5/12/26: Bibi Blames Social Media For Anti-Israel Criticism, Derek Thompson On Billionaire AI Takeover

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2:40Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in his splashy 60 Minutes interview on Sunday night, which Crystal and I covered yesterday, also made some comments in regard to what he sees as rising anti-Semitism. and he has a theory of why this is apparently happening. It is related to, you guessed it, social media. Let's take a listen to this first thought. We have seen the deterioration of support for Israel in the United States almost, I would say, correlates almost 100 % with the geometric rise of social media. And that by itself is not what caused it. And I don't believe in censoring them or anything.

3:22But I'll tell you what happened. We have several countries that basically manipulated social media with bot farms, with fake addresses, to break the American sympathy to Israel, to break the American-Israeli alliance because they think it's in their interest. And they do it in a clever way. You know, it's like you hear a text message. I'm a red-blooded Texan. I always supported Israel, but I can't stand what they're doing. I'm turning against Israel. And then you trace the address to some basement in Pakistan, you know. And that's something that has hurt us badly. While we were fighting the physical military battle on seven battlefields, seven front war, we were completely exposed on the eighth front, the media war, really the social media war.

4:12In a healthy political climate, he would be asked to apologize for those comments because he is implying that the American people are so stupid that dumb little text messages are what swayed them to start, especially he's talking about the American right. You can hear because he talks about this red-blooded American Texan. That's his way of talking specifically about Republican voters, conservatives, right-leaners in the United States are just so dumb that their opinions can't possibly be informed. that if they have lost, if their support for Israel is declining, it's because they are misinformed, ill-informed, disinformed, or too stupid to actually just have an opinion that differs from Prime Minister Netanyahu's, as Americans, by the way, people who believe their country's interests, their interests, their family interests, their children's interests are out of line with the party that Netanyahu, the Likud party, essentially.

5:07And Sagan, to toss this over to you with also the news that Israel is now bragging basically about banning Tyler Olivera from entering the country. This is the next element. It's a Laura Loomer exclusive. She posts Israel's minister of diaspora and combating antisemitism exclusively tells me, it was his pleasure to make sure Tyler Olivera could not enter Israel today upon landing in the country from the US. She mentions, of course, also that Tucker just completed an interview, Tyler just completed an interview with Tucker Carlson in which they bashed Israel with lies. And then Tyler hopped on an LL flight to Israel saga.

5:47So it's all just an op from foreign countries manipulating Americans, manipulating Tucker Carlson, using him. He's all this is all from foreign money. It couldn't possibly be American people saying this is what is in my rational interest based on the best information that they could come up with. Yeah, you really should read actually what this guy said, the minister of the diaspora. He says, the party is over. Anyone who comes here with this aim of spreading hatred will be sent back where they came from. This follows the implementation of the new policy entry into Israel or activity within Israel.

6:22will not be permitted for anyone who disseminates anti-Semitic content, supports BDS, or insights against the state of Israel and the Jewish people. The rule is simple. Whoever incites against us simply will not be here. And, of course, Tyler Olivera, to my knowledge, the video which they are the most upset with him about is the one about – I think it was a Hasidic Jewish community, I think, in New Jersey. Okay, listen. Go watch it for yourself. Go watch it. You can decide whether it's anti-Semitic or not. I would say it fits within the broad catalog of the work that he's done. And that's, I mean, to me, that's the hypocrisy.

7:00Like if he does a video about like illegal migrants in Europe, everybody loves him, right? Yeah. At least right-wingers. They love it. Somalians, they love it. Oh, no, you can't do that. Right? And see, that's the problem. And that's, by the way, why that guy has what, like 9 million subscribers on YouTube? but this is, we're just a politics show. This is like a cultural phenomenon. It is. My favorite Oliveira's video is when he went to like Alabama and tried to find people who had kissed their cousins. Like this is the content America needs. Like this is like culture, you know what I'm saying?

7:34Like it's like pop culture era stuff. Like this is a YouTube tier, which we are never gonna be in. I mean. And don't wanna be. We send Ryan Grimm out to Alabama and try to find cousin kissers. Could be interesting. We could send Ryan Grimm to find fish fans in Alabama. It would be like uniting brothers. But I think the point that remains here is they view it as a social media problem, not a reality problem. And, you know, look, it's trite and it's funny, Tyler Olivera, ha, ha, ha. Okay, that's not serious. What's serious are stories like the one we're about to show you, which actually really do shock the conscience and make you go, huh, is this something that you want to be either complicit in or supportive of and or, you know, it makes you just think, is this the country which we were told that it is, right?

8:27And I think for a lot of people, a lot of younger lefties, humanitarians, what happened in Gaza is really shocking. from a right-wing perspective. It's also been the humanitarian, but the biggest discomfort comes from the level of control over discourse in our own country, right? It's because you really start to be like, well, hold on a second, you know, not some bleeding heart liberal, but you don't get to tell our bleeding heart liberals what to say and or do. And you definitely don't get to throw them in prison, right? Like that's our business. It's not your business. And that's what I think really starts to grate, I think.

9:00And it becomes something that's now happened altogether. It's been almost three years since October 7th. It just blew the doors really off of this. And then finally, it's a long-winded way of getting to the New York Times story. But I do think it's important because the reaction now from the pro-Israel diaspora or the Israeli government to the story pales in comparison to the way that they reacted when Ryan and many others started investigating the claims over mass rape on October 7th. And look, this is the most difficult and uncomfortable thing to talk about, but so be it. You know, it's become a major part of the discourse around this subject.

9:40The point remains that the New York Times story, which they published about mass rape on October 7th. Screams without words. Screams without words. Had several holes within it that did not hold up to serious journalistic scrutiny. I'm not saying necessarily that it didn't happen, but many of the claims that they made within that that were investigated, again, not just by Ryan, but many others that looked into them systematically, many of them did not hold up over time. Okay, so then let's compare that, and I'm going to let you set this up, to this now New York Times story from Nick Kristof about rape of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody.

10:16Well, yeah, and let's just also, I mean, Ryan is always very careful to say this. He thinks the chance that there was no rape on October 7th is zero. It is not, it is unrealistic to say that there was no sexual violence or rape on October 7th. Almost certainly there was, and there is evidence. The question is whether these claims were inflated for the sake of propaganda and then misreported by outlets who had lapses in journalistic ethics, essentially. And now this is being turned around against New York Times columnist Nick Kristof. He is on the opinion side of the paper. And he ran this story just yesterday.

10:57We can pop it up on the screen here. D4, the headline is The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians. He started by saying, it's a simple proposition. Whatever our views of the Middle East conflict, we should be able to unite in condemning rape. Supporters of Israel made that point after the brutal sexual assaults against Israeli women during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7th, 2023. Now, He's very clearly starting on a point of agreement with many of the people who are now his detractors. He goes on to say, Yet in wrenching interviews, Palestinians have recounted to me a pattern of widespread Israeli sexual violence against men, women, and even children by soldiers, settlers, interrogators in the Shin Bet Internal Security Agency, and above all, prison guards.

11:47Now, people took issue with the fact that Christoph cited a report from the EuroMed Human Rights Monitor, which people who are pro-Israel see as anti-Israel and biased for that reason. Christoph, in the piece, I will say, he does describe it as, quote, a Geneva-based advocacy group often critical of Israel. So in the piece, he caveats the evidence with that identifier descriptor of EuroMed. But we can go on. Probably the biggest piece of information that he included in the piece were allegations of trained dog sexual abuse. So this became an absolute this became an absolute attack against him on acts from people like Deborah Lipschatt.

12:36We can put this next element up on the screen. This is D5. this was Lipschatt saying the New York Times. Explain who she was. So she's a premier Holocaust scholar who's also was the Biden administration's anti-Semitism. Very, very big supporter of Israel. So like a center-left liberal. Center-left, yep, yep, exactly. So Adam Lewis Klein publishes this graphic that says the New York Times published the anti-Zionist dog rape libel. And Deborah Lipschatt quote tweets this, have they, the New York Times, no sense of decency and journalistic responsibility. The Adam Lewis Klein post compares the New York Times to Der Sturmer and includes the reminder, as one New York correspondent from Heretz notes, that Sturmer was, quote, hanged.

13:27I mean, the fire Nick Kristof social media graphics were blazing all over X yesterday. Still continue this morning. Continuing this morning. From the Israeli government, too. Let's be clear. It's not just about commentators. We're talking about the government of Israel, like the prime minister of Israel. Yes. And there have been efforts to debunk over and over again the Kristoff story. And Sagar, I just want to toss this to you. I read the story after reading the backlash to it. So I read the... Yeah, with all the caveats in your head. Yes. So I read the story and I expected it to be much different based on the debunking because the debunking of the story is actually really a debunking of a couple different pieces of it, but not the broad picture of the story.

14:13Yeah. So they're mad about Euromed being cited. And there's like one particular account that they call into the question the motives of the – now why are we going through all this? Because what they're saying is that that's evidence that the entire thing is made up. And at the end of the day, it's firsthand account from, what is it, 14 Palestinian men and women, lawyers, human rights workers, family members, the detailed account of rape and sexual assault with objects, genital abuse, forced searches by mixed gender groups, threats of rapists to intimidate detainees into silence or cooperation with intelligence services, victims including men, women, and children as young as 15.

14:47And – Yeah, go ahead. Well, as I was going to say, it's not just Euromed. It's also B'Tselem. Right. There are other groups that are cited in here. There are other people than the person who has this story that is horrific about being raped by a dog who is, as a prisoner, the identity of that person who goes on the record is then being called into question by people who support Israel and are trying to debunk the story because they say this person is supportive of terrorism. And they are, again, on the record in this New York Times piece, but they are not the only source in the story. And when I went to the piece after reading all of the debunking, I expected it to be a story that was mostly based around the Euromed report and this one person's claim.

15:32No, as you just pointed out, it is multiple human rights organizations reports. And it is 14 different people that Christoph interviewed and then the New York Times obviously vetted in their editorial process. They have attorneys. So do I think the New York Times gets a lot of things wrong? Yes. Same. This is a very hot story. How about this? Sue them then. Go for it. My critique is, look, Israel and everybody else, you say it's all fabricated. Go for it. All right? Sue them. Let's open it up for discovery. Open yourselves up for discovery. Do it in US court in New York State. All right? Let's go.

16:08Fine. Let's see what you've got. Sue Nick Kristoff and let's see what you've got. And if what you've got is if you can open up all your files and you can prove in each of these individual cases that what they're saying is not true, then you will win. And you are correct that this would be some fake blood libel and or hit job. And what Kristoff can do is he can reveal what he was told, the fact checking, you know, and all that stuff that went behind it. And then we can see for ourselves. Or they can jawbone on social media. And we will continue to see basically, you know, calling this a blood libel or any of that.

16:43But any sort of like actual, you know, ability to, quote, debunk doesn't, you know, You said something about there about, oh, this is not just human rights. I would put all that out of there. And I would say to not just look necessarily at the, because that's the other problem. These people are often in such an information vacuum that this is the only first time they may have ever heard anything. Do we not all remember the case of the Israeli soldiers who were literally on camera being caught doing this to Palestinian prisoners who then were jailbroken by their own citizens and celebrated? That was called a blood libel.

17:17That's true, though. That actually happened. Right. And here's the thing. It was a scandal inside of their country. All you need to do is read Israeli media. So if you were to read that and have knowledge of that and then read this, you're like, OK, well, that kind of makes sense, doesn't it? And if you were to read not even just about the conditions or some of these other things that happened with a lot of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prison. Now, at the end of the day, why do they care so much? The reason that they care so much about this story is because it makes them look like the same people that they're fighting.

17:51And that's the problem for them. The moral high ground is so important. Well, yeah, because it's the predicate for USAID. It's the predicate, not just for USAID, but for this declaration of we are a Western country. We're just like you. We're blood brothers, right? That's what they try to say. It's not true, okay? They don't operate like that. They haven't been like that a long time. Now, are there a lot of people like that over there? Absolutely. Don't get me wrong. But that does not mean that the government itself, with Ben Gavir's and Smotrich's and all these people, like, you know, listen to these liberal Zionists will even tell you, these people are in a different league.

18:23And then you combine this with, let's say, how they operate in the West Bank and some of these lynchings and other things that happen, these killings of either U.S. citizens or others in the settler movement. And then you've got this treatment of some of these Palestinian prisoners or detainees or this new law that they just passed about executing. You've got to add it all up in totality. And you would say, wow, you look a lot like Saudi Arabia, actually, which you claim you're a lot better than. But maybe you're just the same. And if you are the same, well, that's going to change the security calculus because then we're going to start being like, oh, this isn't an emotional relationship.

18:56This is like what's in it for the both of us argument. And maybe not a lot, actually. And this is why Netanyahu is right now working to convince the American government to further crash-cripple Iran. It's why he said in that same 60 Minutes interview that his plan is to help Israel be weaned off, his words, U.S. support within the next decade. Now, Sagar, you could take the dog elements out of the story and you could take Euromed out of the story and you would still have a strong piece from Kristoff who also cites, for example, the Committee to Protect Journalists, which has surveyed 59 Palestinian journalists who were released by Israeli authorities after October 7th.

19:38Quote, 3 % said they had been raped and 29%, 29 % said they had endured other forms of sexual violence. You can remove the elements of the story that are being most the most high profile elements of the story that are being picked apart right now. And you still have a story that can't really be picked apart in whole. And this is why there's a significant these back backlashes like this one are actually counterproductive for Netanyahu's purposes. And I really mean that. For people who support Israel, backlashes like this one actually backfire. Because what they do is people see the backlash, then they go read the story, right?

20:23And that's an experience for them where they can contrast and compare what they're being told with then what they see in the story. And it's one of those things. I think one of the big reasons, Sagar, that support has declined for Israel in the United States is that people, because of social media, not because of foreign ops, but because of a lot of accurate information that is bypassing the media gatekeepers. Because of a lot of that, they have been able to compare what they were told for a really long time with some actual videos, some actual testimonies. And listen, people can make up their own minds.

21:01Yeah, read it. Go ahead. You know, if you think it's, read this. Emily presented the, what they said is the criticism. You make up your mind for yourself. All right. I'll present, you know, look at these really government's response and all that. You might find it very revealing. I certainly do take my own thoughts out of it. Take her thoughts out of it. You can go read it and you can decide what you think for yourself. All right. Let's move on. We have Derek Thompson standing by to talk about A.I. Let's get to it. Apple Vacation semi-annual sale is here and it's the perfect time to plan your next beach getaway.

21:35Enjoy up to$250 off international and Hawaii vacations, up to$150 off domestic trips and hotel savings up to 70 % off. With instant savings of$300,$500, or even$700, your escape has never been more rewarding. Book by May 28th at applevacations.com or contact your local travel advisor. Apple Vacations, where your story starts. This year, it's Pop's turn for a laugh. So celebrate Father's Day with a gift that really pops. A customized Funko Pop of him. First, think of all the things that make your dad the man. Then turn those ideas into a personalized Funko Pop. Select hair, clothing, and skin tone options to match his fit.

22:13Don't forget to show off his favorite hobbies and sports with amazing accessories. You can even add his best friend. Start creating now at Funko.com. Be unique, not anyone else. Express it now. Just pop yourself. That's Funko.com. Support for the show comes from Public, The investing platform for those who take it seriously. On Public, you can build a multi-asset portfolio of stocks, bonds, options, crypto, and now generated assets, which allow you to turn any idea into an investable index with AI. It all starts with your prompt. From renewable energy companies with high free cash flow to semiconductor suppliers growing revenue over 20 % year over year, you can literally type any prompt and put the AI to work.

22:53It screens thousands of stocks, builds a one-of-a-kind index, and lets you backtest it against the S &P 500. Then you can invest in a few clicks. Generated assets are like ETFs with infinite possibilities, completely customizable and based on your thesis, not someone else's. Go to public.com slash podcast and earn an uncapped 1 % bonus when you transfer your portfolio. That's public.com slash podcast. Paid for by Public Investing. Brokered services by Open to the Public Investing, Inc., member FINRA and SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors, LLC, SEC Registered Advisor. Generated assets is an interactive analysis tool.

23:23Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. Complete disclosures available at public.com slash disclosures. very excited now to be joined by our friend Derek Thompson he's the host of the plain English podcast and the author of the Derek Thompson substack link down in the description thank you so much for joining us sir appreciate it great to be here thank you Derek you're always a very thoughtful person it challenges some of the preconceived notions I have here on AI I thought it was a bubble for a long time let's put this up here on the screen you recently just pointed out actually.

23:54You say, if you thought that the odds that AI was a bubble in 2025 were greater than 50%, I don't know how you can look at this and not shift your odds. The best time to flip-flop is when reality changes. A leading AI company's run rate quadrupling in six months is some kind of change. You are looking specifically there at Anthropic, which has reached a 45 billion run rate one month after reaching$30 billion, a continuation of the tripling per quarter and 100x annualized growth that we've seen. So first, let's just sit with that. It does seem currently as if it's not a bubble. What does that mean?

24:31And how certain are you? I think I'm not certain at all. I mean, look, it would be crazy to be certain. It would honestly be clinically insane to feel strongly about how the next five years are going to play out. I mean, this is a cliche, but it's always appropriate to begin with the basic facts here. You have private sector companies spending$600 to$700 billion every single year on a technology that is still in its infancy. I mean, we haven't seen anything like this ever. My favorite statistic to share here is that the Apollo program spent between the 1960s and early the 1970s, about$300 billion in inflation-adjusted dollars.

25:12So now you have not the government, which was funding the Apollo program, but private sector companies like Microsoft, OpenAI, et cetera, spending as much money as the Apollo program every five to six months. It's absolutely nuts. It's nuts. And if you're certain how this is going to turn out, you're crazy. That said, I think the basic reason to think that something is a bubble is, to boil it down to basics, spending is outrunning revenue, right? In the 19th century, in the 1800s, the reason that the railroads were a bubble is that they were taking on debt to build rail that was not used. And so they would take on debt, they would spend all this money to build out the rail, and they couldn't get money coming in because no one was living at the other end of the railroad.