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The Trump administration has frozen millions of dollars allocated to help low-income families pay for child care in Minnesota and nationwide. It stems from a recent viral YouTube video, produced by right-wing content creator Nick Shirley.
Shirley claimed that multiple Somali-owned day care centers in Minnesota are fronts for fraud to the tune of $110 million. Allegations of fraud in the state have been the subject of federal investigations and mainstream media coverage for years, but only recently the center of nationwide political discourse.
Media literacy expert and University of St. Thomas assistant professor Yayu Feng said this is in part due to how internet personalities are perceived to be more authentic than traditional media and journalists.
She said this virality is tied to how these influencers build relationships with their audience and information through social media.
“But journalists — they have practiced within a certain framework with the training and standards they have,” Feng said. “Audience might feel more distance with the journalists as compared to a youth influencer.”
She added that stories, like the one Shirely highlighted in particular, come with a lot of emotion. She said this allows an influencer to take advantage of the outrage and promote engagement.
“In their phrasing, they could also build in some misleading claims and also things that just provoke strong emotions rather than really serious discussions,” Feng said. “And so based on how algorithms work— they promote content that keeps people watching.”
Shirely’s video has amassed nearly 3 million views on YouTube and 135 million views on the social media platform X. The video has been reposted by Vice President J.D. Vance and FBI Director Kash Patel.
Listen to the full conversation by clicking the player above.
English (US) ·