The Atrioc Pokimane Deepfake Scandal Has Divided The Internet
00:00 And then there's more we gotta dive into in just a minute, but first let me thank a sponsor and say, you know, August is a great time for a reset before fall gets chaotic and my closet, it could use some adult supervision. That's where today's sponsor, Quince comes in. Quince makes fewer better pieces from premium materials, the things you'll reach for constantly. And I really like their staples like organic cotton teas and Mongolian cashmere sweaters at work all day and into the evening. Or basically, clothes that make you look put together without looking like you spend an hour planning it. Their denim and Taylor Chino start at 60 bucks with a fit, structure, and quality that you'd expect from a luxury designer brand. And then you've got things like the cotton silk short sleeve crewneck sweater.
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00:57 So hey, upgrade your everyday by scanning that QR code or going to quince.com slash defranco for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. And they're now available in Canada and the UK as well. So that's QU-I-N-C-E.com slash DeFranco. Quince.com slash DeFranco. The Pocateain deepfake scandal is back and it's crazier and messier than ever. Israel's record-setting election could be the end of Netanyahu, but there's also a lot that people are missing here. Trump's post-Midterm Iran-War planet is scarier than most realized. And we go inside the $1,000 course teaching parents to erase their kids. We're talking about all of that even more on today's brand new Philip DeFranco show you
01:33 daily dive into the news, starting with this. The fate of the United States, it is being decided over the next seven days, changing what has it come for the next two to six years. But also, in the midst of all this, there's been this side story on the internet that's absolutely blown up, with some saying, hey, this is just an internet drama, and others saying, no, it actually goes much deeper than that. This is actually heavily requested over the text line. So let's talk about this situation, this scandal, this backlash,
01:55 with Pocime, Atriot, Cutie Cinderella, Ludwig, and more. And they're all big internet personalities in their own right. And as far as Pokeyane, you've seen her getting absolutely torn apart on parts of the internet right now. Some defending her and others calling her a serial liar, people saying that she's weaponizing a situation it's not about her. And you've also got other controversial big streamers
02:13 like Asman Gold claiming that she's trying to farm negative hate against her friends. And as far as why you're saying this play out, it's because she's finally spoken out in detail about a controversy from a few years back where you had Atriac accidentally exposing the fact that he had deep-fake porn of her on his computer. Right in 2023 during a stream his tabs were visible and one was for a deep
02:30 fake porn site that hosted non-consensual images of female streamers and a few images including ones of Pokeymain were visible on the page. And there was a ton of fallout from this, right? He issued a big apology promising to cover the financial cost of any takedown efforts. But it obviously struck a nerve and you had people like cutie Cinderella really condemning this and explaining how serious this exploitation is and how it hurts women. And for her part at the time, all Pocyan really said was stop sexualizing people without their consent. But then what you had this week was that she brought it up on a stream. It's saying that she'd been seeing Atriac pop up both online and at events and it brings up a lot of complicated feelings for her.
02:59 I think just because of what happened, it gives me a lot of discomfort and anxiety. And I think like the first few times that this happened, I tried to kind of just like ignore the feeling and process it on my own. And that doesn't really help. I think it's one of those things that just like signals to my brain. Like you are not safe here. And usually this is the kind of thing that like I would not even talk about publicly. But because everything has been so public, I figured it's probably okay to at least talk to my community about it.
03:37 And just ask like if anyone's been in a similar situation. You might as saying that you thought that it was better to just get it off her chest than to let it boil inside of it. Anyway, to following this up the next day both on Twitter and on stream, fearing that our comments were being misunderstood. First writing, when he was first caught looking at paywall deep-faced. content of female streamers, it seems people forgot that the specific page shown on his stream was of me. Saying I didn't say much of the time because I was so uncomfortable, publicly humiliated, and I didn't think it needed explaining because it was so obviously wrong. And you were adding that while she appreciates that he spent thousands of dollars to remove deep, big content,
04:09 it's not about the money and it's something she herself has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on as well. And then also with this, she said she's not trying to cancel anyone or be the arbiter of who can do what. Saying, I'm simply sharing my feelings about something that publicly happened to me in the ways in which it's affecting me today. Saying as he's become more involved in events and with people close to me, I've grown particularly uncomfortable. As far as I know, no one has really checked in with the women affected about how it makes them feel. Other people forgiving him is their choice, but it doesn't mean I can't share my perspective on it as well. And then adding, I would not be bringing this up. I don't want to talk about this. Nasty.
04:40 But I wouldn't be bringing this up if it wasn't something I was repeatedly coming across. Gives me like a pit in my stomach. I also think for me personally, there's been a lot of like cognitive dissonance, seeing people be seeing. seeing like my friends or people I've known for years be put in close proximity with him just because that's a natural kind of part of the industry. I think it's like, you know, it makes me feel some type of way. I can't lie.
05:05 I'm like, wait, so do they agree with me or do they not? Because it's okay for someone to disagree with me. Right, and with this saying that if she never saw him again, she would never bring it up again. But with this saying, you know, she just can't get past the discomfort and she just wants to express it in a non-reactive way to get it off her chest.
05:18 And online, a lot of the reaction you've had are people assuming that she's referring to Ludwig and Cutie Cinderella's recent wedding, right, because Atriok was reportedly one of the many creators that were in attendance. Right, and depending on where you look, like I said, there are very, very different reactions to Pokemon's comments.
05:30 There was some seemingly furious with her for bringing this up, trying to claim that she's mad that she wasn't invited to the wedding and she's trying to ruin Atriac's life. Some arguing that even though what Atriac did was wrong, he's apologized in his work to try to remedy the situation and correct his mistakes, saying things like maybe talk to your friends privately about how it makes you feel instead of grandstanding on your live stream. You also had big creators like Aspen Gold weighing in,
05:48 claiming that she's not only sending hate to Atriok, but to Ludwig and Cutie Cinderella for having him at their wedding. Because you're lying. You're trying to farm negative hate on Qie and Ludwig for inviting Atrioc because Atriac looked at deep fake porn of you. And the thing is that Pokey's right. She is valid for this. And she can have whatever opinion on it that she wants.
06:08 But don't even for a second talk about how you weren't trying to make them look bad because you absolutely were. Also, you have others who think that Pokemon is fully in her rights, that she shouldn't have to explain herself and arguing. If a guy at work was caught creating AI porn of his coworkers, he'd be fired and called a creep. No one would expect his coworkers to forgive him, and any employee trying to include him in social events would be given serious side-eye and asking why is it different when it's a streamer? As well as, if I caught a friend or acquaintance with fake AI porn of me, it'd take literal
06:33 decades for me to feel comfortable with them, saying she's 100% valid, it's pretty disappointing that her friends didn't think about how she'd feel before collaborating with them. And then with that, you'd people noting that deep fake porn is a form of sexual abuse. It's saying that if you have it in you to forgive the men who spread it, you should have some empathy for the victims harmed by it. And then with this, you had some arguing at the fact that, that people are mad at Pocomain and accusing her of starting a hate train, it highlights how women constantly get blamed for situations when men are the ones that are in the wrong. Right. And then with all
06:56 this, you also had Atriac responding. And even though he didn't name Pockemain, it was clear that he was talking about it. And he basically said that he fully understands her and doesn't feel entitled to anyone's forgiveness. I'm not fighting. I'm not pushing back on any of it. Uh, those feelings are totally valid. Sincerely. I looked at a deep fake website on January 26, 2023. It was a bad thing to do. I wish I didn't do it. I've never stood up for it. I've never tried to defend myself. I never tried to downplay.
07:24 It was bad. And if that makes you uncomfortable or you, it's totally valid. It's 100% valid. There is no Konami code for forgiveness. There's no right sequence of actions that you do it. And they're like, okay, now you have to forgive me. That's not how it works.
07:42 If you don't forgive me, you are fully within your right to do that. Are you mad I'm saying that all he's trying to do is to prove that it's not who he is and rebuild trust noting that he doesn't want anyone to use him as some kind of weapon to attack others. Right. And then with all this, you had him deciding to drop out of a Twitchcon panel and not attend this year just to not cause any further discomfort. That feels like the only area I would go where there would be crossover and so I'm just not going to go there. Right. And so is this, you know, it still continues to play out and develop. I would love to know your thoughts, opinions, and takes here. Right on the debate around it, how it played out on the initial controversy,
08:10 Poki's latest reaction, the backlash with Atriok had to say, any and all of it really. But then, jumping from that to other news, we've got to talk about the United States maybe on the verge of another major escalation in Iran. Right, because for weeks now, you've had Trump suggesting the possibility of a major escalation right after the midterms. And over just this weekend, you had him making multiple comments about ramping things up. We may do another little epic fury. If they're smart, they'll just say, let's get down to business.
08:35 But, you know, I doubt they'll do that because perhaps they're not smart. And now my question is, do I make a deal with them or do I finish them off? That's my only question. Now, of course, with Trump, there is always a chance that this is just bluster. Right, Trump, he's repeatedly vowed to eliminate or finish Iran over the course of this war, which is now dragged on for nearly eight months. But at the same time, there are a number of indications that Trump could just be waiting until after the election to renew or even intensify his war of choice with Iran. For example, earlier this month, he sent a third aircraft carrier strike group and 10,000 troops to the Middle East.
09:04 And he's also got multiple reports that the U.S. and Israel are drawing up plans to launch new strikes after the election. But then just yesterday, you had two U.S. officials telling CNN that those plans may go beyond the kind of strikes that we've seen on radars, launchers, and other Iranian assets. with the outlet reporting, U.S. forces in the Middle East are prepared to launch new, potentially major military operations against Iran within 96 hours of receiving an order from President Donald Trump. And according to the sources, sufficient forces have already been deployed for possible attacks that could beyond current efforts to maintain the status quo. And you've had leaders in U.S. Central Command and the Pentagon allegedly developing a sweeping target list that includes Iranian energy infrastructure, military sites, and nuclear facilities.
09:37 Meanwhile, Iran, they're now reportedly bracing for a new wave of U.S. bombs and they're preparing to retaliate against the region, including against Israel and the UAE, which then, of course, would likely prompted tit-for-tat response from the impacted nations and or American forces. But then also, there's the Netanyahu of it all. Israel, they're holding elections today, which we're going to dive into more a little later. Netanyahu is basing this tight squeeze, as many have become increasingly unhappy with his leadership. Now, we've seen reports that Netanyahu had actually been pushing for new strikes ahead of the Israeli election and even instructed his military to plan for a major new offensive,
10:06 but then Trump apparently opposed any actions that could restart the conflict before the U.S. midterms. Now, of course, with that, Netanyahu has denied those claims, as well as the report that he had gotten into a confrontation with an IDF chief. who resisted carrying out orders that he had for military action against Iran just days before Israel's elections. You've got experts saying that there are incentives for both Netanyahu and Trump to restart fighting after their respective elections. Right, with one analyst arguing that renewed conflict could let Netanyahu press for a national unity government. One that notably, he would lead while strikes would help Trump project a dramatic show of force to reject strength at home. Right, because while increased hostilities could hurt Republicans even more before the midterms,
10:38 once they're over, Trump basically has nothing to lose. In fact, we even had one expert predicting that Trump's desire for vengeance and shows of strength may only increase if he's humiliated at the ballot box. Now as far as what this could look like, that remains unclear right now, right? It seems like at least some former strikes would likely be involved, whether that's similar to what we've seen before, shifting to new targets, or part of some broader operation. But also experts, they say that even if the US and or Israel expand their targets or use more destructive weapons, it's still unlikely that they'll force any major concessions or somehow achieve regime change. Instead, it's way more likely that any future
11:08 attacks would just push Iran to retaliate by targeting regional allies and US military bases in the region. It's a cycle that we've seen time and time again with this war to despite the fact that Trump keeps claiming that we've totally destroyed their capabilities. And in addition to endangering our allies and assets, escalation also risks further disruptions to oil and gas production that can make energy prices even higher, and potentially even trigger a global recession. And actually with all this, we were able to get some very interesting insights from Tony Kizki, who's running in Georgia's 7th Congressional District to unseat Representative Rich McCormick.
11:34 A man who you might be familiar with because in the past he blew up nationwide because he was against kids getting school lunch for free. We're saying that kids should get jobs to pay for school lunch. Right. And also, in relation to To today's story, he's a Republican who's repeatedly voted to block resolutions to reel in Trump's war powers and even called for boots on the ground in Iran. The Kazicki, who, again, is running against Rich McCormick, his views here are really interesting because he's a former naval aviator who completed three combat deployments and flew combat missions in the Middle East. You had him help explain why exactly endless strikes won't actually achieve anything. You can't harpet bomb an entire country.
12:07 It just doesn't work like that. Every military objective that's important to them is protected in multi-level levels. of protection is probably buried in a bunker with GPS jamming surrounding it, it is difficult to hit a precise target. Beyond that you also have a Zickey warning that we currently are at risk is sliding into a forever war that could potentially even result in boots on the ground. I think we remember from our generation a forever war in the Middle East. It lasted for over a decade with Iraq and Afghanistan. It was so difficult to end those conflicts because of the lack of an exit strategy. The point is we're supposed to learn from this. We're supposed to move
12:45 on in our next engagement, we have learned the lesson from the past, but it feels like we're diving deeper into another forever war, this time in Iran instead of Iraq. What can we do? I think there's two options. I think the ground invasion that's called on by Rich McCormick is one of those options, meaning we can send ground forces in. It's just going to cost us dearly in that process. What I think is the better solution is engaging with our allies. We have alliances around the world that want to solve this process. We need to use them to solve that problem, meaning we need to come together as a group of nations to blame this regime to an end in Iran.
13:26 And then you also had because I keep warning it. The costs of escalating are continuing to drag this war out. They include, but also go beyond the economy and affordability. I think a lot of people initially bring up to me the cost of war. And I think that is what comes to my mind, the cost of this war. What I hear often in the district is at the gas pump, the gas prices are very high right now. They talk about the deficit. We got $40 trillion in deficit, and Rich McCormick wants a ground invasion, which would probably be an extra trillion dollars. But when I think of the cost, I really think of
13:55 the cost of American lives. You know, these are my neighbors in this war. These are our community members. The real cost of this war is the damage to the soldiers, sailors, and Marines that are fighting in the war. So I am scared without a plan that we're going to send men and women to die. this, the good news or at least maybe the less bad news or hopeful thing is that there is still hope if Democrats have a big showing in the midterms. I think major shifts would happen if Congress would step up to the plate and be the representative that we need them to be. I think first informed on us, we need oversight of the Department of Defense. We need to rein in Pete Hakeseth. We need to rein that in and we need oversight from Congress of that. That's how we control
14:40 how the military proceeds with this war. Beyond that, Congress affects the budget. We can tie what we're doing to the plan that is in place of how we execute our mission. I think this election is going to be one of the most important elections in our lifetime. So I would encourage everybody watching. I don't care who you're voting for. Look up your candidates. Look at what they stand for. Don't vote for a party.
15:06 Vote for a person in this election. I think you're going to be able to reshape what America looks like when you do that. Right. And I guess on that note, let this be your daily reminder, if you haven't already, to get the fuck out there, vote, get people like you out there to vote. And you go to vote.org to help you with pretty much everything to figure out like where you're polling place is, what you can do. Because like in Georgia, early voting's already started. It goes until October 30th and then it ends and then you can vote on election day November 30th. Yeah, each state's different and you want to get this done with
15:33 ahead of time. And then there's even more we got to dive into in just a minute after a quick break with our sponsor. Jonathan P. is going to a Dallas Stars game. And all he had to do was enter our weekly $500 Seekkeek giveaway. Because today's sponsor Seekkeek has doled out nearly $60,000 to y'all to get you off the couch and into the comedy club, the stadium, a concert hall since 2024, and it's been awesome to watch. And wildly, some of you guys still haven't signed up,
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16:36 And then diving right back into the news, as promised, let's dig a little deeper into the story about Israel. Because like I said, they held that. their first national elections today since the October 7th attack three years ago. Right, with millions of Israelis going to the polls, including tens of thousands who reportedly flew in from overseas just to make their voice heard. And that's because this election, I mean, it's huge. It's got people's emotions at boiling points. Right. I mean, you have right-wing politicians, whipping up panic, tone their supporters, they're about to lose their country, that Israel won't be a Jewish state anymore, that it's an emergency because Arab citizens are voting
17:03 in such high numbers. Netanyahu even posted an AI image of a nuclear blast in Tel Aviv and warned of a second Holocaust if he's not reelected. And you've got reports that his Lakou The Food Party is preparing to claim that the election was stolen from him in alleged fraud in majority-era voting stations. And then on the other side, you have the opposition's framing being that the election is the last chance to prevent Israel from sliding into autocracy and becoming a pariah on the world stage. Though also kind of across the board, everyone's seeing this as a referendum on Netanyahu. But he's the longest serving, Prime Minister in Israeli history, as government is the most nationalist, religious, and far-right one in Israeli history, and the worst security lapse in Israeli history happened on his watch. So you've got voters incredibly polarized as well as energized. Are you at early numbers pointing to this being the highest turnout on record?
17:43 And while I'm filming this, we do not have the final results just yet? The polls leading up to today, they've had two main rival parties neck and neck. Are we like who? Possibly trailing behind it. And its rival being the centrist Yashar party, led by this guy, Gadi Eisenkaw. And he was actually the military chief of staff, but in 2024, he quit, claiming that Netanyahu had no strategy for the war and was prolonging it for political game. Then also I'll say, for many voters, this election, it's not just about who is going to lead Israel. But also there's a question of what kind of state will it be? Religious and nationalist or liberal and secular.
18:11 And what you're seeing at least anecdotally is that some voters are peeling away from one side to the other because of all the perceived failures and scandals of this government. Right, and the chief of which is October 7th itself, because regardless of how you feel about it, the fact that it even happened is a historic lapse in security. And so you've got folks out there like an expert at the Israel Democracy Institute telling the AP, October 7th is kind of a framework for the entire political discussion that is going on. All of us are post-traumatic in a way. And so if you ask Netanyahu, he says that Israel fought back like a lion after the attack,
18:37 but if you ask the opposition, he let it happen and mismanage the ensuing war. Right? And actually, speaking on that, Eisenkott's son and two nephews were killed during combat in Gaza while Netanyahu's son lived part-time as a podcaster in Florida. And so you've got this narrative out of there that Eisenkot's going to be more responsible because he understands the cost of war while Netanyahu is at him touch. And then it's worth noting there that some 330,000 young Israelis who face the prospect of being drafted into military service are eligible to vote for the first time this election. But also on the other side, ultra-Orthodox Jews who don't want to fight have a reason to vote for Lake Kuwait. because Eisenkopp wants to draft them just like other Israelis. But also, that's not where the only debate is, right? Because on top of Gaza, Netanyahu went to war in Lebanon, seized a chunk of Syria,
19:16 attacked targets in Yemen, and launched two wars in Iran. Yet lo and behold, the Mas, Hezbollah, and the Iranian Theocracy, they're all still intact. Meanwhile, one of the huge things we've seen is that American public opinion, it has soured so much on Israel. Right, among a million things, you've seen that charge of genocide moving from kind of a left fringe thing to the mainstream. And that says in Europe and elsewhere, dozens of countries have put sanctions on Israel and the ICC put out an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, right? Who, by the way, is also in trouble at home
19:41 with an ongoing corruption trial and outcry over his attacks on the independence of the judiciary. But then also a big thing, like notice with all the things that I've mentioned so far, they haven't included the 74,000 fatalities in Gaza. And that's because, you know,
19:51 the stuff that Americans think is very important in Israel is not the stuff that actually is important to most Israelis. But the morality of the war in Gaza, it just really isn't the main debate in this election like it is in the United States. Instead, you've got most Israelis talking about
20:03 October 7th, whether to draft ultra-Orthodox Jews, the politics around the judiciary, and the personal character of the two main candidates. And so if you're looking in from the outside, you know, it can be kind of confusing because Israeli politics, they're so polarized, yet they broadly agree on the stuff that seems most important to Americans.
20:17 And so for example, Eisenkot and pretty much all of Netanyahu's other rivals, they broadly support Israeli military operations in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran. Eisenkot also does not support a Palestinian state, and he said that he supports Jewish settlements, which are, quote, in line with Israel's interests in the West Bank. And also last month, when Israeli filmmakers won an award
20:33 at the Venice Film Festival for their documentary about civilian deaths in Gaza, Eisencott accused them of treason. Though still, like, I do not want to make it out like he is exactly the same as Danyahu, right? Because he is at least expected to be generally less extreme, less polarizing, less populace, less bloodthirsty, and less cozy with Trump, at least right now. And on the note of timing, I'll say, by the time that you're watching this, voting, it's going to have wrapped up in Israel, but it'll also likely be a few days until we have a definitive clear result. And even then, the process has really just begun because whichever party gets the most seats will have to try to form a government, which is easy if you've got a majority, but no single party has ever won a majority in Israeli history. So they're very likely have to form a coalition government, which means weeks of negotiations. But then also a huge thing is that both Netanyahu and Eisenkot have said that they'll refuse to form a government with any Arab-led party.
21:16 So if those parties, they pick up more seats than usual, there might not be much wiggle room left. And then if after 42 days, no coalition forms, Israel would just have to hold elections again, probably finishing around May or June. And the key thing there is that if that happened, in the meantime, Netanyahu gets to stay in power as the head of a caretaker government. But again, that is all in the future and we'll know a lot more once we start getting concrete numbers from the polls. But then also involving the situation, we've got to talk about how Israel continues to be a major hot button issue in the U.S. elections. Because among other things, you're now seeing very intense debates over a viral anti-Israel ad that's endorsing Abdul El-Sayyat. Honey. What?
21:48 You're going to have to put those eggs back. They don't like eggs anymore? No, they like eggs. But we have to sit that $7 aside for killing Palestinians. What? I mean, don't we give Israel $4 billion a year anyways? Yeah. And now we're giving them another $20.
22:05 $26 billion. Do you know how much that is per American taxpayer? No. It's like $161 per person. Apparently it's costing us a lot of money to drop bombs on Gaza. Why does Mike Rogers care so much about what Israelis want? And so little about what you want. Mike Rogers is for they, them.
22:26 Abdul and Sayyad is for you. Right, in that ad, it racked up more than 6.5 million views just on that Twitter post. And it touches on the frustrations with how much US taxpayer dollars are given to Israel as well as the growing support for Palestinians. Right at the end, it also plays on a Republican messaging about Democrats' support for trans and non-binary folks. And while El Sayyad, he's been a very outspoken critic of the Israeli government, his campaign has nothing to do with this ad. And instead, it appears it was created by the left-wing rebellion pack. And it was posted by the young Turks host, Jenk Ugar. And actually, a version of this ad first ran in 2024 as part of Ugar's failed presidential campaign.
22:59 So it's really just recycled material that wasn't even written for El-Sayette. And actually on Monday, you had El-Sayed pointing that out and distancing himself from the ad. Where with the campaign saying in a statement that it was not affiliated in any way with El-Sayed and adding, Abdul is focused on pushing back against Trump's agenda that is raising prices for Michiganers, saying no one speaks for Abdul but himself in his campaign. You also had the Mike Rogers campaign quick to respond, claiming that Rogers is, quote, for every single Michigandar, and accusing El-Sayed's allies of spreading anti-Israel hate.
23:24 There was also that statement from the Rogers campaign is one of the more tame reactions we've seen so far. Because over the last few days, this ad, it sparked a flood of anti-Semitism allegations from across the political spectrum. You had a group of Michigan rabbis and Jewish voters arguing at the ad invoked anti-Semitic tropes. And you of the country's most influential pro-Israel group, Apex, saying, We know Abdul El-Sayed won't disavow Hassan, America deserve 9-11 Piker, but will he disavow the despicable ad produced by Piker's uncle? Saying the ad is as transparent in its bigotry as it is devoid of facts. And you also have the likes of a conservative political commentator Scott Jennings, adding to the discourse, eggs are like 227. Bananas are about 41 cents per pound.
23:57 The Democrats never let the facts get in the way of a chance to blame those dirty Jews. Fitting, this is how El-Sayed closes, lying in service of anti-Semitism. And you had all of that as on the left, you had CNN's Van Jones, for example, saying, We spend money all around the world, but you're gonna say, because of the Jewish state, that's why you're suffering. Listen, when that happens, when you start getting people riled up, and you've seen this all through the last century against Jews, and blaming Jews for all your problems, you're headed down a dark pathway.
24:23 And then you also had others like the bulwarks Tim Miller agreeing that the ad is anti-Semitic, but placing the blame on Yugar, not El-Syad. Or with Miller calling it a harmful, a harmful distraction to Abdul's campaign in the final week. And when the midterms happening in like five minutes, you also then have a lot of people saying, now is the time for the party to stick together. Which is then, why you have a lot of people
24:39 particularly mad about the response from Haley Stevens, who lost to El-Sayed in the Senate primary. And that because at a time where she could be campaigning alongside El-Sayed in such a critical race, she's bashing this ad that, again, his campaign did not create or endorse. So you had Stevens reposting that clip in writing, this type of fear-mongering about Israel is wrong.
24:55 It is not a winning strategy for any state. It does nothing to help Michigan Democrats win up and down the ballot in eight days and saying, do we need to lower costs by building more homes, securing people's health care and creating a fair or federal tax code? Yes, we do. How we do so is not by blaming the high cost of our goods on the only Jewish homeland in the world, but they're then claiming that she wants to see Democrats succeed at every level, which you then have some people questioning considering her choice to post this and also her recent refusal to endorse El Sajah.
25:18 You're still fully behind, Abdul Al-Sayyat. Look, I'm on the Democratic ticket. You know, I can't say that I agree with everything that's gone on. I didn't run my campaign on foreign policy issues, but that was litigated in my primary. You didn't mention Abdul Ossad in that last answer. Well, look, I would just say you had asked me if I'm still on the team, I'm on the team. But then also given everything, you have a lot of people noting, hey, we should also mention the fact that Stevens took more than $30 million from APEC during the Senate primary. And so you have people angry at her for a few different reasons at this point.
25:48 But then as far as the criticisms of this ad coming from her and others, you had Yugar calling the anti-Semitism allegations preposterous in an email to the New York Times, saying the ad never mentions Jewish people because it's about the foreign government of Israel. You've also had him busy defending himself on Twitter, writing in one tweet, if you think this ad is anti-Semitic, you're an occult and don't know it, saying you think Israel is owed all the money it wants from the United States and if Americans don't hand it over without complaint, they're anti-Semites? That's insane, but you don't realize it because you've lost your mind. So overall with this, like depending on where you go online, lots of different
26:17 opinions, a lot of different takes ranging from one side's completely in the wrong to there have been fuck-ups on both sides. And of course, that is in addition to the people that are targeting just individuals. But for now, we are just a week away from finding out how all this plays out. And so in the meantime, I'd really love to know your thoughts, opinions, and reactions here. And then there's a few more things we've got to talk about today after a quick break from our sponsor. Right, I'm at the point in my life where if I'm going out or traveling and no drinks are involved, Zbiotics pre-alcohol is coming with me. My goal is to enjoy the night without planning the entire evening around how I'm going to feel tomorrow. And today's sponsor, Zbiotics, pre-alcohol,
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27:34 Until your house decides to have a problem at the worst possible time. Right, like the time that our water heater failed, I walked into our garage, water was everywhere. It damaged the walls. And this was around the time I was trying to sell the place. It was like, oh, yeah, another curveball. And it wasn't just, oh, it's a mess. It's finding someone available. figuring out the repair, realizing, you know, these problems don't care about your schedule or your bank account.
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28:35 Then, Devin, right back into the news, we've got a few things. We've got to talk about starting with how there is a manhunt for a convicted murderer that's on the loose. Because yesterday you had the Tennessee Department of Corrections releasing a statement and saying that this guy, 28-year-old Jacob Allen Morley, escaped from the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville. And they said that they discovered that he was missing at around 11.30 Sunday night. And after searching the prison and reviewing the cameras,
28:54 they found out that he, quote, breached the perimeter fence and exited the facility. Though we don't know if he climbed a fence, broke it or what happened. But somehow, this guy got through the fence and out. And by 1 a.m., he allegedly stole a white flatbed work truck in a city around 100 miles north to Memphis. And so you have the authorities launched in a manhunt, offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to his arrest. But they're also telling people, hey, if you see him, don't engage.
29:13 Just call the police. Because again, this guy is a convicted murderer. Back in 2022, Morley fatally shot a coworker in the back of the head, and the body was later found at a large metal box underneath his house. And while at his trial, he claimed self-defense. Last year, Morley was convicted of murder, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and aggravated burglary, with that last one coming because Morley stole his victim's tools.
29:30 So he had him sentenced to life in prison. But maybe the craziest part of this whole story is that Morley's escape comes just days after another Tennessee inmate also escaped custody, and it's actually just the latest in a string of Tennessee Department of Correction scandals. Because just last Wednesday, 63-year-old Gregory Redden got out of his handcuffs and leg shackles while at the local hospital getting a weekly treatment. With agents, reportedly believing that he took bandages and wrapped them around his legs to make them larger so that he could slip out. With Redden, escaping around 2 o'clock, police saying they were notified at round
29:54 three and he was caught back into custody just before 7. And all the while, you have the TDOC investigating the September death of an inmate at River Bend Maximum Security Institution who was accused of stabbing an officer to death. Notably there, there's no public cause of death in that case. Now to mention, of course, the failed execution of Krista Pike, which actually an update to that situation, it prompted the resignation of TDOC Commissioner Frank Strada. And so with just one domino after another, you've got lawmakers sounding the alarm. Where with State Representative Afton Ben saying Tennessee's prisons are understaffed and adding, there is a lack of accountability inside these prisons and a lack of transparency.
30:23 So a lot at play, a lot in flux, but of course the biggest thing right now is finding Morley and getting him back behind bars. And then also in the news, these mom fluencers need to be stopped because they keep getting crazier and crazier. That's what you've got more and more people saying after Wired found a growing wave of with creators that are radicalizing young parents into completely wiping their kids off the legal grid. Right, and repackaging sovereign citizen conspiracy theories
30:43 as luxury wellness. But it appearing to start with aesthetic travel vlogs, but then there's a bomb in them. Their kids have no birth certificates or social security numbers. Now this gets sucked in during home births after a midwife mentions other clients refusing to sign documents, then falling down rabbit holes about the difference
30:56 between the legal you and the physical you. And surprisingly, there's a grift involved. Or you've got influencers bragging about traveling while being sovereign, and they charge up to a thousand bucks for courses promising to handle agents of the matrix on your behalf. Which then brings up the question,
31:09 how do they even get passwords for their kids without paperwork? Because while preaching that US law doesn't apply to them, they still want the perks of being America. They spend months bombarding the State Department with family Bibles, baptism records, and actual birthing photos just to bypass missing documents and get real US passports. And being raised this way will have serious consequences.
31:25 These kids grow up, basic milestones like a driver's license, bank account, or health insurance, it becomes nearly impossible because legally they don't exist. Plus, without paperwork, these right-wing ideologues ironically put their own children into the exact same, crosshairs faced by undocumented immigrants. All because you have parents wanting to use their kids
31:40 as pawns in this anti-government game. And then finally today, we should talk about this raid on a billionaire's mansion in Beverly Hills as part of a probe into Eric Swalwell. Right, just this morning, he had federal agents searching the home of Stephen Klubeck, who's this stupid rich developer and one of Swalwell's biggest donors.
31:53 This guy donated more than a million dollars to back Swalwell after he declared his candidacy for governor and actually let him stay at his house at several points while campaigning. That is, before Swallow was signed from office and dropped out of the race in April, when he began facing allegations of sexual assault against a former staffer,
32:06 as well as allegations of acting inappropriately with other young women. With that said to include sending unsolicited explicit messages and nude pictures. And he's had him since being the subject of both state and federal investigations, but he's also denied all of it. And actually one of the last things he did
32:18 inside of Kleubeck's home was film a video saying all the claims against him were lies. The Kleubeck also apparently gave him the boot telling the New York Post at the time that he was no longer associated with Swallow because he supports women. And he actually also spoke with Fox News around the same time. Eric, is that clear?
32:34 Don't bust the trust. Well, you don't have a lot of information about this specific raid, a spokesperson for the FBI's Los Angeles field office said that no arrests were planned and the search warrants are still sealed, saying it's related to an ongoing criminal investigation, but not really giving much else. But also a big thing is this is not the first time we've seen Swalwell's residences raided. Right back in August, at his house at Washington was searched and his electronic devices were seized. And he was even briefly held at the San Francisco International Airport so he could be searched before being released that same day. Now, my friends, you beautiful bastards, is the end of your Tuesday show.
33:01 Thank you for being a part of another daily dive into the often dumpster fire that is the news. Also, thank you for supporting this daily dive into the news with likes, subscribe, sharing, maybe you signed up to philiptofranco.com. Maybe you grab yourself a shirt of beautifulbaster.com. I appreciate you also. I got more for you to watch right here. Yeah, as always, I love yo faces and I'll see you right back here tomorrow.
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