Su WeaponizedSpaces viene analizzato l’uso propagandistico del “Somali Welfare Scandal“ da parte dell’auto promosso “giornalista“ Nick Shirley. Di quest’ultimo alcuni ricorderanno i video sull’Ucraina, dove l’autore “dimostrava“, con prove poi ritenute false, l’uso improprio di aiuti americani.

Il “Somali Welfare Scandal“, da uno tra i tanti riguardanti l’utilizzo di fondi destinati al welfare per personale guadagno (inclusi quelli di personaggi condannati e poi perdonati da Trump), diventa nazionale poiché ripreso da JD Vance e Stephen Miller come motivazione per l’attacco all’intera comunità somala del Minnesota.

L’articolo analizza come, grazie al ‘framing’ di Shirley la disinformazione sullo scandalo si sia sparsa a macchia d’olio, come la notizia ha guadagnato prevalenza rispetto alle altre della stessa natura e ne spiega tattiche e meccanismi.

“None of the footage was fabricated, but instead it was selected and framed to align with the fears and resentments that his viewers already held. That alignment creates emotional validation, which makes viewers less likely to question context, scale, or alternative explanations—a core disinformation tactic.”

Yes, Real Footage Counts as Disinformation

Now that we’ve gone through the tactics Shirley used, I want to preemptively address an argument that people always make in cases like this: Disinformation doesn’t mean fake.

More often than not, disinformation looks exactly like what we see here: real footage, real money, real places, and real people. The label of disinformation gets applied because of the way that footage is strung together, the choices that were made about what to include and not include, and the content and style of the narration.

Disinformation is not defined by falsity alone. It is also defined by intent and effect. When real facts are stripped of context, assembled to imply a conclusion that isn’t supported by the evidence presented, and targeted at reinforcing stereotypes or political narratives, the result is a materially false understanding of reality. Think about it like a map: every detail can be geographically correct, but it can still lead you in the wrong direction.