Who is Nick Shirley, the 23-year-old MAGA journalist whose Minnesota fraud story went viral?

By Hadas Gold, CNN

(CNN) — One week ago, 23-year-old Nick Shirley was relatively unknown in the public sphere. But in recent days, he has gained hundreds of thousands of followers and millions of views, amplified by Elon Musk, Vice President JD Vance and FBI Director Kash Patel.

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. It’s part of what many on the right say is widespread government assistance fraud perpetuated by the Somali community there.

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. His Minnesota investigation video has garnered over 116 million views on X and 1.6 million views on YouTube – a number that most traditional newsrooms would trumpet as a major success.

Shirley and others like him present themselves as the future of journalism. 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.

Who is Nick Shirley?

Shirley has not always presented himself as an “independent journalist” as he does now. His YouTube account’s early videos are more along the lines of “shock content” and pranks. Six years ago, as a 16 year-old, he filmed himself flying to New York with his friends without parental consent. Three years after that, he posted a video titled “I Tricked TikTokers Into Auditioning For a Justin Bieber Music Video.”

Though he found modest success with these videos, Shirley started really gaining views once he shifted focus to political issues.

In December 2021, Shirley announced he was quitting in to serve on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Santiago, Chile. Two years later, he resurfaced with his current video format – content that focuses exclusively on political issues. His first several videos focused on illegal immigration at the border.

Immediately, he gained significantly more views on YouTube than his prior videos. He surpassed 1 million views for the first time with “I investigated the NYC Migrant Crisis,” posted in February 2024. A video titled “I infiltrated Rio, Brazil’s most dangerous gang” is his biggest to date, with more than 4.3 million views. His YouTube channel currently has 1.21 million subscribers.

By 2025, Shirley was well-known in the MAGA universe and was invited to speak at the White House in October during a roundtable with President Donald Trump about Antifa, an anti-fascist movement with no leadership or organization.

The Minnesota video

Shirely’s video in Minnesota was posted during a typically quiet day for news: December 26.

Although the video has done relatively well on YouTube, X said his video has garnered more than 116 million views on the platform.

The explosion in viewership came after a boost from other conservative figures, including Nick Sortor, Gunther Eagleman and Collin Rugg. But the views really took off when Vance and X owner Musk reposted Shirley’s video on December 27.

Musk, in particular, has long commented about allegations of fraud in the immigrant community, including the Somali community. Since Shirley’s piece took off, Musk has amplified the story several times, framing it as emblematic of broader government waste, Democratic policies, immigration and as a failure of mainstream media.

The attention also has caused Shirley’s follower count on X to shoot up – from around 200,000 in early December to more than 800,000 on December 29.

Not the first – but the most resonant

Shirley is not the first to report on the allegations of widespread fraud in Minnesota. News outlets have been covering the issue for months – including, like Shirley, knocking on the doors of seemingly empty Minnesota child care centers.

In January, KSTP Channel 5, an ABC affiliate reported on 62 active investigations involving federally funded Minnesota child care centers. In October, the outlet spoke to an auditor and whistleblower, claiming “he found dozens of suspected fraud cases involving Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP)”.

CBS News has published several pieces on alleged fraud in Minnesota by many of Somali descent, including an investigation titled “Luxury cars and private villas: See how Minnesota fraudsters spent millions intended for hungry kids”.

The FBI had already been investigating fraud cases in Minnesota. But Shirley’s mega-viral video prompted Patel to respond, posting on X 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.”

But in today’s modern media environment, it’s the right figure – with the right following and with the style that resonates with the audience hitting at the right time – that can make all the viral difference.

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