- 'Sup, you beautiful bastards.
Hope you're having a fantastic Monday.
Welcome back to The Philip Defranco Show.
I have missed you over these 96 hours,
Not seeing your comments.
Me not threatening you if you do not hit that like button
on an exceptionally large show.
Me not having to refilm things
because I pronounce things incorrectly
and/or my S's ran together with other S words.
But we're back together now.
So with that said, let's just jump into it.
The first thing we wanna talk about today
is we had video games in the news,
separate from the video game news
about the villainization of video games.
I mean, it's kinda ridiculous.
Over the weekend, you had ABC and ESPN postponing
an Apex Legends tournament because of the gun violence.
You probably heard Walmart pulling
displays of violent video games.
You know, fully addressing the root of the real problem.
But aside from that, you had this very messy
Twitch and Ninja, Tyler Blevins, situation.
For the uninitiated here, Twitch, of course,
one of the premier streaming platforms for live gaming,
and Tyler Blevins, a.k.a. Ninja, one of the most popular
Fortnite players in the world, just really, really
blew up on Twitch, and then everything else followed.
And recently we covered how Blevins
had moved over to a rival service called Mixer.
And what followed this was rather interesting.
Blevins ended up pulling in fantastic live viewer numbers
on Mixer showing that he was larger than the platform
that he blew up on, and we saw a ton
of people downloading the Mixer app.
I mean, it just popped up on the charts.
Even as of recording this video,
it is number eight in entertainment.
Well, this story today isn't about Ninja's good numbers.
Rather, it is about Twitch's handling of Ninja's departure.
You know, soon after Ninja left, we started seeing things
like his little partner check mark, that went away.
And then, rather than the page just saying
user was offline, or that the account was deactivated,
we saw something different.
When you went to his page, you would see a channel icon
and the text; The Ninja you're looking for
is in another castle, check out these popular live channels.
And so instead, it would promote other content,
seemingly trying to hope that people would stay with Twitch.
But you know, you still have some people saying well,
they're just recommending other channels,
other people saying this is just very, very, very petty.
And over the weekend, it appears that this decision
on Twitch's part blew up in their face.
It appears in this screenshot that blew up over the weekend,
there was a porn stream being recommended on that page.
So of course, a huge problem in general,
but made even worse when you consider the fact that
Ninja's audience is largely just underage kids.
Following this, we saw Ninja speak out in a video.
- There was a porn account that was number one
being recommended on my channel,
and I have no say in any of this stuff,
so this is the line, this is the straw.
We're trying to get the whole channel taken down
to begin with or at least not promote other streamers
and other channels on my brand, on my freaking profile.
So for anyone who saw that, for anyone whose kids,
or who just didn't obviously wanna see that,
I apologize, and I'm sorry.
- And this story just got bigger and bigger and bigger,
to the point that the CEO of Twitch actually responded,
and in it, he opens by apparently saying that, you know,
this isn't essentially pettiness,
that this is part of an experiment, saying,
"Our community comes to Twitch looking for live content.
"To help ensure they find great live channels
we've been experimenting with showing recommended content
across Twitch including on streamers pages that are offline.
This helps all streamers,
as it creates new community connections.
But then adding; However, the lewd content that appeared
on the Ninja offline channel page grossly violates
our terms of service and we've permanently
suspended the account in question.
Also adding what he regarded as the experiment;
We have also suspended these recommendations
while we investigate how this content came to be promoted.
And then adding on a more personal note;
I want to apologize directly to Ninja that this happened.
It wasn't our intent,
but it shouldn't have happened, no excuses.
And with all of that, they also changed
Ninja's channel back to the way it used to look.
But, of course, following that, there are still
a ton of people that aren't really buying that,
that it was just kind of this experiment that went awry.
This including Tyler's wife Jessica Blevins, who tweeted;
Twitch is doing PR control right now,
but it seems their intent from the beginning
was to try to kill Ninja brand.
They say promoting other channels on his page
wasn't of ill intent, but here's a Twitch co-founder saying
RIP with a winky face to Tyler's transition, petty.
But ultimately, that is where we are
with this story right now.
And what I'll say as an outsider, right,
I'm looking from the outside in on this situation,
I cannot speak to anyone's intent.
The mishandling of this situation by Twitch is mindboggling.
Sure, you can feel burned by a creator who,
I mean, you guys had mutual success.
99 times out of 100 the best way to handle a situation
is you just say good luck, thumbs up, have a great one,
and then don't touch anything, because otherwise,
you turned that person into a victim, and people will
always choose a creator over a giant company.
Even in a situation where it's that creator
signing up with another giant company.
And so in this situation, all you're doing is
adding gasoline to the screw Twitch fire, which, hey,
may just be a small blip, but it's a whole hell
of a lot bigger than it would have been
if you didn't just shoot yourself in the foot.
But yeah, that's where I'm gonna leave this one,
and of course, pass the question off to you.
What are your thoughts here?
Do you see this as pettiness blowing up
into the company's face?
This is an orchestrated campaign
to go after him, or is it something else?
Just unfortunately timed experiments
and a little bit of stupid.
But yeah, any and all thoughts on this,
I'd love to see in those comments down below.
But from that, I wanna share some stuff I love today,
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And the first bit of awesome is slightly podcast-related.
If you didn't see at the end of last week,
I brought back and re-launched my podcast
"A Conversation With."
Along with the audio version obviously being
on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more.
I also launched a YouTube channel for it,
so you can see it in video as well.
And so you can check out the first episode there, subscribe,
all that goodness, but a fun feature I want to use
is on Anchor where you can listen to our podcast as well.
You can send a voice message, and I don't wanna use this
for a Q and A, I wanna hear from you.
Whatever you wanna tell me, say it to me,
just kinda get something off your chest,
that's a fun place where you can do it.
Yeah, I'd love to hear from you there.
Just, either from me, I might also use it
in a guest-less Conversation With,
where it's just me and you, just something fun.
Then Bon Appetit gave us food goodness, making corn chowder.
Then we got an eight and a half minute video
called "The World War of the Ants."
The Infographics Show gave us
origins of the first civilization.
Wired gave us a former FBI agent
breaking down gangster's body language.
We got the official teaser trailer for The Morning Show,
which is Apple's original starring Jennifer Aniston,
Steve Carrel, and Reese Witherspoon.
We had Simone Biles making history and just being amazing.
And then our filled out, grown out, GG partner,
game of the day is Iconoclast,
which is just a fantastically reviewed
Metroidvania game with really intricate puzzles.
It normally sells for $20, but if you use our link
before nine a.m tomorrow and/or while supplies last,
you can snag it for 50% off, just nine dollars, 99 cents.
And if you wanna see the full versions of everything
I just shared, the secret link of the day,
really anything at all,
links as always are in the description down below.
And then, let's continue to talk about an update
on a story we've been covering for a while now,
and that is the situation in Hong Kong.
Because you know these protests in Hong Kong
have now officially been going on for 10 weeks.
And as you might remember, these protests originally started
over a proposed extradition bill that would have allowed
certain criminal suspects to be transferred
to mainland China.
Many seeing this as China tightening its grip on Hong Kong.
And Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam did eventually
suspend the bill but didn't fully withdraw it,
and so the protestors kept going, because until the bill
was fully withdrawn, it could be brought back at any time.
And while the extradition bill does continue to drive
the demonstrations, the protestors have also expanded
their demands to call for broad democratic reforms
as well as Lam's resignation,
an independent investigation into alleged
police brutality, and release and amnesty for protestors
who have been arrested among other things.
And keep in mind, this is an incredible oversimplification
of everything that we've covered in several shows,
so if you wanna see those,
of course I'll link to 'em down below.
But, the reason that we're talking about this today
is in part because of Monday afternoon local time,
thousands of protestors flooded
Hong Kong's international airport.
And this prompted authorities to cancel
all flights in one of the world's busiest hubs.
And reportedly, a smaller number of protestors
had already been staging a peaceful sit-in
over the last three days at the airport without disrupting
services or flights, but protesting members
called for a larger demonstration at the airport
after undercover police dressed as protestors
fired tear gas inside a subway station
during demonstrations on Sunday,
in what was reportedly one of the few times
police have used tear gas in an enclosed area.
Other videos taken at Sunday's protest showed police firing
non-lethal objects in close range at protestors
trying to flee down an escalator at another subway station.
We also saw reports that protestors in other parts
of the city injured some police officers
after throwing bricks and petrol bombs.
The director of Amnesty International Hong Kong condemned
the police's actions, saying in a statement:
Hong Kong police have once again used tear gas
and rubber bullets in a way that have
fallen short of international standards.
Firing at retreating protestors in confined areas
where they had little time to leave goes against
the purported objective of dispersing a crowd.
And as a result of Sunday's violence,
Monday's protests seemed to be specifically targeted
at the police, who for a while now protestors
have accused of brutality and abusing their power.
During Monday's protests, demonstrators could be seen
holding signs that said, "don't trust the police",
or that displayed pictures of the violent
clashes between protestors and police.
Some protestors reportedly shouted turn back,
and others held signs apologizing
for the inconvenience to travelers.
As of recording this video, most of the protestors
have dispersed, though reportedly
a couple hundred still remain in the airport.
And that protest on Monday is not the first time
that protestors have demonstrated in the airport.
In fact, they've done it several times before.
Demonstrating in the airport is one of the tactics
that protestors have recently been using to disrupt
businesses and transportation in Hong Kong,
which is a massive commerce center.
And in fact, just last Monday, tens of thousands
of protestors brought massive parts of the city
to a complete standstill during the city's
first general strike in over 50 years.
And in that general strike, workers from nearly
20 different sectors participated.
You had teachers, security workers, construction workers,
and almost 14,000 people from the engineering sector alone.
And notably there are more than 2,300 workers
in the aviation industry joined the strikes,
forcing more than 200 flights to be canceled.
And during that strike, crowds of protestors
all over Hong Kong set up barricades,
blocked roads and shut down train services.
Protestors reportedly threw projectiles and started fires
outside of police buildings, and police used
more than 1,000 tear gas canisters
and 160 rubber bullets in response to the gathering.
In addition to the protestors clashing
with police more often, violence there.
As you might remember, the last time we talked about
Hong Kong, there were 44 civilians
who were injured in an attack in a subway station.
Specifically, they were beaten with rods
and other weapons by individuals believed to be
connected to organized crime groups.
The protestors accusing the police of gross negligence
at the very least and others even accuse the government
of hiring the gangs to attack anti-government protestors.
And since we talked about that last, we've seen these groups
attack protestors several more times.
We've all seen police ramp up
their efforts to arrest protestors.
According to reports, police have said 592 people
have been arrested since the protest began on June 9th,
with those arrested reportedly between the ages of 13 to 76.
Some of those people are facing charges
that include rioting, which is a charge that can carry
a prison term of up to 10 years.
And while right now, of course, a large part of this
is focused on what is happening in the streets,
the treatment of protestors, what businesses are being
shut down, a massive part of this, of course,
is focused on how is the government reacting,
and I mean that both as the government of Hong Kong
as well as what is happening with China.
So Hong Kong Chief Executive Lam,
she recently responded saying she will not step down,
and largely denied the protestors' demands.
And speaking for the first time in two weeks,
last Monday Lam said that Hong Kong is quote
on the verge of a very dangerous situation,
also accusing the protestors of having a hidden agenda,
saying: We continue to allow these violent protestors
to make use of the fugitive offender bill
to conceal their ulterior motives.
Those ulterior motives are going to destroy Hong Kong.
And in addition to saying that she refused to resign,
Lam also claimed it was not in her power to demand
the release of people who are arrested during the protests,
and adding on Friday that an investigation into the police
would be inappropriate because they
are busy responding to the protests.
She also pivoted to say that these protests
were hurting Hong Kong's economy,
and while many have said that Lam's response here
is predictable and falls in line
with her positions throughout this whole ordeal,
others have noted that recent responses
from China are far more alarming.
People pointing on Monday to the Global Times,
a state-backed Chinese newspaper, sharing a video
of armored carriers heading towards a city
that borders Hong Kong,
this in advance of what the paper referred to
as large-scale exercises by a paramilitary unit.
The Global Times also writing that the tasks and missions
of the paramilitary unit included dealing with rebellions,
riots, serious violent and illegal incidents,
terrorist attacks, and other social security incidents.
Also Monday night, China's state broadcaster CCTV
issued a headline that said:
Alert, there are signs of terrorism on the streets
of Hong Kong, and later reportedly warned:
"no country can accept terrorist acts in its own country.
"Hong Kong has reached an important juncture.
"End violence and restore order is the most important,
"urgent, and overriding task of Hong Kong at present."
We also saw a spokesperson for the Chinese
government department responsible for Hong Kong
condemn the violence in a press conference, saying:
"The radical demonstrators in Hong Kong have repeatedly
"attacked police with extremely dangerous tools
"in recent days which constitutes a serious violent crime,
"and now they are descending into terrorism."
And continuing: "We should relentlessly crack down on such
"violent criminal acts without mercy, and we firmly support
"Hong Kong police and judicial authorities in bringing
the criminals to justice as soon as possible."
And all of this comes just a little over a week
after a video was released showing Chinese soldiers
who were practicing firing on demonstrators.
But ultimately, that is where we are
with the situation right now.
It looks like it is continuing to escalate.
But also, and I'll say this is my opinion,
but it seems pretty transparent, that China is more and more
laying the groundwork to justify some sort of large-scale
military action, and honestly, I think most of this
just boils down to the question of,
is China willing to risk having another Tienanmen Square,
which of course is the bloody
and horrible government crackdown from 1989,
an event that China censors in-country
but of course is known internationally.
And here we already see them setting up the framework
of it's not a government crackdown on peaceful protestors.
Instead, their narrative is that their hands may be forced
because they're having to fight terrorism.
But for now, we watch, we wait, and we'll see.
And then, of course, let's talk about
this Jeffrey Epstein situation.
He, as you've likely seen at this point,
according to reports, died of an apparent suicide
on Saturday and for those who don't know,
I'll link to our previous coverage,
but to oversimplify this,
Epstein was a wealthy financier who was accused
of trafficking underage girls for sex.
And as far as his death, what we do know
is that Epstein was being held at the
Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City.
On July 23rd, he reportedly was placed on suicide watch
after being found in his cell with bruises on his neck,
which authorities say were the result
of a possible suicide attempt,
this coming a few days after he was denied bail.
But, according to reports, on July 29th,
he was taken off of suicide watch.
He was then moved to a special housing unit in the prison.
According to a report from the Washington Post,
officers were supposed to check on him every 30 minutes,
but hours had apparently gone by without him
being checked on before his body was found.
Additionally, the reports said that someone
in Epstein's position is supposed to have a cellmate,
but reportedly, his cellmate had been transferred on Friday,
leaving him alone in his unit.
And now an autopsy has been conducted,
but results have not been made public,
as it is reportedly pending further information.
And Epstein's death comes just a day after unsealed
court documents brought up new details
to a defamation suit against his associate, Gillian Maxwell.
And Maxwell is an English socialite who has been accused
of helping Epstein recruit young women to force them
to have sex with him and other men, and notably here,
right now, her whereabouts are completely unknown.
But reportedly, the details come from an accuser
who said that Epstein began abusing her when she was 16,
and the documents reportedly mention that Epstein
had relationships with high profile people
like Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, and Prince Andrew.
And so now, there are multiple investigations
into Epstein's death being led by the FBI,
the Department of Justice, and the New York
Medical Examiner's Office, because many are wondering
how such a prominent inmate who was supposed to be heavily
monitored was able to kill themselves in federal prison.
Right and we're talking about everyone asking questions
across the board, everyone from the AOCs of the world
all the way to Attorney General William Barr,
who actually notably released
a statement on Saturday saying:
I was appalled to learn that Jeffrey Epstein
was found dead early this morning
from an apparent suicide while in federal custody.
Mr. Epstein's death raises serious
questions that must be answered.
In addition to the FBI's investigation,
I've consulted with the Inspector General,
who is opening an investigation
into the circumstances of Mr. Epstein's death.
And today, Barr made further comment.
- We are now learning of serious irregularities
at this facility that are deeply concerning
and demand a thorough investigation.
The FBI and the Office of Inspector General
are doing just that.
We will get to the bottom of what happened,
and there will be accountability.
But let me assure you that this case will continue on
against anyone who was complicit with Epstein.
Any co-conspirators should not rest easy.
The victims deserve justice, and they will get it.
- Also, in addition to there being a lot of questions
around the circumstances of his death,
there are also a lot of questions about what happens
to the investigation into his alleged sex trafficking,
which, as of right now, the investigation remains open.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jeffrey S. Burman
released a statement saying: Today's events are disturbing,
and we are deeply aware of their potential
to present yet another hurdle to giving
Epstein's many victims their day in court.
To those brave young women who have already come forward,
and to the many others who have yet to do so,
let me reiterate that we remain committed to standing
for you and our investigation of the conduct
charged in the indictment, which included
a conspiracy count, remains ongoing.
And so right now, people are saying that this investigation
could turn to the other people accusers have mentioned
working with Epstein in the case.
Although officially, no other co-conspirators
have been named, and he was the only one listed
in the indictment so criminal charges against him are done.
Though regarding partial justice, the victims will be able
to file a civil suit against his estate,
and according to Bloomberg,
his net worth was 500 million dollars.
His estate reportedly including but not limited to:
a New York mansion, a private island and properties
in New Mexico, Paris, and Palm Beach.
Bloomberg also saying that the alleged victims lawyers
are asking to freeze his estate, and that the legal process
that could result in compensation could last for years.
But also understandably, for some of his accusers,
the fact that Epstein won't see his day
in court is incredibly upsetting,
with Jennifer Araoz telling Rolling Stone:
I am angry Jeffrey Epstein won't have
to face his survivors of his abuse in court.
We have to live with the scars of his actions
for the rest of our lives while he will never face
the consequences of the crimes he committed,
the pain, and the trauma he caused so many people.
And ultimately with this story,
that's where I really end covering it.
There is another aspect to this story,
that being the number of conspiracy theories,
some blaming President Trump
and Attorney General William Barr,
some blaming the Clintons, a conspiracy theory
that was actually retweeted by the President.
And understand, I am open to any
and all possibilities of what actually transpired.
We're talking about a situation of a high profile,
mega-rich predator who had so many connections
that they include names like the current President
of the United States and a former President
of the United States.
And I look forward to any and all new information
that comes out, other bastards
that hopefully get implicated.
The fact that we have people from all different
political spectrums definitively saying
they know what transpired is concerning.
Because of course, there is the possibility that a mega-rich
lifetime predator who has never really faced justice,
all of a sudden that person gets locked in a box
and appears very much they're never gonna
get out of that box,
that person may be in a state of mind to commit suicide.
And according to reports,
he was not on suicide watch anymore,
but even according to the data,
that still might not have stopped him.
According to reports, a study from the U.S. Marshal Service
found that 8% of suicides in correctional facilities
occurred even though an inmate was on suicide watch.
And so that's why the primary focus
of this story is not a deep dive
into all the different conspiracy theories.
Instead, it's a reporting of what we definitively know,
what investigations are happening now,
where we can expect more facts to come later.
But ultimately, like I said,
that's where we're gonna end with this one today,
and of course, as always, I pass the question off to you.
And that's where I'm going to end today's show.
And hey, if you liked today's show, I've love for you
to take a second to hit that like button.
Also, if you're new here,
you want more of these daily dives into the news,
be sure to hit subscribe,
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Also, if you're craving more video goodness,
maybe you missed the last Philip DeFranco Show,
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you can click or tap right there to watch those.
But, with that said of course,
as always, my name is Philip DeFranco.
You've just been filled in.
I love your faces, and I'll see you tomorrow.