A (17:37)

You're basking on a beach in the Bahamas. Now you're journeying through the jade forests of Japan. Now you're there for your alma mater's epic win. And now you're awake.

B (17:49)

Womp womp.

A (17:50)

Which means it was all a dream. But with millions of incredible deals on Priceline, those travel dreams can be a reality. Download the Priceline app today and you can save up to 60% off hotels and up to 50% off flights. So don't just dream about that trip. Book it with Priceline.

B (18:07)

Now, here's the real issue. You can feel any kind of way you want about what Disney did with Jimmy Kimmel. Okay? And by the way, I would gladly have him on to discuss why he said what he said and what he thinks about it. And I'm telling you right now, my employer would allow me to do that. Now here is the issue that really matters here. Not Jimmy Kimmel. Why? Look, again, I have a personal perspective on this, right? I didn't become some cause for free speech, even though it was not the same situation. Why? Because I wasn't saying anything about it on my show, right? I didn't report on my brother's situation because he's my brother. Of course I was helping my brother. He's my brother. I didn't do anything that was alleged. I didn't go after his accusers. I didn't try to help him beat the charges in a bad way. I didn't do anything like that. But it doesn't really matter. And I never lied to anybody about it. But I wasn't broadcasting these ideas. And so my employer, I believe, did the wrong thing and for the wrong reason, but it wasn't the same. Here's what is being missed in all this. You may not like what Disney did, but you do recognize if you know the law and you understand the culture of how we deal with broadcasting and cable. There are standards, there are responsibilities. They will come after News Nation or Next Door for what comes out of my face. They will come after Disney for what comes out of Jimmy's face. Who's they? Anybody who wants to suit. Maybe regulators if they believe that you are offending decency. You know where that doesn't exist? The most important aspect of the media in today's society, social media. Elon Musk is from time to time the richest man on the planet. Okay. He has no responsibilities beyond his druthers for what happens on his platform now. Why, in 1996 they passed the Internet Decency Act. Okay. If the title itself doesn't tell you how out of touch the that is with today. There's more. Section 230 of it says that people like Elon Zuckerberg, whoever owns the, the Chinese TikTok, whatever, any platform you want, they're not publishers. Disney is considered under the law. Publisher. Don't think printing books, it's just a legal term. Apart. Meaning you are responsible for the content creation. Okay? That's what publisher means. You are responsible for the content creation. That's not applied to them. Why? Because they just build the arena and then all of us come in there and publish all the content. We're the publishers. So you can't go after them for that. It'd be unfair. It would have hampered the growth of the Internet and it would have put an unfair burden on them. Okay. And interestingly, a lot of the other provisions of the Internet Decency act that did try to put some guardrails on it were overturned by the Supreme Court. Why? Vague. Gotta be really specific. If you want to proscribe speech, why high bar? High bar, right. Strict scrutiny. What does that mean? Means that that's it. We're the toughest on this why speech matters. But there are potential guardrails. There are responsibilities. FCC applies to broadcast. Right. There's somewhat of a casual extension to cable. Even though it's not technically over air. But these are antiquated understandings of as is the 1996 Internet Decency Act. Because now, 30 years later, not only would I argue that the place is largely a repository of indecency, and I know there's good, bad and other on social media, but the way it is being used in our politics is absolutely disproportionately evil. Okay? Not just bad, not just wrong, evil. It is fringes feeding you misinformation, disinformation, angry, provocative, to piss you off to make them money. And look, we're talking about what Jimmy Kimmel said, right? You know one of the reasons why it's so bothersome to people. Compare it to a Megyn Kelly or any of the pod Bros and you're like, it's nothing compared to what they say. And that's the problem, is that there are no rules there. They can say whatever the fuck they want there and they do. And it has gotten increasingly worse because it can. And Elon has done the opposite of what Disney, nextstar, abc, cnn. And by the way, the social media thing, if anything, is leeching on to all of the other media things. How so? If I said you should shoot homeless people, there is no apology that would save me from getting fired at News Nation. But Brian Kilmeade at Fox made that half ass apology and he got away with it. Why? That's his corporate. That's how they feel about it, right? That's how they feel about it, right? If I said to a US Senator, we don't have any indication of what Charlie Kirk's assassin was motivated by. And he was like, yeah we do. It was in the indictment. And I didn't say, well we haven't seen that proven in a court of law yet. I said, no, no they, they didn't. They weren't clear about the, the motive. I would be in apology mode for days. Why? My employer would say, what the fuck are you saying? Did you not read the indictment? Do you not know what is suggested by this that hasn't been countered by any of the sourcing that was used in that indictment yet. Maybe in the future, may not happen in the trial, but my ass would be on the line, not at cnn. Why? That's their decision. And you can scrutinize that. There is no such mechanism in social media. And the time has come to reconsider the freedom, the free pass that those guys were given. And by the way, they, you want to talk about corporate influence, Disney, nexstar, they are penny players compared to Elon, compared to Zuckerberg, compared to China. That's where the money is. That's where the corporate influence is. Why do you think there are no guardrails on them? All those bullshit hearings that we held about the Biden stuff with the, the tech bros and how they got beat up by Congress because the right was upset. Nothing changed. It is time to reconsider it. Support for the Chris Cuomo project comes from Seoul and I am happy it does because look, these days, man, do I need a break. I need a brain vacation. And booze does not work for me the way it used to. I'm not judging anybody else, but for me it's just not what I need. But I have to tell you, souls out of office gummies and their drinks do the job for me. It's a wellness brand, believes feeling good should be fun and easy. And it's a nice non marijuana based thing. It's hemp derived THC and cbd. And I don't know the science well enough, but I'm telling you, having sampled both kinds, this works better for me. No paranoia, no fantasmagoric experiences. It's like a two drink buzz for me. It helps me unwind. It's like a brain vacation. Okay? That's why I like souls products. That's why I. I want them to send me more. Okay? Come on baby, we're partners. So the gummies work. Now here's the thing. Their best selling one is the out of office gummies. And I get it. And they are a mild relaxing buzz for me. That's the lowest level. But they have five different strengths. And even though I'm a vanilla gorilla, I'm a lightweight when it comes to my tolerance for any real chemicals. So. So I use that gentle microdose, right? 1.5 milligrams, that's enough. But it goes all the way up to 15 milligrams. If that's what you want, if that's what you need to get to where you want to be. Bring on the good vibes and treat yourself to Seoul today. Right now, Seoul is offering my audience 30% off your entire order. Go to getsoul.com and use the code Cuomo getsold.com promo code Cuomo 30% off.

A (26:55)

ABC Wednesday the Golden Bachelor premieres.

B (26:58)

Hi Mel. Hello.

A (27:00)

Former NFL star Mel Owens is looking for his second chance at love.

B (27:05)

I'm hopeful that I'll find true love.

A (27:06)

But these women are in a league of their own.

B (27:09)

Mel has never been exposed to Women like us. I don't know how he can handle it all.

A (27:15)

The Golden Bachelor Season Premiere to Love, happiness and fun Wednesday, 8, 7 Central on ABC and stream on Hulu.

B (27:28)

So you're upset that Disney made the call they made about Jimmy Kimmel, and people in the media, some of whom are friends with Jimmy Kimmel and not disclosing that to you, are telling you this is about the government influencing corporations. Okay, I don't see any proof of that. And if there is, fine, let it come out and I will certainly report on it. And I don't think it's going to affect my job. And I would talk to Jimmy Kimmel on my show about it. So obviously my employer doesn't want to silence him 100%. They're making a business decision. And I may not like the business decision, okay? But that's not what's relevant here. It's not whether I think it's right. It's whether they have the right. And until I see proof of anything else. I know that's frustrating, but you got to want to be reasonable. You have to want to be correct, not just righteous in your feelings. And you should direct that shit at social media, because that's what's killing us, them suspending Jimmy Kimmel. Social media deserves this same scrutiny. The legal protection they get with section 230 of the Internet Decency act doesn't make any sense. And here's why. Last point. If you are a publisher, because you have control over the creation of the content, if that is the legal definition, Elon Musk and the other guys passed that test all day long because we didn't know in 1996 what we know today. We didn't know how they use the algorithms. We didn't know how they're now using AI to look at pieces of media and figure out which bits will be most provocative and putting them out as shorts, using their own software to do it, we didn't know that they had the ability to monitor what Greg and I are talking about in real time so much that they will send us ads based on what we are saying. We didn't know that they were going to be able to make things trend and that they would put their advertisements near the things that trend as a function of what is being said. So how is that not control over the content? Oh, because they didn't create it, but they're curating it. They're manipulating it for profit. They absolutely know what's being said. The defense was. I have no idea what Greg Odd is going to say, no idea what Chris Cuomo is going to say. I just built the stadium. It's not true anymore. They know exactly what Greg Ott is saying. They sell him on the basis of it, they curate it on the basis of it. They make things trend on the basis of it. And their capabilities just exploded with AI. They are absolutely taking advantage of it. And there should be a responsibility that comes with that. What is that responsibility? I don't know. That is for our leaders to put forth as solutions and for us to test in my business and for you to figure out how you feel about it as those who ultimately should have the power over the people who have the power to make the change. I don't know. I just know that you can't look at the dumpster fire that is social media, which is absolutely enabled, motivated, curated and promoted by companies who are getting paid a gazillion dollars for it. And these individuals are making a gazillion dollars for it. And there is no accountability. Because if you don't believe that's why everything is so fucked up and that it's actually bleeding into the other forms of media that do have guardrails around them, you're not paying attention. So do I care about what happened to Jimmy Kimmel? Yes. Do I think it was right? That's a matter for my own opinion. And I believe that an opinion show like Jimmy's should be given a really wide cut. And I'll entertain criticisms about how they're not about comedy anymore. What happened to Johnny Carson now they're so political. Those are all subjective judgments. And you can feel how you feel about it, and I'm fine with that. Did they have the legal right to do it? Yes. Until I hear real proof that they were manipulated into it by the government insisting they do it, compelling them to do it, then you have government regulation over speech. I do not see any indication of that. Do I like it? That's. That's my business. Right. That's my opinion. And I'm not saying I'm afraid to tell you I believe in more, not less when it comes to speech. I believe in the marketplace of ideas. Does there have to be a set of guardrails? Sure, absolutely. And when you don't know what Bob Iger thinks of what happened with Charlie Kirk's assassination. Right. He's the head of Disney. But you know that Elon Musk almost immediately put out a message that the left is the party of murder. And just think about this. Well, that's free speech. Anybody in my business would fire his ass if he had said that. Yeah, that's why Twitter's great. No, that's why Twitter sucks the big dick, okay? Because just because you're allowed to say things does not mean that somebody should not have to be held to account for what you just said. Okay? I don't use language like this on News Nation. Why? Because I'm working for somebody else, and I'm in their house, and I respect their rules, and they have expectations of language and of impact and of messaging. And I know that because that's what I signed up for. Just as it was at cnn, just as it was at ABC News, just as it was at Fox News. Now, do I think all their standards are the same? No, I know they're not, because I work now, at the time that I worked there, I know what the standards were, and they were not all the same. That's part of the corporate culture of what they want their brand to be about. But there is accountability. There is a responsibility that does not apply on social media. And I think it is killing us. Now, I get how you're saying, oh, I want to limit free speech. No, I don't. But there has to be a better way than how we're doing it right now other than just preying on the masses to be nicer. Oh, that's the fix. Because that's ever worked in American society. Right? You have to reward the right behavior. That's how you get behavioral modification. But often that right behavior is a function of what they're worried about doing wrong. There got to be consequences for doing it wrong. And there's got to be an understanding of what wrong means. And our social media doesn't have it. And kiddie porn is not enough. Going after human traffickers is not enough. Okay? The division in this country is sourced from social media more than anyone else. And I know that they sell you that. No. Legacy media, whatever that means and is the problem. Legacy media has guardrails, corporate considerations, and exposure to litigation and economic ramifications. Social media, we have seen none of that for those guys. And there is no question that what is on social media from major purveyors, not just from John Q. Public, is so much more inflammatory, incorrect, and often evil. I mean, look at the shit said in reaction. Look, you have the pod bros. You have them on the right. You know what they've been saying, whether it was about not taking the initial COVID vaccine or never believing science or, you know, any of the things that they say all the time. But in response to the Charlie Kirk assassination, there have been things said about him and how people feel about his murder that would never be allowed at News Nation, would never be allowed anywhere I worked. Now, you can say more is better. You can say that that freedom is making us better. I don't see it. I think it's demonstrably making us worse. So if it's not working for us, if it's not making us better, if it's making us worse, and a big function of that is the complete lack of responsibility and accountability of the people who are getting paid for it, what does that tell you? To me, it tells me it is time for a change. And I don't know what that means, but I know that the way it is is killing us. What do you think? Let me know. Because here we believe in a fair exchange. You don't have to like it to get my attention. I'm Chris Cuomo. Thank you for subscribing and following the Chris Cuomo Project. Thank you for checking me out on News Nation at 8pm 11p Eastern every weekday night. And I believe you should get that free agent gear. We're coming out with a new batch of it. Wear your independence, man. We got to get away from these parties. They're killing us. They're killing us. The PAC mentality is killing us. The problems are real. We got to get focused on solutions. If we want anything to get better, let's get after it.