MAGAs beliebtester „Journalist“ wurde dabei erwischt, wie er Leute dafür bezahlte, Nachrichten zu machen | Der rechtsextreme YouTuber, der somalischen Sozialbetrug in Minnesota vorwirft, hat in der Vergangenheit Nachrichten produziert.

>The “journalist” at the centre of a viral clash over alleged Somalian welfare fraud once paid Hispanic laborers to protest outside the White House in support of President Joe Biden.

>Nick Shirley, 23, is currently being praised and amplified by the MAGA right, including FBI Director Kash Patel and billionaire Elon Musk, for a video purporting to reveal “Minnesota’s Billion Dollar Fraud Scandal.”

>While the YouTuber with no journalism background and only a high school-level education claims to “bring the truth to all” of his 1.35 million subscribers, he has previously been shown to be staging his content.

>Last year, in a video titled “I Took Migrants to Visit Joe Biden,” Shirley rounded up people in Washington, D.C., loaded them into a van, and brought them to the White House to demand an audience with Joe Biden. He pays them all $20 for their time.

>The stunt aligns with Shirley’s history of Mr. Beast-style shock content, but is deeply problematic for the self-described “100% independent journalist” as it contravenes several professional ethical codes.

>The Utah native who has been making right wing-aligned content for the past few years is part of the new wave of conservative influencers blurring the lines between journalism and agenda-pushing who have been embraced by the Trump administration.

>“This dude has done far more useful journalism than any of the winners of the 2024 Pulitzer prizes,” Vice President JD Vance wrote in response to his Minnesota video published on Dec. 26.

It doesn’t have to be facts. It doesn’t have to be accurate. It can be a flat out lie. As long as it’s against those that Trump/MAGA hate.