Here’s the post viral truth about the war of words between Nas Daily and Philippines’ cacao project leader

Popular Facebook page Nas Daily, run by Israeli vlogger Nuseir Yassin, has found itself in two controversies related to Philippines.

Image: Facebook/Nas Daily

Israeli vlogger Nuseir Yassin, whose Facebook page is popular by the name Nas Daily, has found itself in two back to back controversies. First, it was accused of featuring a course by Apo Whang-od Oggay or Whang-od, a revered tattoo artist from Philippines, without consent from her family. And now he is entangled in a war of words with another agriculturist from Philippines by the name Louise De Guzman Mabulo. Here, we try to figure out what’s the post viral truth here.

In the Whang-od controversy, Nas Daily has put forward its statement that says it respects the old traditions and conventions followed in Philippines.

The statement reads: “There has been a post circulating online regarding our beloved Whang-Od Academy. The post claims that Whang-Od has no knowledge of the Academy and that this is a scam.

We approached Whang-Od because just like you, we love her. We love her traditions, and are inspired by her. We wanted to share her culture for future generations to appreciate and respect the ancient Kalinga tradition of mambabatok. So, we pitched her family the idea of creating Whang-Od Academy. Her and her family present both loved this idea, and have worked WITH US to build it, with Whang-Od teaching herself. As a matter of fact, Whang-Od’s trusted niece, Estella Palangdao, was present and translated the content of the contract prior to Whang-Od affixing her thumbprint, signifying her full consent to the project. This is the clearest evidence that it is not a scam and achieved the consent of her and her immediate family.”

He has released another statement after being accused of making fun of the social and economic fabric of Philippines. It came after Louise DG Mabulo, founder of the Cacao Project, put out a Facebook statement that read: “In 2019, Nas Daily had come to my town to cover my story on The Cacao Project— at the time, I was a huge fan, watching his clips with my Dad daily. At the time, I was gaining some press exposure and building up on opportunities thanks to UNEP’s recognition of the work I do in my hometown for my farmers. It was enough that a friend, Shai Lagarde, had referred Nas Daily to us.”

“I watched him imitate and mock the local accent and language, vocalising Tagalog-sounding syllabic phrases saying it sounded stupid. He repeatedly said that the people of my hometown ‘poor.’”  

The statement further tries to portray Nas Daily a part of systematic colonization and against the idea of indigenous culture.

Here’s how Nas Daily responded to it: “We spent 2 days flying and we were very excited for your story of how you "revolutionised the cacao industry in your province" according to the Internet. We know the "story" already, so that's why we flew in to come meet you.

To my biggest sadness and surprise, your story was not true on the ground. Once we arrived at your plantation, once we saw the village and talked to the farmers, we came to the conclusion that there is no story here. That the awards on the Internet are just that...awards.

Our investigation has made it clear that your story in the media is false. And that there are no "200 farmers" that you work with, and there are no Cacao plantations that you don't personally profit from.”

As per the vlogger himself, more than 40% of his work force has roots in Philippines, and he never intended to disrespect the local culture.

The verbal dual doesn’t seem to end anytime soon, and it would be interesting to see how the vlogger tackles it who has a huge fan base in Philippines.