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 to the state of Minnesota in response to a viral video that purports to expose extensive fraud by federally funded day care centers.

 "independent YouTube journalist," posted the 42-minute video 

In it, he and an older man — identified only as "David" — visit various seemingly empty day care centers, bombarding Somali employees with questions and accusing them of not providing services to any children despite receiving public funds. The pair claim to have exposed over $110 million in fraud.

Allegations of social services fraud in Minnesota have been the subject of 

 and mainstream media coverage for years.

 have been charged since 2022 in the ongoing case of a Minnesota nonprofit that prosecutors say misappropriated 

 in federal COVID-19 relief funds intended to feed children in need, calling it "the largest Covid-19 fraud scheme in the country."

 that half or more of the roughly $18 billion in federal funds that supported 14 Minnesota-run programs since 2018 may have been stolen.

However, Shirley's specific allegations have not been verified, with some challenging them in recent days. The manager of one Minnesota day care center 

 Shirley visited outside of its regular hours, while a CNN camera crew 

 outside a different center filmed caregivers dropping off their kids in the background (he dismissed them as "showing face").

"How do I know that [the allegations are] true?" Shirley responded when asked. "Well, we showed you guys what was happening, and then you guys can go ahead and make your own analysis."

The lack of evidence hasn't stopped a number of prominent conservatives — including 

 and key members of the Trump administration — from amplifying and acting on Shirley's claims. As of Wednesday, Shirley's video has over 131 million views on X and 2.5 million on YouTube.

 the day after it went live, writing, "This dude has done far more useful journalism than any of the winners of the 2024 [Pulitzer] prizes." (Those prizes went to journalists who covered a 

, from billionaires' influence over the Supreme Court to catastrophic flooding in California and missing Black girls and women in Chicago.)

 that "even before the public conversation escalated online, the FBI had surged personnel and investigative resources to Minnesota to dismantle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs."

Shirley, suddenly in the national spotlight, has 

 about his safety and is asking supporters to donate to his security, including by selling $50 sweatshirts on his website. And he's continued to criticize Minnesota's Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and the mainstream media for their perceived inaction on the issue.

"Mainstream media is more mad at me then they are at the FACT that billions of YOUR dollars are being used for fraudulent business," Shirley 

. "I am not an enemy of the people, they are. I'm with you, they are against you."

Shirley has been making shock-value YouTube videos for years, starting with pranks before wading into political exposés.

The Utah native vlogged consistently throughout high school, amassing some 7,000 followers before graduating in 2020, 

 that year from local NBC affiliate KSL-TV.

"Some people might not know who Nick Shirley is yet, but one day, they will," it reads.

 at age 16 without telling his parents. They escalated from there: sneaking into influencer 

, tricking TikTokkers into auditioning for a fake 

Then came a hiatus: Shirley announced in 

 that he would be taking a two-year break from YouTube to serve on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Santiago, Chile.

 interviewing undocumented immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona. From that point on, his work took on a decidedly political bent, with man-on-the-street style interviews focused on topics including illegal immigration, the 2024 election, President Trump's deployment of federal troops to blue cities and the ensuing protests against them.

His two most-viewed videos are from this period, 

 housing deportees alleged to be gang members and 

, titled "I Infiltrated Rio Brazil's Most Dangerous Gang."

The description of his YouTube Channel — which has 1.29 million subscribers as of Wednesday — reads: "Here to entertain and bring the truth to all."

An "independent journalist" with an agenda

Shirley's rise to prominence hit a new milestone in October, when he was invited to participate in a White House 

 — the far-left ideology opposed to fascism, which Trump has designated a domestic terrorist organization.

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

"I'm attacked every time I do my job," he said, without citing specifics. "When I leave my house to go to work, I'm violently assaulted. I've been bear sprayed and beaten down. I've been almost killed."

, the thousands of local protests during Trump's second term have yielded an "extremely low number of injuries, property damage or arrests."

Shirley directly accused the mainstream media — particularly broadcasters — of undercovering and downplaying the violence of those protests. Trump responded by asking him to name the worst offenders, to which Shirley replied: "I'm not talking about Fox … Newsmax or any outlet that resembles them."

Shirley is part of a broader group of right-leaning journalists and political commentators who do not work for any particular outlet. The White House has embraced what it calls "new media," giving them 

 at the same time as it places restrictions on established journalistic outlets.

University of Minnesota media law professor Jane Kirtley told 

 that individuals do not necessarily need a formal affiliation to do fine journalism. But she says many of today's news influencers prioritize fearmongering over fact-checking, something she says she observes in Shirley's reporting.

"They have a narrative, and they do everything they can to advance that narrative, but they seem to spend little to no time looking for the other side of the story, and that's what good investigative journalism has to do," she added.

Minnesota News

Homepage

Rachel Treisman

Author

Shirley is a 23-year-old self-described "independent YouTube journalist" who made prank videos in high school before pivoting to politics. He participated in a White House roundtable in October.

What to know about Nick Shirley, the YouTuber alleging daycare fraud in Minnesota

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