Who is Nick Shirley, YouTuber alleging day care fraud : NPR

Trump administration child care funding freeze to Minnesota in response to a viral video that purportedly exposed widespread fraud by federally funded child care centers.

Nick Shirley, 23 years old self-described “Independent YouTube journalist” published a 42-minute video by X And YouTube the day after Christmas.

In it, he and an elderly man identified only as “David” visit various seemingly empty kindergartens, bombarding the Somali staff with questions and accusing them of not providing services to children despite receiving government funds. The couple claims to have uncovered more than $110,000 in fraud.

Allegations of welfare fraud in Minnesota have become the subject of an investigation. federal investigations and mainstream media coverage for years.

In one high-profile example more than 90 people they have been charged since 2022 in the ongoing case of a Minnesota nonprofit that prosecutors say was misappropriated about 250 million dollars to federal Covid-19 relief funds intended to feed children in need, calling it “the largest Covid-19 fraud scheme in the country.”

And a federal prosecutor said earlier this month that half or more of the roughly $18 billion in federal funds that have supported 14 Minnesota programs since 2018 may have been stolen.

However, Shirley's specific allegations have not been confirmed and have been disputed by some in recent days. Manager of a kindergarten in Minnesota said since then Shirley visited him after hours while a CNN crew interview with Shirley near another center, teachers were filmed in the background dropping off their children (he called them “showing their faces”).

“How do I know this? [the allegations are] Truth?” Shirley responded when asked. “Well, we showed you guys what's going on, and then you guys can do your own analysis.”

The lack of evidence has not stopped a number of prominent conservatives, including Elon Musk and key members of the Trump administration from disseminating and acting on Shirley's statements. As of Wednesday, Shirley's video had more than 131 million views on X and 2.5 million on YouTube.

Vice President Vance reposted Shirley's video the day after publication, writing: “This dude has done more useful journalism than any of the 2024 winners.” [Pulitzer] prizes.” (These prizes went to journalists covering range of topicsfrom the influence of billionaires on the Supreme Court to the catastrophic flooding in California and the disappearance of black girls and women in Chicago.)

FBI Director Cash Patel also responded: I write in X that “even before the public conversation moved online, the FBI deployed personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota to disrupt large-scale fraud schemes leveraging federal programs.”

Shirley, suddenly thrust into the national spotlight, expressed concern about his safety and is asking supporters to donate to his safety, including by selling $50 hoodies on his website. And he continues to criticize Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and the mainstream media for their perceived inaction on the issue.

“The mainstream media is angrier at me than at the FACT that billions of YOUR dollars are being used for a fraudulent business,” Shirley. tweeted on Wednesday. “I am not an enemy of the people, they are the enemy. I am with you, they are against you.”

Shirley started out as a vlogger.

Shirley has been making shocking YouTube videos for years, ranging from pranks to political exposés.

The Utah native vlogged constantly throughout high school, amassing nearly 7,000 subscribers before graduating in 2020. according to profile that same year from local NBC affiliate KSL-TV.

“Some people may not yet know who Nick Shirley is, but one day they will,” the post reads.

One of his first tricks was flying to new york at 16 without telling my parents. Then they went further: they made their way to an influential person Jake Paul's weddingtricking TikTokkers into auditioning for a fake Justin Bieber music videocycling above the ramp is lit. He also filmed himself in the crowd. outside the US Capitol January 6.

Then there was a break: Shirley announced in December 2021 that he would take a two-year break from YouTube to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Santiago, Chile.

It returned to the platform in 2023. with video interviews with undocumented immigrants at the US-Mexico border in Arizona. From there, his work took on a distinctly political bent, with “man on the street” style interviews focusing on topics such as illegal immigration, the 2024 election, President Trump's deployment of federal troops to blue cities and the ensuing protests against them.

Two of his most viewed videos come from this period: taken from Salvadoran mega-prison placement of deportees believed to be members of gangs and another one in Rio de Janeiroentitled “I infiltrated the most dangerous gang in Rio Brazil.”

The description of his YouTube channel, which had 1.29 million subscribers as of Wednesday, says: “Here to entertain and bring the truth to everyone.”

“Independent journalist” with an agenda

Shirley's rise to prominence reached a new milestone in October when he was invited to attend the White House. round table on the antifa movement is a far-left ideology opposed to fascism that Trump has called a domestic terrorist organization.

At the event, Shirley introduced himself as a “100% independent YouTube journalist” and said that while he has traveled to 15 countries for this work, “the most dangerous place I've been was here in the United States” due to the anti-Trump protests.

“I get attacked every time I do my job,” he said, without elaborating. “When I leave the house to go to work, I am brutally attacked. I was splashed and beaten by bears. They almost killed me.”

According to a recent company study Harvard Kennedy Schoolthousands of local protests during Trump's second term resulted in “extremely low numbers of injuries, property damage, or arrests.”

Shirley directly accused the mainstream media, especially broadcasters, of covering up and downplaying the violence during these protests. In response, Trump asked him to name the worst offenders, to which Shirley replied: “I'm not talking about Fox… Newsmax or any other publication like them.”

Shirley is part of a wider group of right-wing journalists and political commentators who do not work for any particular publication. The White House has embraced what it calls “new media,” giving it unprecedented level of access at the same time, it places restrictions on reputable journalistic media.

University of Minnesota media law professor Jane Kirtley spoke about this. Member of MPR News Radio that people don't necessarily need a formal affiliation to do good journalism. But she says many of today's news influencers prioritize fear-mongering over fact-checking, which she says she sees in Shirley's reporting.

“They have a narrative and they do everything they can to push that narrative, but they seem to spend virtually no time looking for the other side of the story, and that's what good investigative journalism should do,” she added.