Nick Shirley put the mainstream media to shame. He took a camera and went to the questionable Somali daycares to get the real story on what was going on, and for that, he was rewarded with hundreds of millions of views on X, and he strong-armed the media into grudgingly paying attention to this story.
But the media doesn't like it when someone does their job better than they do, and they don't like it when someone exposes Democrats for being the fraud-loving, soft-on-crime corrupt politicians that they are, so rather than digging into the fraud and exposing it to hold Tim Walz and the perpetrators accountable, they're attacking Nick Shirley and his reporting.
Yesterday, Jessica Tarlov went on Fox News to say there's no way Shirley uncovered all that fraud on his own.
"There's no way that this kid walking around uncovered $100 million worth of fraud on his own," Tarlov said.
Why? Why is this so impossible for them to grasp? Because they are fine with the Somali fraud, that's why.
And now CNN has joined the anti-Shirley move, attacking his reporting.
CNN has already gone after @nickshirleyy, attempting to write off his reporting in Minnesota and lamenting his lack of “fact checks” and “guardrails.”
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 30, 2025
I’m not sure I would hang my hat on the legacy media’s “fact checks” or “guardrails” but at least CNN accurately reported that… pic.twitter.com/b9OgNFpFMb
"Shirley and others like him present themselves as the future of journalism," writes Hadas Gold. "They often claim the lack of traditional editing, fact checks, and guardrails makes them more trustworthy. Meanwhile, the audience for mainstream media has been falling for years and public trust in traditional journalists is at historic lows, amplified by political figures who make denigrating journalists part of their brand."
No, the fact that President Trump called the media "the enemy of the people" is not why trust in journalism and journalists is at an all-time low.
The reason why is in another post by Holden.
Yes, the legacy media have covered the Minnesota Somalian fraud.
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 30, 2025
What people are upset about is that they often haven’t done a good job, or have turned the massive fraud story into a sob story about the Somalian community in Minnesota. pic.twitter.com/3ls134jgI5
Here's how the media covered the Somali fraud Shirley exposed:
"Scorned by the president, Somalis in Minnesota are embraced by the state that took them in" — CNN, December 7, 2025.
"Trump claims Minnesota lost billions to fraud. The evidence to date isn't close" — Minnesota Star Tribune, December 11, 2025.
"Trump's targeting of Somali Americans is having an effect in Minneapolis" — MS NOW, December 23, 2025.
"'Where would America be without us?' A community of refugees is stunned by White House limits" — AP, October 31, 2025.
But back to the CNN article.
"Shirley's experience could only happen in today's media and political environment — where seemingly anyone can go viral, helped along by social media gatekeepers like Musk," writes Gold.
That's such a telling line.
In other words, the story about Minneapolis fraud and the billions sent back to Somalia, including to its largest terror group, would be completely buried if not for Elon Musk and X.
"The MAGA leaders promoted Shirley's video of himself and a Minnesota activist investigating federally funded facilities in the state that allegedly posed as daycares without any children present," Gold continues. "It's part of what many on the right say is widespread government assistance fraud perpetuated by the Somali community there."
Ah, so this is just "Republicans pounce" with more words. As always, the story is never the story. The right's reaction is the story.
There was nothing stopping CNN, NBC, the New York Times, and other outlets from going to Minneapolis and asking these questions. Nothing except the fact that journalists today are stenographers and propagandists for the DNC.
Nick Shirley and others like him are the future of journalism, which is why CNN is attacking them instead of investigating Somali fraud.