Vlogger Nas Daily to Wil Dasovich: Influencers cannot stay away from politics

Nas Daily (left) and Wil Dasovich (Image: Instagram/@nasddaily; @wil_dasovich)

Online content creator Nuseir Yassin, popularly known as Nas Daily, told fellow vlogger and friend Wil Dasovich that it is “impossible” for influencers like them to just stay away from politics.

Dasovich joined Yassin in the second episode of the latter’s podcast titled “Nas Talks,” available on Spotify since July 15, to talk about the positive and negative impact of social media on Filipinos.

Discussing the recent denial of ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal bid, the two acknowledged how the internet-loving Filipinos will now turn to content creators like them for information.

Dasovich admitted, however, that he was not updated with current affairs as he had been choosing to stay away from news and politics, in accordance with his “golden rule.”

“I just have to stay more away from politics. I kind of have a golden rule, it’s I try to limit and not talk about politics because you’re always going to upset a huge group of people,” the Filipino-American vlogger shared.

Yassin, meanwhile, pointed out to Dasovich that the latter had dabbled in politics before when they partnered up for a video discussing Taiwan’s COVID-19 response, albeit being good news and not controversial.

“That is politics. That is information, where you uploaded a video where we were talking about Taiwan’s response to coronavirus. That’s not divisive politics, that’s good news. But that is still news which you have done,” Yassin explained. “And that’s fine, right? News doesn’t have to be a bad thing.”

Yassin then went on to clarify that when he says news, he does not mean only “the bad things,” noting: “I mean like, I learn something about the world from you. If you want to make it positive, then it’s positive. If you want to make it negative, then it’s negative.”

‘Dormant news channel’

Yassin further explained to Dasovich that even if the latter chooses to not talk about politics on his vlogs, he is still a “news channel,” whether he likes it or not.

The Israeli-Arab vlogger also said that one of his goals for Nas Daily is to have it provide “infotainment” and not just entertain his viewers, encouraging Dasovich to do the same.

Dasovich maintained his stance, however, that he does not want to get involved in politics because seeing the news saddens him, making it hard to create the light content he shares on the internet.

“I wanna do everything I can to be happy. Because, simply put, when I’m happy, I’m able to transfer that energy to everyone who watches me and make them happy. The easiest way to make others happy is to be happy yourself. So I limit the news, as much as possible,” Dasovich explained.

“Yes, I may talk about the news every now and again, when you need to. But for me, in creating content, I really try and keep it light because, at the end of the day, I believe that people come to watch my videos because they want to rest and relax, and be stress-free for 10 minutes,” he added.

Yassin then replied: “I vehemently disagree with you. Because nothing major has happened yet. When something major happens in your country, you will be forced to talk about it. If the Philippines right now declares war on China, and China declares war on the Philippines, you’re not gonna go and make a vlog saying, ‘Hi guys, let’s play video games!’ I don’t see it. Impossible.”

“So you’re, essentially – I’m sorry to break it to you – but you’re a dormant news channel. You’re like an inactive news channel right now,” Yassin further stated. “But I’m willing to bet $10,000 right now that if, God forbid, some major event happens like a tsunami or a war or an earthquake or whatever, you are gonna become a news channel.”

Dasovich then acknowledged Yassin’s sentiments and said that he agreed “100%” with the latter, saying that “we’ll cross that bridge when it comes.”

“There are so many things that happen in life that are unexpected and, you know, those who survive are the ones who are able to adapt and evolve. That is true in life and that is even more so in social media,” he added.

“Nas Daily” has been trending on Twitter Philippines since news broke out of the two friends’ discussion on the said podcast, with many netizens lauding the Israeli vlogger for his political awareness.  /ra

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