- I'm so greasy and disheveled.
Two things starting today off.
One, if today's show ends up being a little shorter
than I would normally like,
it's because this morning I had to go in
for an emergency dental visit.
Yay, fun!
Needles and scraping and ving!
Right at the crack of dawn.
My bottom front teeth are partial crowns.
And I guess I lost a fight with a lamb chop last night.
They came out, and I'll say this,
if you're one of the people that wants to see
what I look like without those teeth,
I wasn't on board, but then I was like,
let's turn it into a fun challenge.
If you get this video to 135,000 likes,
I'll show you tomorrow.
Maybe I'll even show you how the kids reacted.
And two, I gotta start off today's show by saying,
YouTube, please don't do this.
And as far as the specific "this" I'm talking about,
I'm talking about YouTube this morning tweeting,
"In response to creator feedback around wellbeing
"and targeted dislike campaigns,
"we're testing a few new designs
"that don't show the public dislike count.
"If you're part of this small experiment,
"you might spot one of these designs in the coming weeks."
And then adding,
"Creators, you'll still be able to see the exact number
"of likes and dislikes in YouTube Studio."
And adding, "For viewers, if you're in the experiment,
"you can still like or dislike a video
"to share feedback with creators
"and help tune the recommendations you see on YouTube."
But I, with this video, and several other creators
on Twitter are saying, I don't think this is a great idea.
Big creators like Drew Gooden tweeting,
"The problem with websites
"that don't have disliked buttons is it's harder
"for people to get an idea of what's good and what's bad.
"Like, if Twitter had a dislike button
"you guys could see how much everybody hates this."
Though the ratio of comments and quote tweets to likes shows
that to a certain degree.
But I agree.
You also have creators like Jacksepticeye tweeting,
"What about content that is objectively bad
"and harmful to people, like scams, et cetera?"
And I mean, if I can add my voice to this,
how about this YouTube, if we all promise
as a community, pinky promise,
blood oath!
Pinky promise that we won't hit the dislike button
on this year's YouTube Rewind, will you reconsider?
(Will Smith laughs)
I just think it is a genuinely horrible idea.
Having likes and dislikes on YouTube videos I think is part
of the way that the YouTube community
in general polices itself.
Here's the thing.
It's not like you're kicking down a door.
YouTube is one of the last places
to maintain a dislike button,
but I think that is a great differentiator.
And understand I say this as a creator
that gets I think at least 2,000 dislikes
on every video I put out.
It's a way for the community and the public in general
to let people know, let the creator know where they stand.
But hey, that's the story, my personal opinion,
and take away on it.
And whether you agree or you disagree.
That's the fun of this show.
That's supposed to be I think part of the fun of YouTube
and likes and comments and everything.
Let me know what you're thinking about this
in those comments down below.
Then one of the most requested stories today,
but I won't be doing the larger piece that I want to
just 'cause I don't have the time today.
Blame the teeth.
Yeah, we had YouTube in the news for a different reason.
And this because it was reported last week
the massive creator that is James Charles
will not be hosting the second season
of "Instant Influencer" which for many was very shocking,
but also not.
It was shocking to many
because it had been previously announced
that he would be hosting the second season.
It also was a massive success.
But at the same time, it wasn't surprising to many people
because James Charles has also been recently accused
of inappropriately messaging his young fans.
With some actually going on to claim
that he has groomed fans.
Now that said,
he did specifically deny those grooming allegations,
but also a new accusation that he flirted
with a teen fan came up today
with it being reported on by places like Dexerto.
Also with this,
we saw Insider reporter Kat Tenbarge tweeting today,
"The alleged James Charles interactions
"with minors shows a pattern of JC getting aggressive
"plus claiming that the minor lied about their age
"once screenshots leak.
"It's an increasingly worrisome use of his power dynamic.
"He shouldn't be privately messaging young fans at all."
As well as other creators like Ethan Klein who tweeted,
"James Charles is a predator.
"Just trying to get his name trending, y'all,
"Let's go."
Which I mean, as of recording this video,
James Charles was number six trending in the United States.
And while I will say,
this is a quickie update regarding the entertainment side
of the story,
we're looking into this a little further as well.
Though currently our team's just starting to look into it,
so we're not gonna be talking about that today.
But to take it back to the entertainment aspect of this news
for the time being, I mean, we also don't know
if this is the official reason
that he won't be returning as the host.
And this because we have places like Variety saying
that this season has a focus on creators
outside of beauty and makeup.
Still if this was the reason for him to not be the host
or the creative pivot to something non beauty,
it wouldn't be surprising.
I don't think you could bash YouTube
for making that decision
because for YouTube whether there is a fire here or not,
there's sure as a fuck a lot of smoke.
I don't think a lot of people would blame YouTube
for getting low and trying to make their way to the exit.
But like I said, for the bigger, broader story,
the team's looking into it.
We've also reached out to James for comment.
And we'll be coming back to this.
From that, let's take a second to pay some bills
and thank the fantastic sponsor of today's show,
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Then let's talk about this story that maybe will explain
to you why that conservative relative
that you have just posted on Facebook,
"This is just like the Holocaust!"
Is it, Greg?
Is it just like the Holocaust?
So, this story is about vaccine news.
It's why maybe you saw HIPAA trending on Twitter yesterday.
And let's break down the story
and then the misinformation that comes along with it.
So, for some context here HIPAA,
or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act,
is a federal statute that prohibits doctors,
hospitals, health, insurers, and other medical institutions
from sharing personal medical information
with third parties.
And so we saw the topic trending yesterday
as people discussed it amid reports
that the Biden administration was working
with the private sector to develop a "vaccine passport."
And that would pretty much be exactly what it sounds like,
a standardized credential that would let people carry proof
that they have been vaccinated which would allow them
to travel or access services
that have otherwise been shut down or limited.
And this is nowhere near a new idea.
There are certain parts of the world
that require international travelers to provide proof
that they've been vaccinated
against certain diseases and viruses.
And in fact already,
a number of similar ideas have been rolled out
during the pandemic.
Just this month, for example,
you have the EU announcing plans
for what they called a digital green certificate
which would create a digital system like a smartphone app
to prove vaccination, negative tests,
and recovery from the virus.
IBM is also working with New York state
to implement a similar program using blockchain.
And Walmart has backed the idea of certificates as well.
But after it got reported
that the Biden administration was getting involved,
we saw a ton of people, and yes mostly conservatives,
taking to Twitter to slam this idea saying
that it violated personal freedoms.
With people like Chris Bish,
a former Republican congressional candidate, tweeting,
"HIPAA and vaccine passports don't really seem
"to be able to co-exist.
"Am I the only one who still remembers HIPAA?"
That claim and argument was then echoed
and retweeted by many others,
but then also as many others pointed out,
that's just straight up not how HIPAA works.
I mean, even the top comment on the post had a user writing,
"Wait until y'all find out that HIPAA has always had clauses
"for public health emergency.
"Wait until you find out people have been having
"to show their kid's vaccine cards
"for 30 years to register them for school.
"Wait until you find out
"about employment-based health screenings."
You know, even beyond that,
HIPAA only applies to doctors and medical institutions.
And as has been pointed out by people
who are not comparing this to the Holocaust,
this including the Washington Post,
which noted that the Biden administration's plan would
just give people their own immunization records
either digitally like through an app or on paper
which they could then have to share
if they were asked to gain access or to travel
or use something where they're being very careful.
And as places like the Post have noted here,
under that scenario, HIPAA wouldn't be relevant
because it has to do with people sharing
their own medical information.
And it's also important to note that yesterday Andy Slavitt,
a senior advisor to the White House coronavirus team,
said that the federal government is not
"doing its role as the place to create a passport
"nor a place to hold the data of citizens,"
but rather provide guidance to the private sector.
But I do want to note here while it is fun
to dunk on the people sharing misinformation,
just the ultra crazy BS,
this does not negate every other legitimate concern
about vaccine passports.
You have many experts who worry
about possible privacy issues that would come
from third parties accessing this information.
And I mean, just in general,
there are a ton of logistical challenges
to even make this happen in the first place.
Because in order for these passports
to even be widely usable, there would need to be standards
for the information that is kept,
users would need to be convinced to use the same app
or the same set of apps,
and then what about people without smartphones?
I miss seeing people in person,
I do not miss being grandma's tech support.
Also, we're already seeing politicians grand stand
on this issue.
People like Florida governor Ron DeSantis
who vowed yesterday
that he would sign an executive order
to explicitly ban vaccine passports in the state.
But at the same time, it does appear that
at least on a smaller level, we will see some rollouts here.
And I mean, I don't know how to close this story.
I'm just frustrated, man.
There's just like such a concerted effort
to make recovery hard.
COVID-19 as is has killed
more than half a million Americans.
But thank God this thing didn't have a worse kill rate.
Like, that's my main takeaway from the last year.
We are screwed if something
even slightly worse comes through.
I mean, we're talking about stories that involve like,
hey, can we get people on board to be like,
hey look I'm vaccinated.
But I mean, this is coming out at the same time
we're seeing headlines like, 'cause wow, people suck,
"Florida man fired after fake vaccine card business exposed
"on TikTok."
Like, no matter the reality of that situation,
fuck you, guy.
One, if this is something you were actually doing,
if you were dying in a fire, I wouldn't even piss on you.
And two, even if you're joking,
creating vaccine skepticism,
creating an environment where people that think
that the cards have some value
and then you put fear into that,
fuck you!
I hate that we're even sharing the same oxygen, you scumbag.
And then let's talk about these two violent attacks
in New York City on Asian Americans
that have gone viral in two separate videos.
One of the videos was reportedly caught
by a surveillance camera outside a luxury condo building
in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan.
And in this video,
we have an unidentified person
who police have since said was a 65 year old Asian woman
who can be seen walking down the street
and stopping abruptly.
And then a man kicks her in the stomach,
knocking her to the ground
where he proceeds to repeatedly stomp her on the head
while according to police shouting slurs.
Really notably here the video also seems
to show at least three people in the condo's lobby
just watching this happen without doing anything.
Although to be fair,
when the attacker left one man
who police said was a security guard
literally closed the door on the woman
who remains laying down on the sidewalk after being beaten.
So I guess technically he did do something,
just, I guess technically not a helpful thing.
But as far as the victim, according to police,
she sustained a serious physical injury.
She's currently in the hospital in stable condition.
We also learned in a statement today,
the management company for the condo said
that the staff members who witnessed the attack
"have been suspended pending an investigation
"in conjunction with their union."
And then as far as second viral incident
that police are investigating is a video
that was originally uploaded on TikTok.
The video shows a subway passenger shoving an Asian man
who tries to fight him off.
The first passenger then punches him in the face repeatedly,
puts him in a choke hold until he passes out on the floor,
and then exits the train.
Throughout the video,
other passengers can be heard yelling at him to stop.
And after he leaves,
they appear to surround the unconscious man.
And unfortunately, as of right now,
that's pretty much all we know
about the attack and the victim.
Though the NYPD Hate Crimes Unit has tweeted out the video
as well as surveillance photos of the man
from the first attack
and asked anyone with information to come forward.
And unfortunately these attacks are part
of an absolutely atrocious rising trend both in New York
and all over the country
of hate crimes increasingly being committed
against Asian Americans.
I mean, according to reports in just recent weeks,
Asian Americans in New York have reported being punched
in subway cars, spit on, and pummeled with metal pipes.
I mean, just three months into the year,
and you have the NYPD saying there have
already been 33 documented hate crimes
with an Asian victim in 2021.
When I say it's the continuation of a rising trend,
I mean, according
to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism
at Cal State San Bernardino,
in major American cities,
anti-Asian hate crimes surged by 149% in 2020,
which is why we've seen more and more people speaking up,
including yesterday we saw BTS doing the same, saying,
"We recall moments
"when we face discrimination as Asians.
"We have endured expletives without reason
"and were mocked for the way we look.
"We were even asked why Asians spoke in English."
And while adding,
"Our own experiences are inconsequential compared
"to the events that have occurred over the past few weeks,
"these experiences were enough to make us feel powerless
"and chip away at our self-esteem.
"What is happening right now cannot be dissociated
"from our identity as Asians."
But you know, ultimately we're in this story
where we're gonna have to wait and see what happens next.
And I mean that both as far as this larger trend
that we're seeing as well as these two horrible incidents
that we just saw in these videos in New York.
I'll have links, videos, resources down below
if you want to go through those videos,
see if you recognize something
because what we need in this situation, obviously yes,
more understanding, more love,
but for the fuckin' horrible monsters
behind these attacks, accountability and punishment.
And ultimately with this story
and actually anything else that stood out to you,
I'd love to know your thoughts in those comments down below
because this is the end of the video.
As always thank you for subscribing to the channel,
liking the videos, all the good stuff.
If you're looking for more to watch, I've got you covered
with a brand new vlog/behind the scenes
or maybe some more news right there
or in the top of the description.
But with that said, of course as always,
my name's Philip DeFranco.
You've just been filled in.
I love your faces and I'll see you tomorrow.