Just when you think you've seen the mainstream media at its worst, Drew Holden puts a thread together highlighting just how abysmal they have been in ignoring the Somali fraud in Minnesota. Sorry, they've not just been ignoring it, they've been outright dismissing and even hiding it.
Go figure.
Holden's thread is, as usual, a DOOZY. Check it out:
🧵THREAD🧵
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 28, 2025
The legacy media didn’t miss the Minnesota Somalian fraud story.
They actively dismissed it as made up, racist, or xenophobic.
Before the stories are quietly edited, I’ve got screenshots. ⤵️
Racist or xenophobic.
Of course.
I can’t believe this is real, but @AP basically did the Somalians-founding-America meme as a straight reported piece on how beneficial the community has been in Minnesota. pic.twitter.com/pmZhLgHYPq
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 28, 2025
It's a good thing that Somalis are stealing from Americans!
“Minnesota Somalis are as Minnesotan as tater-tot hotdish,” @CNN (Dec 7) pic.twitter.com/Ddg5RDMZ2L
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 28, 2025
Yum. Tater-tot hotdish ...
Presented without comment @MSNOWNews pic.twitter.com/X5CBMjq8nD
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 28, 2025
It's MS NOW, aka MSNBC ... not much commentary needed on this one.
Trump’s attempt to combat fraud is depicted by @NBCNews as “xenophobic.”
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 28, 2025
No mention of the multibillion dollar scam the community was perpetrating. pic.twitter.com/KjoRw2QaZN
XENOPHOBIC.
This just isn’t journalism. It’s hackery. @TIME dedicated a whole section in a piece about the connection between Somalis and fraud allegations to how “Democrats have condemned the accusations targeting Somalis.”
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 28, 2025
Maybe now would be a good time to revisit them?? pic.twitter.com/wpXbJQ2R2G
Recommended
Hackery.
A side note of sorts: @NPR suggested (I think rightly, given what’s happened) that the large Somali community in Minnesota was in part there because of “the state’s welcoming social programs.”
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 28, 2025
Maybe a little more reporting on that was deserved? pic.twitter.com/0JAWzvUX6L
Maybe.
Heh.
The @washingtonpost took considerable pain to quote people who defended the Somali community in Minnesota, absent all evidence, against the supposedly “bigoted” immigration deployment by Trump.
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 28, 2025
That included the MN AG who failed to stop this outrage, @AGEllison. pic.twitter.com/QHpZ8JJzwq
And we all know how dedicated Ellis is to upholding the law.
Rather than focus on the evidence we had of fraud in Minnesota in their “everything we know” piece, @Newsweek decided to highlight quotes about how Minnesota is “a well-run state” and how @GovTimWalz has supposedly “taken measures” to combat fraud. pic.twitter.com/g7uDvuMhDw
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 28, 2025
Walz says it's a great state to raise a family.
*snort*
I wonder if @GovTimWalz still sees criticism over his handling of fraud as a “badge of honor”?
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 28, 2025
Or perhaps @politico would like a chance to update this piece lionizing him and @amyklobuchar amid their catastrophic handling of said fraud? pic.twitter.com/k7Bo7FWuMu
He's so brave in the face of his fraud and theft being found out.
Ahem.
Even in reporting meant to expose the fraud in Minnesota, @nytimes couldn’t help but focus on how “challenging” this has all been for Somalian immigrants.
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 28, 2025
How about how bad this has been for American taxpayers? pic.twitter.com/Dj26ixWmrv
WON'T SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE POOR THIEVES?!
But no outlet was worse than Minneapolis’s hometown paper, @StarTribune.
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 28, 2025
Perhaps it’s time to revisit this story? Seems the evidence is pretty clear now.
It was published two weeks ago. pic.twitter.com/YRteJgZVlf
They really should call themselves the Tim Walz fan club newsletter.
But there were so many more @StarTribune attempts to write off the scandal, rather than, you know, reporting on the multibillion dollar fraud being committed.
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 28, 2025
Like this one, about how religious and other leaders were stepping in to “condemn Trump’s attacks.” pic.twitter.com/BHiFr9itqU
Trump mean.
Trump bad.
Might there be a reason @GOPMajorityWhip would stick with Trump as the multibillion dollar fraud scandal was being confirmed? @StarTribune pic.twitter.com/pE54dDmkQZ
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 28, 2025
*GASP*
I purchased a four-week subscription to @StarTribune to go through this coverage and let me tell you my eyes are more angry at me for subjecting them to this “reporting” than even my wallet is. pic.twitter.com/ZuQojfIe73
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 28, 2025
Holden should get his money back.
The editorial board at @StarTribune did the Norm Macdonald meme. pic.twitter.com/nYMjajdCpQ
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 28, 2025
Because of course they did.
As the scandal has been headline focus for people interested in stopping fraud, @StarTribune has instead focused on lionizing Rep. Ilhan Omar for her “defiance” against Trump. pic.twitter.com/wCQRbOE2ZB
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 28, 2025
She's a fighter!
This type of scandal, involving the theft of BILLIONS of taxpayer dollars, can’t survive as long as it did without help from major parts of the community involved.
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 28, 2025
It seems obvious that the legacy press — and @StarTribune in particular — are culpable in that as well.
BILLIONS.
And there are plenty of other states where enormous amounts of money are being siphoned off by fraudsters. California is a good example: https://t.co/E7jjX75uHx
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 28, 2025
Looking at you, California. Washington. Soon to be looking at you, Virginia.
I’m sure most of you have, but if you haven’t seen this video of @nickshirleyy doing what journalists across these outlets (and the state of Minnesota) should have — checking in on these supposed nonprofits — you should watch it. https://t.co/nwnPP18YMA
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 28, 2025
Crazy and infuriating all in one.
There’s surely more fraud to be uncovered. Hopefully Congress and the Trump admin will keep kicking the tires in Minnesota and beyond.
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 28, 2025
These defensive headlines, I suspect, will only look worse in the future than they do today. https://t.co/EYp7xFay0R
They look worse every day.
As @TomBevanRCP called out this morning, instead of revisiting their awful coverage or attempting to do the job of real journalists, @StarTribune is instead…cheerleading for Walz’s reelection. https://t.co/ochzw5KZUE
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 28, 2025
We've got nothin'.
But @StarTribune working so hard to bury this fraud story shouldn’t surprise us.
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 28, 2025
Their publisher, Steve Grove, came to the paper from Walz’s cabinet, having served as his commissioner of — I swear I’m not making this up — “employment and economic development.” pic.twitter.com/mIxHXB2F1h
From Walz's cabinet.
HA HA HA HA HA
Holy crap.
A partisan publisher using the veneer of a newspaper to try to bury a career-defining corruption story about his former boss, as said old boss runs for reelection.
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 28, 2025
Want to know what’s wrong with the legacy media?
Just look at @StarTribune. pic.twitter.com/BrqhHZ4EOl
Just obnoxious.
Also, important context from @shipwreckedcrew: it wasn’t just Minnesota tax payers who got ripped off.
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 29, 2025
These were, in many cases, federal programs.
Wherever you live, your tax dollars were part of this scam. https://t.co/OhADnwH3VL
It was all taxpayers who got ripped off.
Again. There’s no way this kind of massive fraud is unique to just Minnesota.
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 29, 2025
Every state should be subject to this kind of investigation. Particularly those with hundreds of billions of dollars given to NGOs. https://t.co/swCbvw2wLo
Paging Pam Bondi.
Still no legacy media coverage of this massive scandal.
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 29, 2025
Shameful. https://t.co/3k5fCYRR8h
Shameful is one word for it.
Instead of addressing the fraud, @StarTribune is hard at work trying to undercut real reporting from @christopherrufo and @rk_thorpe about said fraud — and failing.
— Drew Holden (@DrewHolden360) December 29, 2025
Their “key source” lied to them (as their reporting eventually made clear) AND stood by his original claims.
Wtf pic.twitter.com/jt19AHyigL
It's probably no surprise that the editor of this particular paper had a Tim Walz sign in his yard.
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