- Amateur TikTok investigators
are terrorizing this town.
Russia's big mad and desperate.
Ohio just can't catch a break.
Ethan Klein done goofed again.
And this is the last time I wanna talk about it.
But, we're gonna talk about all that
and so much more on today's brand new Philip DeFranco show,
so buckle up, hit that like button,
and let's just jump into it.
Starting with this news,
that all it takes is one mysterious disappearance
for the whole Internet to lose its damn mind.
And exhibit A is Nicola Bulley.
She's a 45-year-old mortgage advisor
in a small Lancashire village in Britain,
who was last seen over three weeks ago.
And all we know is that she dropped her two daughters
off at school, then went for a walk with her dog,
then sending an email to her employer,
texting a friend about a play date,
and logging on to a Microsoft Teams work call
with her camera and microphone turned off.
With that lasting for half an hour and a few minutes later,
someone finds her phone on a bench
still connected at the meeting with her dog running around
and its harness on the ground.
So, at this point,
the police's leading theory is that she fell
into the nearby river
saying there's no evidence of foul play.
With search teams scouring the riverbed using divers
and sonar equipment,
but finding nothing and instead shifting downstream,
which is exactly when all hell breaks loose,
because TikTok catches wind to this story
and it quickly goes viral.
With videos using Bulley's name as a hashtag,
collecting over 270 million views as of Friday.
And this inspiring legions of amateur TikTok detectives
to flood the scene for clues,
which sounds like, hey, maybe that could be helpful,
except for one thing.
Most, if not all of them,
have no fucking idea what they're doing.
And secondly, many just start spreading rumors,
speculation, and conspiracy theories,
with some clips even suggesting
Nicola's friends are crisis actors
and that Nicola herself isn't even real.
Or these people claiming the whole thing
is a performance staged by the government
to distract the public for reasons?
But, then thirdly, they're just a fucking nuisance.
We got some taken selfies at the bench
where Bulley's phone was found,
reportedly peering into windows,
and jiggling locked door handles at people's homes.
With one person even attempting to remove the panels
from a pumping station,
presumably to check if Bulley was in there.
We also saw one YouTuber and TikToker Dan Duffy
getting arrested after he said in a video
that he searched an abandoned house
and had been in people's back gardens at nighttime
with torches.
And, so with all this chaos here,
we have the borough's council leader
saying his town of 600 people
have begun to feel like a theme park,
where people were coming along to play detective.
All of this prompting the Lancashire police
to issue a dispersal order,
which, hey, that's normal enough.
But then, they also took a rather unusual step,
releasing a statement that Bulley had been classified
as a high-risk missing person, because she,
"Suffered with some significant issues with alcohol,
which were brought on by her ongoing struggles
with menopause."
So, with that, we saw a swift backlash from critics
who accused them of publicizing
what should would remain private information about Bulley.
With Rishi Sunak and other MPs expressing concern
over this breach of privacy.
Also, leading Britain's independent data privacy authority
to announce it would be investigating the police's decision.
And others even going further alleging sexism and misogyny
playing a role here.
The veteran police watchdog Zoe Billingham saying,
"Would we talk about a man in a similar situation?
'Poor old Barney's hit the bottle,
because he's got erectile dysfunction.'
That would be unimaginable for the police to put that out."
And, notably all this coming a year
after the kidnapping, rape and murder of Sarah Everard
by a cop in London that shocked the nation,
after which a poll showed 40% of men and 47% of women
reported declining trust in police since the murder.
As well as a report last year
by the UK's independent police watchdog
finding a culture of misogyny, sexism
and predatory behavior toward members of the public.
And so with a search for Nicola stretching on for weeks,
people got restless again.
But, on Sunday, police finally found her body.
So now, not only do her loved ones
have to deal with her tragic death,
but also the incompetence of police
and the insensitivity of TikTok crime tourers.
And as if that wasn't enough,
the news media fucked up its coverage of the case as well.
With Nicola's family saying the press
and members of the public have accused her partner
of wrongdoing and misquoted and vilified friends and family.
I think that SkyNews and ITV contacted them for a comment
after the body was discovered,
despite expressed requests for privacy.
And, so in the end,
it just feels like everyone fucked up here.
This family's grief and a nightmare situation
was turned into a national spectacle, because why?
Well, because a number of problems,
but one of the most in your face ones
being that it feels like people don't fucking see people
as people anymore, that it's just content.
And even for those that have like a hero complex
or to a lesser extent,
they think that, yeah, I just wanna help.
There are ways to help
in a way that doesn't make everything worse.
And I'm just left hoping that the family, the friends,
everyone impacted by this, they can heal,
and everyone else who messed up in this situation,
that they learn from it, they own it, and they grow.
And then, are Elon Musk and Twitter
trying to curb criticism of Tesla?
That's a question many Twitter users
have been wondering over the past 24 hours.
And it's because many received a warning popup
when they liked a tweet that put Tesla in a negative light.
With the tweets in question
including a link to an article on ChinaDaily.com
titled, "Limited lineup a problem for Tesla."
And, one tweet sharing that article saying,
"Imagine the head of the China Passenger Car Association
saying this about your company."
With a screenshot of a quote from that official
featured in the peace reading,
"Tesla's facing a serious problem
of a very limited product mix."
It's slowness to respond to Chinese consumer's preferences
has led to a very passive positioning
for Tesla to rely on few means,
such as price cuts to stay competitive.
With 30,000 people liking that tweet,
and some who did so, responded to the post
noting they got a popup from Twitter.
A popup saying,
"Help keep Twitter a place for reliable info.
Find out more before liking this Tweet."
And so tons of people started calling it out.
With many pointing to Elon himself,
because not only is he the head of both Twitter and Tesla,
but because he has this air of him being Mr. Free Speech.
And, so in this situation,
it appeared he was trying to put warning flags on a post
critical of one of his companies.
And there were tons of people commenting on this
and spreading this.
Podcaster Ethan Klein for example, tweeting,
"Elon Musk, a free speech warrior,
is automatically censoring articles critical of Tesla.
Try liking this tweet and you'll see."
And, others saying things like,
"So Pfizer is currently trending from conspiracy theorists
and those tweets can be liked/retweeted with a zero issue."
But noting, "Attempting to like or retweet this Tesla post
flashes a warning to find further information
while providing no further information.
Unbiased forum by the way."
And political commentator Hasan Piker writing,
"Obviously, Elon never bought this website
for free speech purposes, he was forced,
but this level of petty tyrant behavior
where he is trying to stop retweets and likes
on tweets about Tesla from spreading on Twitter
is a new low I didn't imagine was possible."
That one was extra interesting,
because people quickly started responding to him saying,
"Hey, I actually got the same warning
when I liked your tweet about this."
But, all that said, according to Forbes,
the reason for the warning
isn't Musk's well-documented sensitivity
around criticism of his various brands,
and instead saying these kinds of popups appear
when you like a tweet
linking out to a state-owned news source
from Russia or China.
With China Daily being a CCP owned outlet.
Forbes also noting that the warning doesn't prevent you
from liking the tweet,
you just have to read it before you do.
And, quickly with people realizing,
oh, even with non-Tesla articles from China Daily,
I get that same warning.
Though, notable change.
As of this morning,
my team was actually able to like a variety of tweets
linking out to China Daily with no warnings at all.
Extra note, just doing research,
not a fan of the CCP.
That including the original tweet
that we showed including the Tesla article, no issue,
same with Hasan's tweet.
And, so as of recording,
it's unclear exactly what changed between then and now.
But, notably that Forbes article
that clarified the situation was posted just last night.
And as I'm recording, Elon hasn't tweeted about any changes
and, normally, he seems like he would.
But yeah, that's the situation as it appears right now.
And, I also, you know what?
It is so beside the point of this story,
but since he was mentioned, I kind of just wanna say this.
To Ethan Klein, can you stop talking about my fucking weight
on your podcast?
While I personally use people saying negative things
about my weight or my looks as further motivation
when I'm working out,
to the point that I even do David Goggins-esque bullshit,
like taking the audio of them calling me fat
or whatever language they use
and mixing it with pump up songs for my workouts.
There are also tons of people that deal with weight issues
and eating disorders, which, by the way,
it's well documented that I've talked about myself
having an eating disorder that I've had to really fight
to overcome over the years.
So when you say on your podcast to hundreds of thousands,
and if not millions of people, that I am permanently doughy,
that I am a ham sandwich, it's fucked
and I think it can have a genuinely negative impact
on other people.
But that's where I'm gonna leave it,
I don't want anyone going after anyone,
because of things that were said about me.
I just think that we should all try to be better.
And then, I wanna take a second to thank
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And then, Ohio can't get a damn break right now.
Where the state's still reeling from the train derailment
and the environmental concerns
that it sparked after officials decided
to burn hazardous materials to prevent a bigger explosion.
And then, just yesterday, there was a major explosion
at an industrial plan outside of Cleveland
that killed one person and injured at least a dozen others.
According to authorities, the incident took place
at the I. Schumann & Co metal factory in Bedford, Ohio.
The fire department captain Brian DiRocco saying
that the firefighters had been called
to a very large explosion with heavy fire
and smoke that sent debris hundreds of yards
raining down on cars nearby.
It was also reported that the blast sent debris
across the street, produced a crater in a building,
and created a smoke plume that could be seen for miles.
With a witness who works across the street saying,
"It was the loudest noise we ever heard."
"Everything was shaking,
things were falling off the shelves here."
"It blew up half the building, it blew debris and shrapnel,
there were cars on fire."
"We just saw pandemonium after the explosion."
And according to DiRocco,
13 people were taken to hospitals, mainly for burns
and one person was in critical condition.
With the spokesperson for the county
later confirming that a 46-year-old man had died.
Now, as far as the cause of the explosion,
it's currently unknown, it's under investigation.
With DiRocco having described the place
as a relatively safe plant, and adding,
"It's a foundry, so you're dealing with molten hot metal.
So there's always an inherent danger."
With I. Schumann & Co describing it as an explosion
of unknown origin and adding that they'll work
alongside investigators in their search for answers.
And as we all obviously send our well wishes
to those affected by this horrible blast,
hopefully, we'll have more information and more answers
in the coming days.
And, then to save money, maybe you should skip breakfast.
That is a very real verbatim headline
that the Wall Street Journal ran about a week ago.
But, I would argue more importantly, that also appears to be
a new platform for the Republican party, because right now,
GOP lawmakers are considering cutting food stamps
as part of their new budget proposal.
The idea being floated by multiple members
is part of an effort to reduce the national deficit.
This including Republicans
now leading the House Budget Committee
who flagged food stamps, formally known
as Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program,
or SNAP, as one of the 10 areas they would support cuts.
With the committee arguing that stricter work requirements
would save tens of billions of dollars,
while a more rigid verification process for applicants
would limit waste, fraud and abuse.
But that contrary to experts saying
that these proposed changes could result in devastating cuts
for the 41 million Americans who rely on food stamps
and exacerbate an ongoing hunger crisis at a time
when food prices have been rising due to inflation.
Some of the details, SNAP provides low income households
with an average of around $230 a month for groceries.
And, for many of those families
who are also the most impacted
by inflationary price increases across the board,
that money is absolutely essential,
which is why any cuts to SNAP would be incredibly harmful.
Especially, because Republicans want these cuts,
despite the fact that Congress already agreed
just two months ago to end a pandemic-era program
that increased benefits in some states.
Right back in March of 2020, SNAP was expanded,
so households could receive maximum benefits,
instead of benefits based on income testing.
And, so with those benefits now expiring in March,
an estimated 16 million households
will see their per person benefits
drop by around $82 a month.
And, so as a result, we're seeing lots of Democrats fighting
against the effort to cut SNAP benefits even more,
and risk plunging more Americans into hunger.
This including representative Brendan Boyle,
the leading Democrat on the House Budget Committee
who told Axios,
"If Republicans really wanted to reduce families reliance
on SNAP, they wouldn't block efforts
to raise the minimum wage, extend the child tax credit,
and lower the cost of childcare."
But, here's the thing,
even if Republicans don't end up cutting SNAP in the budget,
the program's not outta hot water.
And that's because while raising the debt limit
is at the forefront of stupid fucking partisan battles
right now, we're already seeing a fight shaping up
over another essential piece of legislation,
the farm bill, which notably is a package that has to be
updated and reauthorized every couple of years.
Whatever, the package is absolutely massive.
Not only is it one of the most important tasks
that Congress deals with,
it also includes a ton of incredibly important subsidies
and programs that are imperative
to America's food systems, farms, and much more.
And, one of the super important programs
that fall under the purview of the farm bill is,
you guessed it, SNAP.
And, so we've already seen Republicans floating the idea
of cuts to SNAP as part of the farm bill instead.
And, so as far as what's going to actually happen
to the tens of millions of Americans who rely on this,
and while at least with the farm bill,
lawmakers have until October 1st
to either enact a new version
or just agree on some kind of extension.
And then, in this life we all make mistakes,
but rarely do I think we ever make $275 million mistakes.
And I mentioned that very specific amount of money,
because that's how much Spain's government dished out
three years ago for a contract
to modernize its trains in two northern regions.
With the project slated to finish next year,
except until last month they got a surprise announcement.
And it's why there were sayings
like "measure twice, cut once" are a thing,
the contractor, as it turns out,
had been given the wrong dimensions.
So, the trains were actually too wide
to fit through many of the regions tunnels.
Meaning now, the project has to be delayed two years,
and somebody somewhere is very, very embarrassed.
Which also probably connected
to yesterday's Spain's Secretary of State for Transport
resigning in shame,
along with the president of the state rail operator.
But, hey, not all bad news for commuters,
with the government announcing
that travel unaffected networks will be free until 2026.
And also, to make a bad situation less horrible,
clarifying that this error was spotted
before the trains had actually been built.
So, there will be delays,
but the money has not necessarily been wasted.
Also, as an American,
because I think it's important that we own our L's,
and we don't just like make fun of other countries,
it's important to remember things
like the $125 million Mars rover that NASA lost in 1999.
With that one happening because Lockheed Martin
did their measurements in English units
and the agency does theirs using the metric system.
And then the murdering clown known as Vladimir Putin
is going off the rails.
As President Biden is preparing to make a speech in Warsaw,
Putin was ranting to Russian lawmakers this morning
and making some ridiculous claims in the process.
Right, a key thing,
this speech comes just days before the one-year mark
of the war in Ukraine, whereas Putin once again put it,
the "special military operation,"
and the speech was likely meant
to drum up domestic support for Russia,
jumping from topic to topic,
and saying everything from the US was the cause of the war,
to claiming that pedophilia was normalized in the West.
He also doubled down on his claim
that the sanctions against Russia have been ineffective,
citing its success to new markets.
Though, it does seem like he ignored the fact
that his GDP shrank by 2.1%
and it's only expected to get worse.
But, in this, Putin also made some major announcements,
with a key one being that Russia
is pulling out of the START Treaty,
the last major arms control agreement
between it and the US, claiming that America,
"Wants to deal us a strategic defeat
and are meddling with our nuclear facilities."
Which, yeah,
if you're talking about START and other nuclear treaties,
that's the point.
It allowed both sides to inspect nuclear missiles
and sites to ensure that the terms of the deal
were actually being followed.
And while it's an absolutely major deal
that Russia is officially pulling out,
it's not especially surprising.
The US has said for months
that Russia has violated the treaty
by refusing to let American inspectors check out sites
and refusing to just discuss the matter.
Though, quick update here,
the Russian Foreign Ministry just added
that it would actually still follow all of START's rules
minus allowing inspections,
which since you have common sense,
you know that kind of undermines the whole point
of nuclear treaties, trust, but verify.
This instead of their new policy,
"Just trust us, bro."
"Wow, you don't trust us?
Feels like it says more about you than it does us."
Trying to gaslight us like an abusive ex.
Which is why we saw Secretary of State Antony Blinken
describing Russia's decision
as both really unfortunate and very irresponsible,
while also leaving the door open
for future arms control treaties.
One of the main things
is with the last major arms control measure
now thrown to the side,
we can expect nuclear rhetoric to go on the rise.
And despite assurances from the Russian Foreign Ministry
that it'll just continue
to follow all the other provisions of START,
there's a chance we'll see a return
to nuclear weapons testing, at least from Russia.
With Putin preemptively justifying this by saying,
without any evidence,
"We know for a fact that certain figures in Washington
are considering the possibility of actual tests
of their nuclear weapons."
So if you had a return to nuclear testing
on your 2023 Bingo card, then feel free to check it off.
And, that's where today's show ends.
Thanks for watching and being subscribed
to my daily dives in the news.
With that said, my name's Philip DeFranco,
you've just been filled in.
I love yo' faces and I'll see you tomorrow.