th, the WordPress.org policy said you were free to use the WP abbreviation in any way you see fit. But at some point since, it was updated to say the abbreviation WP is not covered

by the WordPress trademarks, but please don't use it in a way that confuses people. For example, many people think WP Engine is WordPress Engine and officially associated with WordPress, which it's not. They have never once even donated to the WordPress foundation despite making billions of revenue on top of WordPress. And with that, while WP Engine is the focus here, right, there are tons of other services that use WP in their name, with many users in the community highlighting some examples. And also, I'll say very notably, that's not the only way that other companies are getting caught in the middle. Last week, Automatic actually sent a cease and desist letter in an attempt to make the company pay up. And with that, WP Engine customers were

temporarily cut off from accessing WordPress.org's servers. And while yes, they've now been granted reprieve, WP Engine is now facing a deadline to resolve the conflict or have its customers' access fall apart again. Mullenweg saying that WP Engine has two ways to pay their fair share, either by paying a licensing fee or making contributions to the open source WordPress project saying, this isn't a money grab. It's an expectation that any business making hundreds of millions of dollars

off of an open source project ought to give back. And if they don't, then they can't use its trademarks. But there we're seeing WP Engine hitting back saying, a money grab is exactly what this is. With that, they actually sent their own season to assist letter to Automatic over Mullenweg's comments. And in that letter, they claim Automatic demanded a very large sum of money days before Mullenweg's comments

at the conference, with them allegedly threatening to carry out a, quote, scorched earth nuclear approach against WP Engine. And so with all of that playing out, there have been a lot of mixed reactions. You've got some in the WordPress community thinking WP Engine is in the wrong, others accusing Mullenweg of abusing his power

for his own gain, or some even calling for him to step down. But for now, we're gonna have to wait to see how all this plays out. And so for those of you out there that either use wordpress.com, wordpress.org, WP Engine, or even if you have feelings about open source versus for-profit,

like what are your thoughts here? But that, my friends, brings us to the end of today's show. Thank you for watching. For more news, you need to know I got you covered here and here. Make sure you're subscribed. I love yo faces, and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.