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Nick Shirley retracts videos alleging food stamp fraud at Seattle grocery store

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets, all left-leaning.

3 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

The New Republic, Raw Story and The Daily Beast report that influencer Nick Shirley has retracted videos he posted in October accusing Lam’s Seafood Asian Market, a family-run grocery in Seattle, of food stamp fraud. In the videos, posted Oct. 9 and Oct. 12, Shirley said a customer’s $120 purchase was evidence of an EBT trafficking scheme. The store said the purchase was a case of 24 Spam cans and that it had not taken part in EBT fraud. In a video posted Wednesday, Shirley said he had an important correction to make, and he has taken the videos down.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. Editors read every story. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Nick Shirley has retracted and taken down his October videos accusing Lam’s Seafood Asian Market in Seattle of SNAP fraud.

    One side only: the leftReported byFar Left3See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The New Republic, Raw Story, The Daily Beast

  2. Shirley’s videos were posted on Oct. 9 and Oct. 12.

    One side only: the leftReported byFar Left2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    Raw Story, The Daily Beast

  3. Shirley alleged that a customer’s $120 purchase at Lam’s was proof of food stamp trafficking.

    One side only: the leftReported byFar Left3See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The New Republic, Raw Story, The Daily Beast

  4. Lam’s said the purchase was a full case of 24 Spam cans and that it had not taken part in EBT fraud.

    One side only: the leftReported byFar Left2See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The New Republic, Raw Story

  5. In a video posted Wednesday, Shirley said he had an important correction to make.

    One side only: the leftReported byFar Left3See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    The New Republic, Raw Story, The Daily Beast

What is contested

Where accounts differ

Questions the coverage answers differently, and who says what.

  • Did the woman buy a single can of Spam and one order of sushi at Lam’s for $120?

    Shirley’s original videos described a single can of Spam and one sushi order for $120. Lam’s said the purchase was a full case of 24 Spam cans, and The New Republic reports the store said the customer asked for a case of tuna.

How each side tells it

Compare views

Left-side outlets all report Shirley’s retraction of October videos accusing Lam’s of food stamp fraud, and they frame it as a humiliating reversal for a MAGA influencer against a family-run business.

  • the left

    3 outlets

    All three headlines cast Shirley’s retraction as a humiliation of a MAGA influencer, using words like humiliated, humiliating and smear for the videos.

    MAGA darling Loaded verb“humiliated”The word states how Shirley felt or was treated, which the article does not establish.More neutral: retractsDisagree with this highlight? as he retracts fraud Loaded verb“smear”The word presents the videos as a deliberate falsehood before the facts are settled.More neutral: allegationsDisagree with this highlight? against family-run store
    Raw StoryFar LeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    No coverage yet

    No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

  • the right

    No coverage yet

    No right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left8

    admitting‘Journalist,’Humiliatinghumiliated

  • Center

    Has not covered this story.

  • Right

    Has not covered this story.

In the outlets’ own words

  • Loaded verb

    admittingMore neutral: saying

    The verb implies a confession of wrongdoing, while the retraction itself is the reported fact.

    …a family-run Seattle grocery store, Lam’s Seafood Asian Market, of SNAP fraud, admitting he misrepresented a $120 purchase.

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Delegitimizing label

    ‘Journalist,’More neutral: Influencer

    The scare quotes cast doubt on whether Shirley is a journalist, a judgement the article does not support with evidence.

    MAGA’s Favorite ‘Journalist,’ 24, Issues Humiliating Retraction

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Loaded modifier

    HumiliatingMore neutral: Retraction

    The word judges the retraction as humiliating for Shirley, which is a verdict rather than a description.

    MAGA’s Favorite ‘Journalist,’ 24, Issues Humiliating Retraction

    Used byThe Daily Beast (Far Left)

  • Loaded verb

    humiliatedMore neutral: forced to retract

    The word states how Shirley felt or was treated, which the article does not establish.

    …MAGA influencer celebrated by the right as a grassroots fraud-buster was humiliated after being forced to retract a viral smear against a family-run Seattle grocery…

    Used byRaw Story (Far Left)

Show 4 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Loaded verb

    viral smearMore neutral: viral allegations

    The phrase presents the videos as a deliberate falsehood before the facts are settled.

    …right as a grassroots fraud-buster was humiliated after being forced to retract a viral smear against a family-run Seattle grocery store.

    Used byRaw Story (Far Left)

  • Loaded verb

    smearMore neutral: allegations

    The word presents the videos as a deliberate falsehood before the facts are settled.

    MAGA darling humiliated as he retracts fraud smear against family-run store

    Used byRaw Story (Far Left)

  • Delegitimizing label

    right-wing conspiracy theoristMore neutral: YouTuber

    The label dismisses Shirley as a conspiracy theorist before the reader sees the evidence.

    Last month, right-wing conspiracy theorist and YouTuber Nick Shirley followed an old woman around Lam’s Seafood, a…

    Used byThe New Republic (Far Left)

  • Loaded modifier

    EmbarrassingMore neutral: Public

    The word judges the correction as embarrassing, which is a verdict on Shirley rather than a description of the correction.

    MAGA Streamer Nick Shirley Just Issued an Embarrassing Correction

    Used byThe New Republic (Far Left)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

3 outlets

Leads with

  • Shirley’s MAGA and right-wing ties
  • The harm to the family-run store
  • The retraction as a humiliating reversal
See the 3 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • The New RepublicFar Left

    MAGA Streamer Nick Shirley Just Issued an Loaded modifier“Embarrassing”The word judges the correction as embarrassing, which is a verdict on Shirley rather than a description of the correction.More neutral: PublicDisagree with this highlight? Correction

    Last month, Delegitimizing label“right-wing conspiracy theorist”The label dismisses Shirley as a conspiracy theorist before the reader sees the evidence.More neutral: YouTuberDisagree with this highlight? and YouTuber Nick Shirley followed an old woman around Lam’s Seafood, a Vietnamese grocery store in Seattle. He observed her buying spring rolls and tuna, which he incorrectly called spam and sushi. …

    Read at The New Republic (opens in a new tab)
  • Raw StoryFar Left

    MAGA darling Loaded verb“humiliated”The word states how Shirley felt or was treated, which the article does not establish.More neutral: retractsDisagree with this highlight? as he retracts fraud Loaded verb“smear”The word presents the videos as a deliberate falsehood before the facts are settled.More neutral: allegationsDisagree with this highlight? against family-run store

    A 24-year-old MAGA influencer celebrated by the right as a grassroots fraud-buster was Loaded verb“humiliated”The word states how Shirley felt or was treated, which the article does not establish.More neutral: forced to retractDisagree with this highlight? after being forced to retract a Loaded verb“viral smear”The phrase presents the videos as a deliberate falsehood before the facts are settled.More neutral: viral allegationsDisagree with this highlight? against a family-run Seattle grocery store. …

    Read at Raw Story (opens in a new tab)
  • The Daily BeastFar Left

    MAGA’s Favorite Delegitimizing label“‘Journalist,’”The scare quotes cast doubt on whether Shirley is a journalist, a judgement the article does not support with evidence.More neutral: InfluencerDisagree with this highlight? 24, Issues Loaded modifier“Humiliating”The word judges the retraction as humiliating for Shirley, which is a verdict rather than a description.More neutral: RetractionDisagree with this highlight? Retraction

    MAGA influencer Nick Shirley has issued a retraction and taken down videos accusing a family-run Seattle grocery store, Lam’s Seafood Asian Market, of SNAP fraud, Loaded verb“admitting”The verb implies a confession of wrongdoing, while the retraction itself is the reported fact.More neutral: sayingDisagree with this highlight? he misrepresented a $120 purchase. In videos published on Oct. 9 and Oct. …

    Read at The Daily Beast (opens in a new tab)

From the center

0 outlets

No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the right

0 outlets

No right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

The stories you read build My Mix, a private picture of which sides cover the stories you choose, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    First to report

    The Daily Beast, Nov 12, 8:39 AM EST

  • Center

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

  • Right

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. The Daily BeastFar LeftNov 12, 8:39 AM EST
  2. Raw StoryFar LeftNov 12, 9:50 AM EST
  3. The New RepublicFar LeftNov 12, 10:47 AM EST

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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