The Ole Miss chapter of Turning Point USA welcomed Nick Shirley, a YouTuber and self-described independent journalist, and Shad White, Mississippi State Auditor and a University of Mississippi alumnus, for its “The State of Fraud” event at Booth’s BBQ on Tuesday, Oct. 27.
Shirley is perhaps most notable for a 42-minute YouTube video in which he visited 10 daycare facilities in December 2024 across Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn., claiming the daycares were not providing services to children despite receiving public funding for that purpose. Federal and state authorities have not publicly confirmed Shirley’s claims, which have received criticism from Minnesota daycare centers, according to NPR.
However, the owner of one of the daycare centers Shirley visited, Fahima Mahamud, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy in July 2026. Mahamud admitted to submitting over $4.6 million in false claims to Minnesota’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) between 2022 and 2025 while failing to collect required family co-payments.
The Ole Miss TPUSA chapter stated that inviting Shirley was important so that students can engage in political conversations and think critically about current issues in government.
“We believe students deserve the opportunity to hear about these issues, ask questions and engage in meaningful conversations about how public resources are being used,” Kent Tonos, president of the Ole Miss TPUSA chapter said. “Our goal is to encourage students to think critically, seek answers and understand the importance of holding institutions accountable.”
Not long after Shirley’s video went viral, Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor at the time, announced that he would not run for a third time. Shirley then went on to claim that he is the reason for Walz dropping out, posting on X, “I ENDED TIM WALZ.” Walz dismissed that Shirley’s statements influenced his decision to end his campaign.
White leads the charge of investigating fraud, waste and abuse in Mississippi, crediting Shirley’s videos as a source his team uses when conducting audits. White highlighted his office’s recent discoveries.
“We found nonprofits getting taxpayer funds to test people for HIV/AIDS. … They tested almost no people, but instead threw parties and paid for Bud Light. …We (also) found folks who were deceased who were still on Medicaid rolls,” White said.
Shirley focuses on the areas of fraud, waste and abuse, explaining how this wrongdoing impacts American taxpayers. The U.S. Government Accountability Office estimates that the federal government loses 3 to 7% of its total funding to fraud each year. This measure is at an aggregate level and should not be applied to individual payments.
“Anytime you give money to the government, about 3-7% will go back in the hands of a fraudster,” Shirley said. “Therefore, you’re working up to about two weeks to a month, each and every single year, just to give that money to a fraudster.”
White said Shirley is an important figure when thinking about the “movement” against fraud.
“Nick (Shirley) was the first domino to fall in this chain of dominoes that has turned into a movement,” White said. “It’s a movement against fraud in the government.”
After beginning in Minnesota, Shirley’s work investigating fraud has led him on an international expedition. He has visited Washington D.C., Panama, Rio de Janeiro, Sāo Paulo and now Oxford — a path that he did not originally see for himself.
“I was a YouTube prankster in high school, … and then as I got a bit older, I started being really interested in what was happening in the world,” Shirley said.
Rather than producing videos for financial gain, Shirley is motivated by passion for his work.
“I didn’t know that me (continuing to make) these YouTube videos … would lead to this,” Shirley said. “Something inside me said, ‘You just need to keep making them.’ … It took me five years to ever show the profit.”
With his engagement in controversial topics and growing social media following, Shirley has expressed concerns for his personal safety.
“To go back to Minnesota to make part two, something that happened when I exposed all that stuff, I had to have security just to make the second video,” Shirley said. “It cost over $35,000.”
Shirley has received criticism online for spreading unverified information, fearmongering his audience and generating content to create a narrative that reinforces his right-leaning perspective.
The audience was given the opportunity to ask Shirley and White specific questions about their work and ways to participate in the movement against fraud.
Mitchell Snyder, a junior banking and finance student from Virginia Beach, Va., believes everyone should be uplifted by Shirley’s message.
“I very much felt the tone of, ‘If I can do it, so can you,’ and that’s … inspiring,” Snyder said. “There’s a lot of people in this world who I think could do great things but aren’t maximizing their full potential, and they need to hear that from someone who is successful, like Nick Shirley.”
Students from other universities attended the event, as well. Aubrey Lohman, a sophomore agriculture, food and resource economics major at Mississippi State from Bowie, Texas, gained awareness of the possible growth that can come with increased fraud tips.
“To know that some of these taxes could go toward something useful and then possibly put money back in my pocket is very refreshing to hear,” Lohman said.
White saw the event as a huge success for the Ole Miss TPUSA chapter. He offered a piece of parting advice to students and young adults who want to become more knowledgeable and involved in politics.
“If you don’t know what’s going on in the world, you’re not going to be able to change it,” White said. “You have to start reading these papers that are going to cover Mississippi government, politics and current events, especially if you want to be involved here.”
