A far-right YouTuber has sparked outrage after releasing a video claiming to expose fraud at Somali-owned day care centers in Minnesota. Nick Shirley's 42-minute video, which has been viewed over 2.2 million times on YouTube, shows him attempting to get into several day cares and meeting with individuals who claim to be Somali. The video's claims of fraud rely heavily on a single whistleblower named David, who says he was attacked by Somali men after confronting them about the alleged fraud.
The fallout from Shirley's video has led to a renewed crackdown in Minneapolis, with the Department of Homeland Security announcing plans to visit 30 sites suspected of fraud across the city. DHS officials have stated that they will focus on investigating "a little of everything," but immigrant rights advocates fear that immigration enforcement will be a key part of the crackdown.
Shirley has a long history of targeting immigrants and minorities in his videos, often using sensationalized headlines to portray them as lawbreakers and a threat to society. He has also been praised by far-right figures for his work, including a recent "citizen journalist of the year" award from Project Veritas founder James O'Keefe.
The video's release comes at a time when Trump has already targeted Minnesota's Somali community, using racist stereotypes and false claims to whip up anti-immigrant sentiment. Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Somali American Muslim, has been particularly vulnerable to these attacks, with Trump even calling for her removal from the country.
Critics say that Shirley's video is just another example of how right-wing media can influence government policy and perpetuate xenophobia and Islamophobia. Ana Pottratz Acosta, who leads the Immigration and Human Rights Clinic at the University of Minnesota Law School, warned that the fallout from Shirley's video will only exacerbate the harm already being done to Minnesota's immigrant communities.
The Intercept has learned that state regulators had visited the day cares mentioned in the video in the past six months and found no evidence of fraud. However, the increased oversight of funding to day care facilities is unlikely to stop all types of abuse or exploitation.
As the situation continues to unfold, advocates are calling for greater scrutiny of Shirley's claims and a more nuanced approach to addressing issues of immigration and poverty. By perpetuating negative stereotypes about immigrant communities, Shirley's video is a stark reminder of the dangers of unchecked bias and hate speech.
The fallout from Shirley's video has led to a renewed crackdown in Minneapolis, with the Department of Homeland Security announcing plans to visit 30 sites suspected of fraud across the city. DHS officials have stated that they will focus on investigating "a little of everything," but immigrant rights advocates fear that immigration enforcement will be a key part of the crackdown.
Shirley has a long history of targeting immigrants and minorities in his videos, often using sensationalized headlines to portray them as lawbreakers and a threat to society. He has also been praised by far-right figures for his work, including a recent "citizen journalist of the year" award from Project Veritas founder James O'Keefe.
The video's release comes at a time when Trump has already targeted Minnesota's Somali community, using racist stereotypes and false claims to whip up anti-immigrant sentiment. Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Somali American Muslim, has been particularly vulnerable to these attacks, with Trump even calling for her removal from the country.
Critics say that Shirley's video is just another example of how right-wing media can influence government policy and perpetuate xenophobia and Islamophobia. Ana Pottratz Acosta, who leads the Immigration and Human Rights Clinic at the University of Minnesota Law School, warned that the fallout from Shirley's video will only exacerbate the harm already being done to Minnesota's immigrant communities.
The Intercept has learned that state regulators had visited the day cares mentioned in the video in the past six months and found no evidence of fraud. However, the increased oversight of funding to day care facilities is unlikely to stop all types of abuse or exploitation.
As the situation continues to unfold, advocates are calling for greater scrutiny of Shirley's claims and a more nuanced approach to addressing issues of immigration and poverty. By perpetuating negative stereotypes about immigrant communities, Shirley's video is a stark reminder of the dangers of unchecked bias and hate speech.
his video exposing fraud at somali-owned daycares in minnesota is just another example of how far-right media can fuel xenophobia and hurt innocent ppl 
i mean who does he think he is trying to come into these homes and meet people without even doing research or being respectful? it's so not cool that the DHS is jumping on this bandwagon too, using an investigation as an excuse for immigration enforcement 
and honestly can we talk about how sus it is that trump is still targeting minnesota's somali community with racist stereotypes? 
it's just so frustrating to see people like shirley perpetuating hate speech and misinformation, it's got to stop 
. He's like a serial troublemaker, spreading misinformation and stirring up drama wherever he goes. His latest video is just another example of how far-right media can manipulate people with false claims and half-truths. It's so sad that Trump is still using racist stereotypes to whip up fear and hatred towards the Somali community... it's just disgusting 
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this is getting outta hand 
the way this is goin down is super concerning 
DHS is basically admitting they're gonna be more aggressive with immigration enforcement and it's only gonna affect ppl who are already strugglin 
what's next? 
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this is just like that time in 2018 when some dude made a viral video saying that Mexican restaurants were serving taco meat that was actually beef, but it was all fake news and they got sued. i feel like we're seeing similar stuff with Nick Shirley's video, where he's trying to stir up drama and get views on YouTube. it's just sad that people still fall for this kind of stuff, especially when it comes to minority communities. 
his whole thing is just spreading hate and fear towards somali people in minnesota and it's getting them targeted by law enforcement which is just awful 
I just watched this crazy vid on YouTube and my mind went into overdrive 
. And now the DHS is jumping on it, which is super concerning 
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. We need to focus on understanding the real issues at hand, not perpetuating negative stereotypes or fueling xenophobia 
. He's just using his platform to spread baseless lies and fuel hate towards innocent people. I mean, come on 2.2 million views and he still can't even get the facts right? And now the DHS is going after Somali-owned day cares in Minneapolis because of him? It's disgusting 
. And honestly, who gives a "citizen journalist of the year" award to someone like James O'Keefe? He's just promoting hate and misinformation 
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. And now the government's gonna swoop in with DHS and start policing day cares? What's next? Inspecting grandma's garden gnomes 
? This is just another example of how hate speech can influence policy and hurt innocent people. We need to call out Shirley for what he is - a troll who's making a buck off people's fears 
. And Rep Omar, you're doing great work standing up against this kind of nonsense 
. And then he just happens to meet these people at daycare centers and is all like "oh no, they're committing fraud"? 
Give me a break 
. And don't even get me started on the timing of this whole thing... it's like Trump is trying to stir up more drama 
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. We need to do better 
. I mean, Ana Pottratz Acosta makes a really good point about how right-wing media can influence policy and perpetuate xenophobia. It's not just Shirley's video that's the problem, it's the whole ecosystem of hate speech and misinformation that's out there. Can't we just have some nuance and critical thinking for once? 
This whole thing is just getting more and more messed up... like, Nick Shirley's been doing this for years, spreading all these conspiracy theories about immigrants and minorities, and now he thinks he can just drop a video with some sketchy claims and the DHS starts taking action? 