Nas Daily is joining politics.

He made this declaration on Day 978 of his daily video series.

In a video titled, "I'm going into politics", that is almost three minutes long, the vlogger also known as Nuseir Yassin, made his intention clear and spelt out why he was doing so.

Main motivation: Good politics

Nas said in the video, pointing to Singapore as a positive example among others:

"Despite the negative headlines, politics is actually the most meaningful thing anyone can do to change the world because good politics are the reason behind:

Singapore's wealth and power, Hong Kong's world class transport system, America's Silicon Valley, Canada's immigration laws, Iceland's renewable energy, China's construction talent, and New Zealand's justice system."

In contrast, images of bad politics he highlighted included shelling in the Middle East, hate speech, poverty, nationalism and Arab-Israeli clashes.

Shocking announcement

His announcement is somewhat shocking, as Nas has over the last three years consciously avoided hot potato political discourse by focusing on his brand of one-dimensional positive sloganeering in video format.

With 11 million followers at his disposal, Nas now couches his motivation for taking this turn into politics as a result of the different conditions he personally encountered in his journey across the globe documenting his travels.

With only 22 days to go before he promised to wrap up his daily video series after completing 1,000 episodes, this is a politically savvy move by the vlogger.

A positive cynical take

Nas' take on politics is also fraught with contradictions.

He said in the video: "If so many people avoid politics, then who is going to be left to do it?"

"People that are mostly old, mostly corrupt, and mostly out of touch with the real world."

The footage he put together showed brawls in parliament.

"This is why people say politics suck. We look at the players and hate the game," he said.

By casting politics as something terrible, Nas is effectively saying what many politicians have said before: He is going to change the system as an outsider and almost become its saviour -- while bringing his own supporters with him.

Reassurances and avoidance

However, Nas was also quick to emphasise that his Nas Daily channel will be kept kosher and not be contaminated by politics.

The real entry into politics apparently won't be happening anytime soon.

Nas said: "In 10 years or so, this is what I see myself doing."

He then elaborated: "The truth is, the specifics of my political dreams in the country of Israel or in the country of the United States, really don't matter. They will never affect this channel, they're in 10 years or so."

"But what matters is that people like you and me should be interested in politics. It's not nasty, it's not cliched. It's the solution to many of our problems."

"Because if moderates like you and me don't participate in politics, then we are doomed."

Responses

At least one person from Singapore left a comment that received a response by Nas:

Criticism of Nas Daily

Nuseir, 26, is an Arab born in Israel, which makes him an Arab-Israeli.

He is frequently embraced by the mainstream Israeli media as he is viewed as a friendly figure -- despite being an Arab -- by not outwardly speaking out against occupation of Palestine.

His lack of historical perspectives in his short videos is one of the reasons why he has become a lighting rod for criticism.

Complex subjects, such as the manipulation of perception of the scope and directness of illegitimate Israeli occupation, or the failures of post-colonial societies that he frequently criss-crosses the globe to be at, are not talked about with any depth.

But when the political touches on the personal, Nas will dedicate resources to taking on the issue.

For example, as he holds an Israeli passport, Nuseir has been visiting dozens of different countries, except 15 of them, such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Kuwait, which have barred him due to his Israeli citizenship.

As a result, he made a video that decried his exclusion from visiting certain countries, and said trying to enter Malaysia is “as difficult for me to enter as North Korea”.

How Nas got popular

As a result of his Israeli-Arab background, Nas faced limitations in his home country and travelled to the United States to study at Harvard, as it offered scholarships to international students.

After a high-paying stint in PayPal as a programmer after he graduated, he became disillusioned and decided to travel the world.

His first 150 videos did not gain much traction and nobody cared when he visited Israel back on day 200.

It was his video of cheap treats in Thailand on day 270 that gave him 25 million views and won him 250,000 followers.

That was followed by his time in the Philippines on day 298, where he became a Facebook celebrity for his “How Cheap is the Philippines” video.

Nas has pledged to carry on making videos on an ad hoc basis after his 1,000th episode.

He said he will be starting a company in San Francisco and it will make documentaries, ads, Facebook videos, among others.

What Nas Daily said when he was in Singapore recently: