Just one week ago, 23-year-old Nick Shirley was relatively unknown to the public. However, in a matter of days, he has gained hundreds of thousands of followers and millions of views, significantly boosted by influential figures such as Elon Musk, Vice President JD Vance, and FBI Director Kash Patel. These MAGA leaders promoted Shirley’s video featuring himself and a Minnesota activist investigating federally funded facilities in the state that allegedly masqueraded as daycares without any children present. This investigation is part of a larger narrative pushed by many on the political right, claiming there is widespread government assistance fraud involving the Somali community in Minnesota.
Shirley’s rapid rise to fame exemplifies the current media and political landscape where anyone can go viral, especially with the help of social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter). His Minnesota investigation video has amassed over 116 million views on X and 1.6 million views on YouTube, numbers that traditional news outlets would celebrate as a significant triumph. Shirley, along with others in the new wave of journalism, positions themselves as the future of reporting, claiming that the absence of traditional editing, fact-checks, and guardrails enhances their credibility.
As the audience for mainstream media continues to dwindle, public trust in traditional journalists has hit historic lows. This decline has been exacerbated by political figures who routinely disparage journalists as part of their branding strategy. Individuals like Shirley are tapping into this discontent, presenting themselves as alternatives to the conventional media narrative.
Interestingly, Nick Shirley has not always identified as an “independent journalist.” His early YouTube videos leaned more toward shock content and pranks. At 16, he filmed himself traveling to New York with friends without parental consent, and later posted a video titled “I Tricked TikTokers Into Auditioning For a Justin Bieber Music Video.” While these videos yielded modest success, Shirley's viewership skyrocketed when he pivoted to political content.
In December 2021, Shirley announced he was stepping away from social media to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Santiago, Chile. Upon his return two years later, he adopted a new video format focused exclusively on political issues. His early videos centered on illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border, quickly attracting a larger audience. His breakthrough came with the video “I Investigated the NYC Migrant Crisis,” which surpassed 1 million views for the first time in February 2024. His most popular video to date, titled “I Infiltrated Rio, Brazil’s Most Dangerous Gang,” has garnered over 4.3 million views, and his YouTube channel now boasts 1.21 million subscribers.
By 2025, Nick Shirley had established himself as a prominent figure in the MAGA community. He was invited to speak at the White House during a roundtable with President Donald Trump discussing Antifa, an anti-fascist movement often criticized by conservative figures. Shirley’s Minnesota video was posted on December 26, during a typically slow news day. Despite its relatively good performance on YouTube, the video exploded in popularity on X after being shared by influential conservative figures, including Nick Sortor, Gunther Eagleman, and Collin Rugg.
The video’s viewership truly surged when JD Vance and Elon Musk reposted it on December 27. Musk, who has frequently commented on allegations of fraud within immigrant communities, has amplified Shirley’s story multiple times, framing it as representative of broader themes such as government waste, Democratic policies, and failures of mainstream media. Following this exposure, Shirley's follower count on X skyrocketed from around 200,000 in early December to over 800,000 by December 29.
It’s important to note that Shirley is not the first individual to report on the allegations of fraud in Minnesota. Numerous news outlets have been investigating this issue for months, including KSTP Channel 5, which reported on 62 active investigations involving federally funded child care centers. CBS News has also published investigations detailing fraud by individuals of Somali descent, highlighting extravagant spending on luxury items with funds meant for needy children.
Prior to Shirley's viral success, the FBI was already examining fraud cases in Minnesota. However, Shirley’s sensational video prompted Kash Patel to respond, asserting on X that the FBI had increased personnel and resources in Minnesota to tackle large-scale fraud schemes exploiting federal programs. In today’s media landscape, the right combination of timing, influential personalities, and resonant content can create a viral sensation.