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

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.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/nick-shirley-23-old-maga-050158833.html

Another MAGA incel?