Potential

🚨Nick Shirley, the 24-year-old MAGA “independent journalist” who has appeared at the White House with Trump and JD Vance, has pulled down his viral takedown of a family-run Seattle grocery and retracted his bogus election fraud claim. In October, Shirley accused Lam’s Seafood Asian Market of EBT fraud. His voiceover claimed “one can of Spam and one thing of sushi was $120.” He tagged the DOJ, FBI and White House, demanding Lam’s be shut down. The video drew nearly 600,000 views, per KIRO 7. Lam’s said the purchase was a full case of 24 Spam cans, which accounts for the total. Now Shirley says: “I have not uncovered any evidence that Lam’s itself engaged in EBT fraud, or that Lam’s colluded with the woman in the video who was attempting to use the EBT card.” The videos are gone. Per the Seattle Times, Lam’s sent Shirley a cease-and-desist letter 30 days ago. The correction came after the damage was already done. Lam’s was losing customers and fielding abusive calls. The Lynnwood Times reports the store has retained legal counsel to consider a lawsuit. No suit has been reported filed. This is the second time Shirley’s fraud-hunting has fallen apart. In December, Shirley posted a video claiming Somali-run Minnesota day cares took public funds without children attending. It drew GOP praise and Trump administration action. After the video, investigators from Minnesota’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) visited nine of the ten centers. Per CBS Minnesota, they found children at eight of them. The ninth hadn’t yet opened for the day. The 19th reports the tenth, Mako Childcare Center, has been closed since 2022 and got no funds in that time. Accuse first, tag the feds, collect the views, retract later. The influencer moves on. Shirley’s victims pays the price.