by WorldTribune Staff, January 7, 2026 Real World News

Were legacy media outlets lazy, incompetent or blatantly the PR division for Minnesota Democrat Gov. Tim Walz?

More to the point, what did the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the national networks know and when did they know it?

For those (like Hillary Clinton at the Benghazi hearings) who shrug and say, “What difference, at this point, does it make?” consider this:

News and public relations professionals operate according to entirely different codes of ethics if such indeed continue to exist.

Journalists in the Soviet Union and communist China work for the government, but in free nations they work for the civilian population at large. Fake news is not only a collective betrayal of the public trust, it is also damned expensive as taxpayers are learning.

So it fell to a lone independent journalist to post a video that ended the political career of Kamala Harris’s 2024 running mate by exposing a massive Somali-led fraud scandal and violation of public funds that continues to mushroom.

The New York Times dedicated more than 1,500 words to President Donald Trump’s “Anti-Somali attacks” while at the same time failing to mention the staggering fraud operation with clear evidence the operation was overwhelmingly perpetrated by Somali immigrants. (The Justice Department has charged 98 individuals in connection with various Minnesota fraud schemes, including 85 individuals of Somali descent and it is just getting started.)

Nick Shirley, the viral YouTuber who exposed the fraud at Somali-run daycare centers in Minnesota, is largely credited with Walz’s resignation from the 2026 gubernatorial race.

Related: Independent journalist exposes massive fraud at childcare centers; Not news for Star Tribune, networks, December 29, 2025

Shirley posted a 42-minute documentary on Dec. 26 which found that nearly a dozen Somali daycare centers funded by taxpayer dollars were not actually providing services.

In response to the governor accusing Shirley of being a “conspiracy theorist” who broke into daycare centers, Shirley posted on X that he “ended” Walz’s career.

Walz was furious that Shirley’s reporting had exposed daycare centers, complaining that Republicans are now somehow “demonizing” Somalis.

“But the political gamesmanship we’re seeing from Republicans is only making that fight harder to win. We’ve got Republicans here in the legislature playing hide-and-seek with whistleblowers,” Walz said. “We’ve got conspiracy theorist right-wing YouTubers breaking into daycare centers and demanding access to our children. We’ve got the President of the United States demonizing our Somali neighbors and wrongly confiscating childcare funding that Minnesotans rely on. It’s disgusting. And it is dangerous.”

Shirley responded on X:

“You should’ve put Minnesota first when you had the chance, instead you let billions of dollars of fraud happen across your state… anywayssss … I hear Quality LEARING Center is hiring.”

The infamous Quality “Learning” Center received $1.9 million in taxpayer funds in 2025 and $4 million in total funding from Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), Shirley reported in the documentary.

State employees in Minnesota stated in November that Walz bore full responsibility for the fraud by working to “discredit fraud reports” and ignore whistleblowers.

The Daily Caller’s Nicole Silverio noted: “Democrats and state leaders defended Somalis while the fraud was uncovered, including Democratic Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who said that Somalis were part of the community’s family. Minnesota Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan appeared on a Somali TV station wearing a hijab.”

The Department of Justice has launched a criminal investigation into whether Walz was complicit in or criminally liable for the ongoing $9 billion fraud scandal.

“It’s a top priority for President Trump, and he believes that Governor Walz is criminally liable, and I think that the Department of Justice is going to find out,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

I ENDED TIM WALZ

— Nick shirley (@nickshirleyy) January 5, 2026

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  Media ethics update: Lone independent journalist toppled governor propped up by corporate media, WorldTribune.com