The Media Research Center hated it that a video on purported fraud in Minnesota was fact-checked, and Steve Malzberg continued that attitude in a Jan. 4 post:
One week after YouTuber Nick Shirley posted a video alleging mass fraud at children’s daycare centers in Minnesota, involving some in the Somali community, many in the liberal media are still casting doubt on the legitimacy of that video, and are still attacking Shirley personally, claiming he had previously created anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim videos, while never presenting any proof of that allegation. Last Friday’s edition of CNN’s NewsNight with Abby Phillip continued the attacks.
From the start of the segment on Shirley’s findings, which has resulted in a federal investigation, Phillip’s mission was to delegitimize his findings, and repeat vicious unsubstantiated claims of racism against him.
[…]The irony is astounding. Phillip talks about Shirley’s video including “limited evidence,” yet she provides not one shred of evidence while accusing him of having made anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim videos.
Given that Shirley’s video targeted Somali immigrants in Minnesota, charges of racism and religious bias — which Malzberg doesn’t disprove — are entirely appropriate. Instead, Malzberg whines:
What is the real discussion here? A video was made, an investigation is underway, and as Todd says, proof will be needed for any convictions. The video shines a light, like any story done by any journalist.
Malzberg also made no efforrt to fact-check Shirley, making it perfectly legitimate for others to do so, even if he refuses to acknowledge that fact.
Curtis Houck joined the complaint that Shirley was fact-checked in a Jan. 7 post:
On Wednesday, ABC’s Good Morning America fretted over the Trump administration’s decision to freeze $10 billion in federal child care funds to five blue states — including Tim Walz’s Minnesota — and inflict pain on “those who need the help the most” because “a conservative YouTuber” peddled “unverified allegations of fraud at day cares.”
Co-host and former Clinton official George Stephanopoulos seethed in a tease, whining the funds are “aimed to help hundreds of thousands of families pay for childcare” and affect “[f]ive states with Democratic governors targeted, no states with Republican governors.”
“Now, who will get hit the hardest as child care costs are rising for Americans families,” he warned.
[…]After reading a portion of a statement from the Department of Health and Human Services that Americans “deserve confidence that these resources are used lawfully and for their intended purpose,” Schulze declared there has not been “any evidence of widespread fraud at this point.”
Without naming him, Schulze then blamed Nick Shirley: “Last week, the administration pulled funds for childcare centers in Minnesota after a conservative YouTuber’s viral video spread unverified allegations of fraud at day cares[.]”
Houck didn’t explain why Shirley’s accusations shouldn’t be verified before action is taken.
Bill D’Agostino groused in a Jan. 8 post that Shirley’s unverified video didn’t receive blanket coverage:
Last week NewsBusters published a study which found ABC’s World News Tonight had spent just 25 seconds covering the widespread Minnesota fraud scandal involving allegedly sham businesses set up by Somalians. As of this morning, Wednesday, January 7, that number has climbed to a still-pitiful 35 seconds.
[…]MRC analysts examined every edition of the big three broadcast networks’ flagship evening newscasts from December 1, 2025 through January 6, 2026, for any discussion of the Minnesota social-services fraud scandal. Through the 6th, ABC still has spent just over half a minute on the story on the evening news. Until this past week all of their coverage was limited to a single 25-second mention during a December 3 report about ICE “sowing fear” among Somalian neighborhoods in the Twin Cities. Anchor David Muir also briefly alluded to the scandal on January 6, 2026, bringing the total up to 35 seconds.
Before December 29, NBC’s total coverage amounted to 65 seconds across three different broadcasts. Since then, however, their coverage has climbed to a much more respectable 364 seconds, or just over six minutes. Their more recent reporting has focused almost entirely on the investigative work of journalist Nick Shirley, who uploaded a video in late December which purported to show a throng of fraudulent Somali-run daycares. NBC’s reporters initially seemed credulous of Shirley’s investigation, but in a January 5 report they adopted a more skeptical tone, citing a denial by Democratic Governor Tim Walz’s administration of any day-care fraud.
Like the others, D’Agostino did not explain why Shirley’s video must not be fact-checked.
Luis Cornelio similarly complained in a Jan. 14 post:
For six weeks, Google News quietly worked to throttle coverage of widespread fraud allegations in Gov. Tim Walz’s Minnesota, an exclusive Media Research Center analysis found.
Google News, a digital gatekeeper that shapes what millions of Americans see each day, kept its readers in the dark as the Minnesota fraud scandal intensified, publishing just four stories on the matter out of 840 in its top 20 morning editions from Nov. 28 to Jan. 9.
The scandal gained national attention in November amid reporting that a group of Somali Americans exploited a COVID-19 relief program and later became linked to broader child care fraud allegations in Minnesota.
Cornelio went on to whine that Shirley’s unverified video was focused on:
The other came from the Minnesota Star Tribune on Jan. 1, which sought to minimize the accusations raised in a viral video under the headline, “We went to the day cares Nick Shirley did. Here’s what we found.”
The Star Tribune did not treat the child care controversy as a fraud investigation. Instead, it took a sentiment approach, reframing the story around emotional distress and community fear, instead placing sympathy with the operators while attempting to minimize the broader context of Minnesota’s massive fraud scandal.
How does Cornelio know there’s a “massive fraud scandal” if he denounces all efforts to fact-check the video making that claim? He does not provide an answer.