Nick Shirley is used to making people angry. He wasn’t expecting dea*h threats. The independent journalist, who has built a big following with his street-level video reports, says he has received dozens of threatening messages over the past month. Some warned him to stop reporting. Others described exactly what would happen to him if he didn’t.
Rather than hand the problem off and hope for the best, Shirley started digging on his own. Within a day, he says, he had a pretty good idea of who was behind them, and he says the trail led straight back to George Soros.
“I guess they thought they were dealing with an amateur,” Shirley said. “I was able to track them down in under 24 hours.”
According to Shirley, several of the accounts that sent the threats were linked to people who work with or volunteer for activist groups funded through Soros-connected organizations. He says he found the connections by tracing recycled usernames, matching email addresses, and comparing old posts that the senders had apparently forgotten about.
“These weren’t random trolls,” he said. “They were organized. They talked to each other. And they weren’t very careful.”
He has turned over everything to local police and the FBI, including screenshots, account details, and the timeline he put together. He says investigators have been in touch and have taken the information seriously.
“I’m letting them do their job,” Shirley said. “I just did the homework first.”
Shirley rose to prominence by doing the kind of reporting many people say legacy media has stopped doing. He goes to the location, points the camera, and asks the questions. His videos often spark national conversations, and his fans see him as one of the few journalists who still holds powerful people accountable.
That spotlight has made him a target. Shirley says he has changed some of his routines, added security at certain events, and asked friends and family to be careful about what they post.
“It’s not fun,” he admitted. “But if I stop now, they win. That’s the whole point of threatening someone.”
The Open Society Foundations, Soros’ main philanthropic organization, has long denied any role in harassment campaigns and did not respond to questions about Shirley’s claims. Some commentators online urged caution and said the full picture should come from investigators, not social media.
Shirley’s supporters weren’t waiting. Messages of support poured in from across the country, with many people offering to help pay for security or legal costs. Several fellow independent reporters said they had faced similar threats and praised him for speaking up.
For now, Shirley says he’s focused on his next project. He has no plans to slow down, change his approach, or stop asking uncomfortable questions.
“I’m not going to be intimidated,” said Nick. Stay strong, Nick. And stay safe.
