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/
