Independent journalist Nick Shirley is apparently not done poking the bear, and judging by the reaction so far, the bear is already hyperventilating. On Thursday, Shirley teased a second installment of his Minnesota fraud investigation and predicted that mainstream media critics would “go insane.” Based on last week’s meltdown, that might be the safest prediction made in journalism this year.
Shirley blew up the news cycle with a 42-minute video showing Minnesota daycare centers that appeared inactive, abandoned, or barely existing, despite receiving millions in taxpayer funding. The footage exploded online, pulling in more than 134 million views on X alone. More importantly, it triggered real-world consequences. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, a federal agency that typically does not move at the speed of light, froze all child care payments to Minnesota while scrutiny ramps up. That tends to happen when uncomfortable questions start landing too close to the truth.
Enter the legacy media cleanup crew. Outlets like CNN, PBS, and The New York Times quickly worked to reframe Shirley’s reporting as just a “viral video.” Not an investigation, not on-the-ground reporting, just something that accidentally broke the internet. Journalist Stella Escobedo called the response “an indictment” of corporate media, which prompted Shirley to fire back: “Just wait until I post part 2, they are going to go insane.”
The pushback has been relentless. CBS News tried to downplay the findings. PBS labeled Shirley a “right-wing influencer” who accused daycares of fraud “without proof.” The New York Times dismissed it as a “single viral video.” NPR even rolled out a University of Minnesota media law professor to suggest Shirley was simply advancing a preferred narrative. Because nothing says neutral analysis like circling the wagons around the system that failed.
CNN’s coverage became a punchline online. According to NewsBusters contributor Steve Malzberg, the network vaguely alleged Shirley had shared “anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim videos” in the past, without offering specifics. The peak came on Anderson Cooper 360, where correspondent Whitney Wild grilled Shirley about his methods. In a moment of accidental honesty, Wild admitted CNN tried contacting the same daycare centers and reached almost no one. “Only one daycare facility answered and said they are a legitimate business,” she said. That was supposed to help CNN’s case, somehow.
Shirley summed it up perfectly on X: “Mainstream media is more mad at me than they are at the FACT that billions of YOUR dollars are being used for fraudulent business.”
Minnesota officials are pushing back, cautiously. Department of Children, Youth and Families Commissioner Tikki Brown said inspections had not previously uncovered proof of fraud, while admitting the state is taking the allegations seriously. With federal funds frozen, oversight intensifying, and part two on deck, Shirley is clearly not backing down. The media storm following him does not look like it is calming down either.
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