con inc
Independent reporter Caroline Orr Bueno says material tied to a private firm raises questions about how a viral Minnesota-fraud video reached the administration.
Leaked documents cited by independent reporter Caroline Orr Bueno allege that the Trump White House helped shape the rise of YouTube creator Nick Shirley before his Minnesota daycare-fraud video went viral.
Bueno reported that a source who approached former OANN correspondent Gabrielle Cuccia about working on White House-related, AI-generated content said using a third party to amplify administration messaging had “worked out for them and Nick Shirley.”
The claim revolves around Vine and Fig Tree, a private firm that Cuccia said sought help producing a video on behalf of the White House. In a later Byline Times investigation, Bueno reported that leaked material described burner accounts, AI-generated media, message testing, and influencer amplification.
“They don’t want it to look like it’s actually coming from the WH.” Gabrielle Cuccia, describing what she said Vine and Fig Tree told her.
Shirley’s December video alleging fraud at Somali-owned daycares quickly reached top Trump officials. The White House later cited Shirley by name, and he testified before Congress.
Shirley denied receiving White House funding or advance knowledge, telling Snopes the allegation was “completely false.”
Bueno’s reporting raises a central question: Did a viral citizen-journalism story become a White House operation before the public ever saw it?
