Forget the monetary incentives and clout. If you want to help bring change to the world, you first and foremost have to stand with the truth.
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It might seem easy to understand that the truth is the truth and a lie is a lie, but we live in a post-truth world where that dynamic is no longer certain. You don’t have to look far to see people spread lies as truth and facts don’t hold as much sway in forming public opinion as it once did. Just scroll on TikTok, especially in the Philippines, and you’ll eventually find people peddling misinformation like the modern currency, and often with little to no repercussion for it. It’s almost as if it’s wrong to be a good person these days.
But there is still hope, and, at the very least, TikTok content creators who don’t subscribe to fake news and false information as reality. Some are brave enough to speak the hard truths, like 26-year-old content creator and musician Gabe Pineda. Gabe, like other vocal content creators such as Mathilda Airlines and Eli San Fernando, has been using TikTok to remind people that actually, it is important to speak facts and that we should have those difficult discussions about the problems facing the Philippines.
FACTS ONLY
Gabe is no stranger to making what some would say divisive content on TikTok. He first began making videos on the platform in 2021 right before the start of the 2022 election season. You can imagine how heated his comments section got at that time. It got to the point where he had to step back and take a break from the political content. But with his return to the platform, he’s ready to speak his mind. “I would say I tackle the root of what we’re experiencing now, which are social issues because I believe that these are just manifestations of ignored principles that we have as Filipinos,” Gabe tells NYLON Manila.
Beyond just politics, the Gen Z content creator sets his sights on what netizens are debating online, from the West Philippine Sea to women’s rights, and more. These aren’t easy topics to discuss, or they often lead to polarizing reactions from viewers. But as Gabe sees it, these problems won’t be addressed unless they’re brought to the public discourse. “One way or another, if we’re going to start radical change, or if we want to see some sort of change in our society, someone has to talk about them.”
@gabe.talks if women can be around lesbians wearing whatever they want. then maybe, clothes are not the problem. #women #womenclothing #objectification #fyp ♬ original sound – Gabe Pineda – Gabe Pineda #AtinAngWPHSea🇵🇭
This desire to use his platform for the good stems from the fact that Gabe knows firsthand what it’s like to be left on the sidelines. “I came from a really, really poor family background, and I know how it feels to not have the support that you need, maybe from the government, maybe from people that you want to support you,” he shares.
While his family didn’t have much growing up, Gabe was still taught that how you are measured as a person is not by how much you have, but by how much you give to your neighbor. This somewhat altruistic view of seeing the world and sympathizing with people even though you’ve never experienced what they’ve been through became the North Star for the content creator Gabe is today.
PUSHING BUTTONS
When it comes to topic selection, everything is fair game for Gabe. Instead of a written script, he uses outlines on his Notes app, all supported by deep dives and heavy research on the topics. His content is often a collection of separate ideas put together. But the result is videos that always get to the point about a certain issue as Gabe unapologetically lays down why we should care about certain things. He said what he said.
It’s this confident and outspoken approach that has led Gabe to amass over 200,000 followers on TikTok and some of his videos reaching millions of views. The tea is hot and it needs to be said. But Gabe also knows that there needs to be boundaries on what he’s willing to push. “As a content creator, even if you were talking about the truth or things that are difficult to talk about and are morally upright, there’s a certain limit that I put to myself, wherein am I just talking about this to ride a high horse, or am I really talking about this to spread awareness and information.”
@gabe.talks Hindi mo sinayang ang boto ko Madam Senator @Risa Hontiveros #aliceguo #fyp ♬ original sound – Gabe Pineda #AtinAngWPH🇵🇭 – Gabe Pineda #AtinAngWPHSea🇵🇭
Social media is a double-edged sword, and Gabe isn’t shy to admit that. “I think for the most part, social media has become so glamorized in every aspect. I think a lot of what people show on social media has been fine-tuned. I think most of the time it’s geared towards monetization and not authenticity.”
The algorithm can be cruel with how it puts only what’s polished and optimized on your feed. But Gabe doesn’t subscribe to that and goes for that middle ground of being real while keeping what’s private, private. “I like to keep things private, pero open at the same time, if you get what I mean. I want people to see me as someone very honest and someone who’s very comfortable with their skin.”
ON SOCIAL MEDIA FAME
As you can imagine, standing up for what’s right in the Philippines isn’t always easy. Sometimes, it can feel like talking to a brick wall, or worse facing open hostility. You don’t have to tell that to Gabe twice. But in as much as some Filipinos can be stubborn with their beliefs, Gabe feels that the megaphone still needs to be on.
“I believe that as much as we have a lot of great attributes as a culture, as Filipinos, we have a lot of things to dismantle and unlearn, and we cannot do that. We cannot dismantle and unlearn certain things pero at some point you’re going to have to sound aggressive to make some noise, pero in a way that you don’t trample beliefs, and you kind of pique their interest.”
His newfound following and larger platform have even affected how Gab sees himself. While he started out making videos about topics he cares about, and to this day that’s how he still sees it, that isn’t the case when your videos dragging misogyny in the Philippines and calling out the mentality of some Filipino Catholics get millions of views.
@gabe.talks If Jesus existed today. #jesus #religion #fyp ♬ original sound – Gabe Pineda #AtinAngWPHSea🇵🇭
“I had someone book me and they labeled me as a key opinion leader, and I did not know what to feel about it, because I do not see myself as someone like that. I’m a normal guy. But now it’s starting to sink in that I have to be careful with my actions and the things that I say, because it holds weight, not like before that.”
Success on social media isn’t always the slay some people think it is. There are real consequences to becoming a mini-public figure whose content is about exposing bad apples. “I hold myself to a higher standard now than I did before,” says the content creator on his newfound virality. “And the way it affected me mentaly is that as much as I want to be as good as possible, I think it gets tiring at some point to have people look up to you every single time. It’s not about fun, it’s about holding myself to the regard that I hold other people.”
Still, while the downsides of social media fame are real, not to mention the target Gabe has on his back with how unapologetic he gets in his videos, the good fight keeps him going. “When we strike the balance between being respectful and especially if you’re grounded on the truth, there’s nothing to be afraid of.” He adds, “I believe that as long as I’m grounded with the truth and morality, even if it’s tiring, I know I can push forward.”
BE A GOOD PERSON
With so many things going on in the Philippines, Gabe has no shortage of topics to be the star of his next video. And Gabe, who despite having a music career he can fall back to, doesn’t see himself stopping fighting the good fight anytime soon. “I don’t think I’m going to stop, because I’m a creator by nature. I love creating videos. I love engaging with audiences. I love talking about certain topics that are not necessarily easy to talk about.”
It’s admirable for Gabe, along with other content creators, to keep going despite how heavy the topics can be. In an era where the truth is silenced, content creators like Gabe are having their voices heard. So does he see a light at the end of the tunnel? The answer, believe it or not, is yes.
“It gets to me at some point that, what the hell are you doing?” he admits. “It would take a village of me to spark a change. But I believe in small changes. I believe in ripple effects. I believe that we might not see any changes in our lifetime. And that’s like speaking pragmatically and realistically. But I have hope for the Filipino people.”
@gabe.talks Umay sayo tita #angelicayulo #fyp ♬ original sound – Gabe Pineda #AtinAngWPHSea🇵🇭
This mindset is reflected in Gabe’s favorite video he’s ever done, one that speaks to the simplicity of being a good person. “If nothing truly matters, if we’re all going to die someday, why not use the life that we have to be kind and to help other people? At some point, you’re going to die, and that’s a really good motivation for myself to be as good as possible to people I meet, to be as welcoming and warm, to be as friendly as possible.”
At the end of the day, all Gabe wants viewers of his TikTok videos to know is that, while there’s a cost to honesty, that doesn’t mean we should be silent. “Never be afraid to tell the truth, but also choose when to say the truth. It can get hard to be placed in situations where you are held hostage with your statements and with the things that you say, but as much as possible, be honest. Say and stand up for the truth.“
It may be hard and even demoralizing to see what’s going on in the Philippines be treated as normal. But every crack on that ceiling is still a crack, and one day, it will break. And for Gabe, that means being a good person. But what exactly does that mean? “To be a good person is to do the difficult things that no one wants to do, to do things without reward, to do things without merit.”
As for his advice to Gen Z on how they can be changemakers in their own way, Gabe suggests to first stop making everything about you. “Some Gen Zs, including myself, can get caught in a bubble and be at the center of that bubble. And one of the dilemmas and hurdles that I had to get over was that not everything is about me, not everything is about you. And once you begin to understand that life revolves around something bigger than you, you get why there are people like me who talk about these kinds of things.”
@gabe.talks hey siri play “the man” by taylor swift on spotify. #theman #bear #doublestandards #fyp ♬ original sound – Gabe Pineda – Gabe Pineda #AtinAngWPHSea🇵🇭
Activism, or just standing up for your beliefs in general, isn’t about proving that you’re morally superior. It should be rooted in empathy and understanding. As Gabe puts it, “I don’t think that you need to experience hardship for you to talk about it. I think we have to demolish the idea that we need to experience something first to talk about it.”
Once you have that down, and you speak from a place of truth, honesty, and compassion, you can help start those small ripples that can lead to the change we all wish for, and you don’t need to have thousands of followers to do so. “If we are a little kinder and a little more understanding and empathic, we can make the world a better place, even in the small spaces that we have that you don’t necessarily need to have a platform.”
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