Elon Musk has stirred fresh debate online after reacting to a post about a proposed California bill. Writing on X, he said, “California legislators are trying to make investigating fraud illegal,” while resharing claims made by Nick Shirley.
Shirley, in his original post, alleged that “California is trying to pass a bill that would criminalize investigative journalism with misdemeanors, $10,000 fines, imprisonment, and content takedown.” He said the proposed law, called AB 2624, came after his own work exposing alleged fraud. He added, “The proposed bill is titled AB 2624 and was made after I exposed mass fraud by immigrant groups in America.”
He further claimed that under the bill, “government-funded entities like the Somali ‘Learing’ Daycare centers would be protected from being exposed if they operated inside California.” Sharing his frustration, Shirley wrote, “The enemy truly is within. When our politicians would rather protect fraudsters and illegal migrants, it’s time for us to stand up or face mass oppression from the traitors who ‘rule’ over us.”
READ: Ro Khanna draws on his Indian American immigrant experience to defend Somali Americans (March 6, 2026)
In another post linked to this discussion, Shirley said, “I’ve helped save America millions and billions of dollars by exposing fraud across the country. I was thinking about exposing another state but I think I will now go back to California 👀 new exposé coming soon.”
He later shared an update claiming political connections behind the bill. “UPDATE: The legislator who proposed this bill is Mia Bonta, the wife of Attorney General Rob Bonta,” he wrote, referring to Mia Bonta and Rob Bonta. He added, “The Attorney General of California’s wife is trying to silence me and other journalists who are exposing fraud. Are your donors mad they are being exposed?”
Meanwhile, Carl DeMaio has also criticized the bill. In a press statement, he said California Democrats are advancing AB 2624 to silence citizen journalists and protect taxpayer-funded organizations from scrutiny. He even called it the “Stop Nick Shirley Act.”
According to DeMaio, “California Democrats are trying to intimidate citizen watchdog journalists and protect waste and fraud happening in far-Left-wing NGOs. AB 2624 can only be described as the ‘Stop Nick Shirley Act’ — a bill designed to silence citizen journalists exposing fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars.”
He added, “Instead of fixing the fraud problems being uncovered, Sacramento politicians are trying to shut down the people exposing them.” He warned that the bill could allow organizations to demand removal of videos, even if recorded in public, and impose heavy penalties on those who publish them.
READ: ‘Where are the children?’: Independent Journalist Nick Shirley alleges ‘billion dollar’ fraud in California (March 19, 2026)
“That’s not about public safety — it’s about protecting powerful interests,” DeMaio said. He also cautioned, “If this bill becomes law, the message is clear to every journalist in California: expose corruption and you will be punished. AB 2624 is an unconstitutional direct attack on transparency and the First Amendment – and it needs to be defeated.”
The issue has now spread to online forums, with discussions picking up on platforms like Reddit.
Shirley has previously posted videos claiming fraud at a daycare facility in California. In one such video, he is seen visiting a location he identifies as Healthy Life Adult Daycare. He questions how the facility reportedly billed millions while appearing inactive during his visit.
In the clip, he says, “Now we are here outside of Healthy Life Adult Daycare. This place, over the past few years, has billed $19.8 million alone. Now let’s go see if I can enroll my grandma, because she needs some daycare.”
After earlier highlighting a major childcare fraud case in Minnesota, Shirley is now pointing to California. Through his videos on YouTube and X, he claims to have found new irregularities, bringing renewed attention to alleged fraud in the state’s healthcare and childcare systems.