Nick Shirley Made Reporters Work Through The Holidays

The video embedded above was made by Nick Shirley, the interlocutor in the vignette, about a month before his big video on the Minnesota Somali daycare centers went viral. Waht strikes me is he's done his homework: he's in St Cloud, MN, where I noted in this post here that Housae Republican Whip Tom Emmer, suddenly a big advocate of deportimng Somali scammers, had told his constituents there in July 2015 that nothing could be done about the Somalis. Shirley had clearly been aware of that meeting when he set up this interview, and he knew what questions to ask.

Now he's got legacy media running scared. Quasi-mainstream NewsNation, whose business model seems to be to hire former prime-time anchors like Bill O'Reilly and Chris Cuomo from big outlets once they're past their sell-by dates, had its reporter Rich McHugh out in the Minnesota snow on New Year's Eve knocking on Somali heath agency doors. For some reason, I can't embed the tweet, but the Instapundit post that has it is here.

This is an indication of Shirley'd reach: CNN tried to discount his effort:

🚨 WOW! CNN got ANNIHILATED by Nick Shirley

“They’ve already done 80 indictments, cases have gone on for years!”

NICK: “Then why did I show up one day in Minnesota, all these daycares, no children, millions of dollars, we uncovered nearly $110M in fraud in ONE DAY?” 🔥

CNN:… pic.twitter.com/k35l2bCGBS

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) December 31, 2025

But the mere fact that CNN had a reporter both out in the cold and indoors trying to reach the Somali scammers on the phone over the Christmas break reinforces the idea that they were actually having to work through the holidays.

And what's really remarkable is that Shirley doesn't fit the conventional jornalist mold. I asked Chrome AI mode, "What qualifications does a mainstream journalist need to have to be taken serioiusly?" It replied,

In 2026, a mainstream journalist is primarily validated by a combination of formal education, demonstrated ethical rigor, and technical proficiency in emerging digital tools.

. . . A bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, or a related liberal arts field (e.g., political science, history, or economics) is typically required for entry-level roles.

. . . With the rise of misinformation, the ability to verify original sources and differentiate facts from opinions is non-negotiable for credibility.

. . . In 2026, "cultural fluency" is considered a primary currency, requiring journalists to demonstrate deep understanding and awareness of the diverse audiences they serve.

But Shirley is breaking all these rules. Let's start with his Wikipedia entry:

Shirley was raised in Utah. He attended Farmington High School in Farmington, Utah, graduating in 2020.

It isn't clear if he ever even applied for any level of further education, but he clearly comes off in his interviews and presentations as well-spoken. A visit to the speech therapist might polish him up a bit more, but this isn't part of the usual college indoctrination.

Shirley started his YouTube career as an amateur vlogger and prankster at age 16. Most of his pranks involved his high-school friends, while others included publicity stunts such as disrupting celebrity weddings.[7][6][5] He also offered to sell some of his own recorded footage, including of the January 6 attack, to media companies such as CNN and HuffPost.

Shirley said in late 2021 that he would cease his activities on YouTube in order to participate in a religious mission in Chile for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He returned to the platform two years later and began producing political content exclusively.

Like it or not, an LDS upbringing seems to turn out some good kids.

Shirley made multiple videos in support of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump in the months preceding the 2024 presidential election. He paid a number of Hispanic men $20 each to hold pro-Biden and pro-immigration signs in front of the White House as part of a publicity stunt in favor of Trump. When asked by Reuters whether he had exploited participants in the video, he said he "wanted to give the migrants an opportunity to voice their opinions".

This guy is miles ahead of Reuters reporters with four-year degrees.

Shirley's videos typically feature man-on-the-street interviews in protest locations, migrant shelters, and urban areas. He describes his work as independent journalism aimed at exposing government oversight issues. The Hill wrote that due to his lack of a background in reporting, Shirley has "received pushback from some traditional members of the media for claiming to be a journalist".

But according to this site,

In the United States, journalism holds a singular position among professions, a calling governed not by regulation but by constitutional protection. Unlike medicine, law, engineering, or education, journalism requires no license, formal certification, or governmental approval to practice. This absence of licensure is not the result of oversight or neglect, but a deliberate safeguard designed to protect one of democracy’s most vital institutions: a free and independent press.

I've got to say that Nick Shirley turned my much-expressed attitude that reporters and commentators take great swaths of time surrounding the Christmas holidays off completely upside down, and he did it singlehandedly. And now he's teasing another video:

🚨 Nick Shirley Says His Next Video Will Be Even Crazier Than the First

“It's going to be even crazier because now the Somalis were after me. They were coming, and people were stopping in the middle of intersections … I had to get security for this video coming out.” pic.twitter.com/IgFAbVB6G7

— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) December 31, 2025

But notice his real knack for building interest: "I had to get security for this video coming out.” Hr's picked this up by himself. They don't teach this in journalism school.