Frontlines TPUSA reporter Jonathan Choe interviewed independent journalist Nick Shirley during AmericaFest. Of late, Shirley has gone viral due to his work covering fraud in Minnesota, among other issues.
Shirley discussed the “ripple effect” of his reporting on illegal immigration, which helped his YouTube page increase from 20,000 to over a million followers in the past year.
Shirley prefers to upload content rapidly in order to reach broad audiences. He told Choe that he makes sure to post content every week, while relying on platforms like YouTube to help monetize his independent work.
“That’s just my responsibility and what I have to do,” he said. “You have to be working extremely hard in order to produce what you have to produce.”
Choe then asked Shirley about receiving death threats for his reporting and how he navigates in light of possible danger to his life.
“I just show up to places,” he said, saying he didn’t even announce he was attending AmFest.
“As soon as I do a live stream I’m out of that city the next hour,” he also said.
Shirley is professedly unbiased in his reporting, especially in coverage of various religious groups.
“I’ll speak to both of them, and I am not trying to make any group look bad,” he said. “I’m moreso showing and letting people decide what they think based on when they see my videos.”
Toward the end of the interview, Shirley gave advice to younger people interested in doing what he does for a living.
“My advice would be to go at it without a bias. Just know that when you’re talking to somebody you’re also talking to somebody who has a family that has a different background. They’re children of God as well, and when you speak with them speak with them with respect because everyone deserves respect. And don’t speak ill of anyone unless they give you a reason to… stay kind and composed, he said.”
Shirley’s recent coverage of an alleged daycare fraud in Minnesota has drawn widespread attention.
