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Fake News for Fake Journalist?

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Article in Daily Beast by Jack Revell, 1/2/26

Headline:  “MAGA’s Favorite ‘Journalist’ Busted Paying to Fake ‘News’”

“The ‘journalist’ at the center of a viral clash over alleged Somalian welfare fraud once paid Hispanic laborers to protest outside the White House in support of President Joe Biden.

“Nick Shirley, 23, is currently being praised and amplified by the MAGA right, including FBI Director Kash Patel and billionaire Elon Musk, for a video purporting to reveal ‘Minnesota’s Billion Dollar Fraud Scandal.’

“While the YouTuber with no journalism background and only a high school-level education claims to ‘bring the truth to all’ of his 1.35 million subscribers, he has previously been shown to be staging his content. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/magas-fav-journalist-paid-hispanic-laborers-for-bizarre-stunt/

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Article in Babylon Bee by Staff, 1/2/26

Headline:  “Republicans Vow To Uncover All Somali Fraud And Then Do Nothing About It Except Fundraise”

“With allegations of money laundering in Minnesota and other states growing by the day, Republican lawmakers in Washington have vowed to uncover all Somali fraud in Minnesota and then do nothing about it except to fundraise for future elections.

“It is absolutely vital that we uncover as much fraud in Minnesota as possible so that we can fundraise off it,’Senate Majority Leader John Thune said. ‘Some of us have elections coming up.’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://babylonbee.com/news/republicans-vow-to-uncover-all-somali-fraud-and-then-do-nothing-about-it-except-fundraise

 

No Bones About Media Scanning?

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Article in Raw Story by David Edwards, 1/2/26

Headline: ” ‘What is wrong with journalism?’ MAGA doc slams reporters for believing Trump’s MRI claim”

“Pro-MAGA podcaster Dr. Drew Pinsky lashed out at reporters for believing President Donald Trump’s claim that he had an MRI procedure instead of being tested by CT scan equipment. . .”

” ‘He did not have an MRI. He did not have a CAT scan. He had a coronary calcium score, which is done with a CAT scan machine,” Pinsky said during his Friday broadcast. “They’re so effing ignorant! They don’t know how to ask the right questions!’. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.rawstory.com/drew-pinsky-trump-mri/?utm_source=superhead

Right-Wing Host Says Legacy Media Dead

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Article in Mediaite by Zoe Engels, 1/1/26

Headline:  ” ‘Nothing Will Happen at CBS’: Megyn Kelly Declares Legacy Media ‘Dead”

“SiriusXM host Megyn Kelly pronounced the death of legacy media on Thursday, declaring ‘nothing will happen at CBS’ in a post on X.

“She seized the opportunity to slam the network in her reply to a post featuring incoming CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil instructing viewers to make him ‘earn’ their trust.

“ ‘Nothing will happen at CBS,’ Kelly wrote on X. ‘Nothing. Legacy media is dead and evening news has been totally irrelevant for a long time.’ . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/nothing-will-happen-at-cbs-megyn-kelly-declares-legacy-media-dead/

Even More Duopoly Rules Discarded?

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Article in Free Press by Staff, 12/31/25

Headline:  “Labor Unions and Media Justice Groups File Petition Urging the FCC to Reject Nexstar’s Proposed Takeover of Tegna“

“The petition to deny the transfer of broadcast licenses from TEGNA to Nexstar was filed by Free Press, the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians—Communications Workers of America (NABET-CWA), The NewsGuild—Communications Workers of America (TNG-CWA), the United Church of Christ Media Justice Ministry and Public Knowledge. In their filing the petitioners state that the merger would result in an illegal broadcast conglomerate, exceeding the 39-percent audience-reach ‘National Cap’ set by Congress.

“Though Nexstar and TEGNA seek a waiver of this limit, the commission is prohibited by law from waiving, altering, or eliminating this National Cap. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.freepress.net/news/labor-unions-and-media-justice-groups-file-petition-urging-fcc-reject-nexstars-proposed

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Article in Daily Kos by Bidenmytime, 1/1/26

Headline:  “While the Media focuses on Childcare Fraud in Minnesota…”

Here is what else is going on…

Of course they are looting the Kennedy Center. They are looting everything.

”Democrats on the committee said they obtained documents that suggest the national cultural centre is being operated as a ‘slush fund and private club for Trump’s friends and political allies’ . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/1/1/2361007/-While-the-Media-focuses-on-Childcare-Fraud-in-Minnesota

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Article in The Washington Post by Elahe Izadi on MSN, 1/1/26

Headline:  “The ‘TrumpKennedyCenter.org’ website is taken. This comedian owns it.”

“The organization’s leaders might have wanted a new website to replace kennedy-center.org, too. But if they’d hoped for trumpkennedycenter.org, they were out of luck. A comedian bought it months ago.

“As soon as Trump began gutting the Kennedy Center board earlier this year, I thought, ‘Yep, that name’s going on the building,’” explains Toby Morton, a comedy writer with ‘South Park’ and ‘Mad TV’ credits who buys political domains and turns them into satirical websites as a form of activism. . . .”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-website-trumpkennedycenterorg-is-taken-this-comedian-owns-it/ar-AA1SJNVP

Fake News media “Influencer” Exposed?

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Article in The Intercept by Jonah Valdez, 12/31/25

Headline:  “Right-Wing YouTuber Behind Viral Minnesota Fraud Video Has Long Anti-Immigrant History”

Subhead:  “Before alleging fraud in Minnesota’s Somali community, right-wing YouTuber Nick Shirley built a following with anti-immigrant clips.”

“The day after Christmas, far-right YouTuber Nick Shirley posted a video claiming to have exposed fraud at Somali-owned day care centers in Minnesota. . .”

“This isn’t the first time the conservative YouTuber has gotten the attention of the Trump administration. . . At age 23, his videos aren’t merely influencing his audiences — they’re also influencing government action. . .”

“ ‘The very real-world consequence is that it’s going to exacerbate the situation that we have in Minnesota right now where we have a lot of people, including U.S. citizens or people with lawful status being arrested and detained by ICE,’ said Ana Pottratz Acosta, who leads the Immigration and Human Rights Clinic at the University of Minnesota Law School.

“The video, she said, reinforces xenophobic tropes about the Somali community, specifically tying the community to fraud. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://theintercept.com/2025/12/31/nick-shirley-videos-minnesota-somali-day-cares-fraud-claims/

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Article in The Hill by Tara Suter, 12/31/25

Headline:  “CNN reporter grills YouTuber whose Minnesota day care video went viral”

“. . .In the video, shared by Elon Musk and Vice President Vance this week, Shirley knocks on doors at various day care centers, pointing out that no children are visible, which he cites as evidence that they are improperly collecting funds. . .”

“. . .Nikki Brown, commissioner of the new Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families, responded to the video this week, saying the centers in question had active licenses, with the exception of the center with the misspelled name, which she said closed last week. . .”

“ ‘There have been ongoing investigations with several of those centers. None of those investigations uncovered findings of fraud,’ she added. .. .”

Read the full article at:

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/5668221-cnn-reporter-confronts-youtuber-minnesota-daycares/

Network Slowly, Slowly Sinking

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Article in Mother Jones by Mika Bauerlein, 12.30.25

Headline:  “The End of CBS News”

Subhead:  “Why corporate media won’t come to save us.”

“. . .Now, editors-in-chief often, annoyingly, ask for changes in stories. I was one, and I did it. But what no editor in her right mind will do is yank a piece at the last minute, after it has been reported, vetted, fact-checked, lawyered, greenlit for publication, and promoted for several days. For if you do that, the issue will no longer be the reporting. The issue will be your management. . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/12/the-end-of-cbs-news/

Standing Firm Against Targeting

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Article in the New York Times by Benjamin Mullin

Headline:  “NPR’s C.E.O. Was a Right-Wing Target. Then the Real Trouble Started.”

Subhead:  “Katherine Maher has taken an unyielding approach to NPR’s biggest battles — which has sometimes put her at odds with her colleagues in public media.”

“. . .Ms. Maher, 42, stood by her strategy.

“ ‘The government targeted public funding to punish specific editorial decisions it disagreed with,’ she said in a recent interview with The New York Times. ‘That’s not a funding dispute dressed up as a constitutional case; that’s textbook First Amendment retaliation.’

“Ms. Maher’s stance brought support pouring in for her organization. NPR emerged from the biggest political battle in its history on firm footing, generating record donations. . . .”

Read the full article at:

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/30/business/npr-katherine-maher.html

2025 – Year in Political Cartoons

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Martin Rowson/The Guardian

Article in The Guardian by Anna Mohdin and Sundus Abdi,12/30/25

Headline:  “Tuesday briefing: A surreal year in news gives our cartoonists endless material”

Subhead:  “In today’s newsletter: Covering everything from Donald Trump to AI, and Gaza to Ukraine, award-winning cartoonist and illustrator Ben Jennings shares his favourite caricatures of 2025, and we share ours too.”

“Good morning. It’s been one of those years where the news cycle felt almost too surreal to caricature. From Jeff Bezos commandeering Venice for his lavish wedding at a time of a growing backlash over inequality, to the spectacle of Donald Trump returning to office for a second term, the material was endless for cartoonists, though often difficult to navigate.  .  .”
Read the full article at:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/30/first-edition-political-cartoons-of-2025

Passing of Great Public Broadcaster

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Article in Democracy Now by Amy Goodman, 12/25/25

Headline:  “Remembering Bill Moyers: PBS Icon on Corruption of Corporate Media and Power of Public Broadcasting”

“The legendary journalist Bill Moyers died in June at the age of 91. Moyers, whose long career included helping found the Peace Corps and serving as press secretary for President Lyndon Johnson, was an award-winning champion of public television and independent media. We feature one of his numerous interviews on Democracy Now!, where we discussed the history of public broadcasting in the United States and the powerful role of money in corporate media. .”

Read / Listen to the full article at:

https://www.democracynow.org/2025/12/26/remembering_bill_moyers_pbs_icon_on