While allegations of widespread fraud in Minnesota have led to increased federal scrutiny of social service programs, mainstream, liberal media outlets such as CNN and NPR are facing criticism for seeking to discredit reporting on the fraud by casting aspersions on the young, independent journalist whose reporting on the subject has gained international attention. 

The 23-year-old YouTuber, Nick Shirley, who has 1.34 million subscribers on YouTube, fanned the flames of concerns about widespread fraud when he posted a 40-minute video alleging that several state-funded, Somali-run day care facilities are not providing services to children. In several facilities, he said, it appeared there were no children present. 

After Mr. Shirley’s video went viral, President Trump’s  Department of Health and Human Services announced on Tuesday that it is freezing all payments to child care centers in Minnesota. Meanwhile, the FBI director, Kash Patel, said his agency is on the ground in Minnesota actively investigating the alleged fraud. 

That the most potent reporting on the issue of Somali fraud came from a 23-year-old YouTuber – rather than from experienced journalists – has been something of an embarrassment for the powerful media establishment of New York City and Washington D.C.

Now some of these media outlets have been accused of criticizing and writing condescendingly about Mr. Shirley instead of about the fraud he exposed.

A tech founder, David Sacks, who is an advisor to Mr. Trump on artificial intelligence, wrote on X that, “The Legacy Media no longer sees it as their responsibility to bring transparency and accountability to the government. Rather, as loyal members of the Democrat Party, they deflect attention and punish critics so their fellow Party members can loot and plunder the American people.”

A conservative commentator, with the X handle AG Hamilton29, shared screenshots of headlines of news outlets scrutinizing Mr. Shirley.

“It appears much of the press is very confused. @nickshirleyy made  a viral video highlighting the real concern of massive fraud in Minnesota. They should be investigating the fraud, not the person who made the video,” AG said.

A conservative commentator, Zach Montanaro, wrote, “Too many media pundits today care too much about protecting their preferred narrative than they do about actual reporting. This is a textbook example:  @nickshirleyy  discovers massive fraud, and the first instinct of these so-called ‘journalists’ is to investigate him.”

Mr. Shirley also criticized media outlets, writing, “Mainstream media is more mad at me [than] they are at the FACT that billions of YOUR dollars are being used for fraudulent business .”

On Tuesday night, CNN’s Anderson Cooper aired a segment in which reporter Whitney Wild grilled Mr. Shirley on whether his allegations were correct. Ms. Wild asked if he visited the facilities during “normal operating hours.”

“I came at 11 a.m., I believe, and then also came the following day later in the day. The point of it is not whether or not I came at the right time of their operation hours, the point is that — blacked-out doors, they can’t give you any information, you call that number, no one answers,” Mr. Shirley responded. 

Mr. Shirley asked why the day care centers did not give him information about how he could enroll a child. Ms. Wild also seemed to have difficulty getting answers, saying she called several centers that he visited, but only one answered. 

Later in the segment, Ms. Wild noted that there were children entering a facility Mr. Shirley alleged was engaged in fraud and asked the YouTuber about it.

“Yes, the commissioner of children literally said a week ago, this place was closed. They’re showing face right now,” Mr. Shirley said. 

Ms. Wild said in the segment, “While we have questions about some of the methods that were used in the video, we do take the concerns that the video raises about fraud very seriously.”

“There have been ongoing investigations with several of those centers. None of those investigations uncovered findings of fraud,” she said. 

Federal prosecutors have charged more than 90 individuals in fraud schemes, convicting 60 in schemes that prosecutors say stole billions from social service programs. The vast majority of the individuals charged are of Somali descent.

NPR published an online article titled, “What to know about Nick Shirley, the YouTuber alleging day care fraud in Minnesota.”

The report noted the ongoing federal investigations and charges against individuals accused of fraud. But, it said Mr. Shirley’s allegations “have not been verified,” and “some” are challenging them.

From there, the report explored Mr. Shirley’s history as a YouTube content creator, noting that he made videos of himself sneaking into influencer Jake Paul’s wedding and “riding a bike over a ramp lit on fire.” It also pointed out that he recorded himself outside the U.S. Capitol during the January 6 riot. 

While NPR studied Mr. Shirley’s background, the outlet has limited coverage of the fraud crisis on its website. On Thursday, NPR’s “Morning Edition” interviewed a “legal scholar” about the Trump Administration’s fraud investigations. It also published an article from the Associated Press about the administration’s decision to freeze childcare funds. 

CNN and NPR did not respond to the Sun’s request for comment by the time of publication.