Nick Shirley never planned to become one of the nation's best known independent journalists, making videos that would dominate the national conversation and be retweeted by vice presidents and CEOs.Yet in the wake of his Minnesota fraud investigation, Shirley has exploded onto the national scene as a one-man journalism machine. Recently, he sat down with Fox News Digital at Freedom Fest in Las Vegas to discuss his unconventional rise, his reporting philosophy, and the stories the mainstream media is still ignoring.NICK SHIRLEY EXPLAINS FRAUD 'ENTREPRENEURSHIP' HE SAYS IS RUNNING RAMPANT IN CAIndependent journalist Nick Shirley speaks during a roundtable discussion in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, D.C.(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images, File)"Well, when I was younger, I'd make vlog pranks, and then I started to get a little bit older and wanted to see what was happening in the world.
And it turned into journalism," Shirley said about his start in reporting."I didn't know it was journalism at the time.
I thought I was just making YouTube videos on more interesting topics. "And now I'm one of the biggest and most well-known journalists in America, in the world, actually."Shirley conceded that his particular style is hard to define."I think that's a good mix, like an…independent YouTube journalist, like it's journalism with a bit of documentary style as well, so it's kind of different than what anyone has ever done before as far as this new realm of YouTube journalism," he said.Shirley said he realized that he had an explosive story as the Minnesota fraud video "Feeding Our Future" scandal cracked nine-digit views on X.YOUTUBER TO TESTIFY BEFORE CONGRESS ON MINNESOTA'S MASSIVE $9B FRAUD NETWORK INVESTIGATIONNIck Shirley's brand of independent reporting has caught the eye of Vice President JD Vance, among other luminaries.(Urs Flueeler, Pool Photo via AP, File)"When I saw it hit 100 million views, I had never seen a video get to 100 million vi...