Joe Rogan recently criticized California Governor Gavin Newsom after his press office shared a meme generated by artificial intelligence. The meme took aim at YouTuber Nick Shirley, who was actively investigating allegations of hospice fraud within the state.

Nick Shirley, a 23-year-old independent journalist with conservative leanings, gained national attention through his YouTube series exploring supposed fraud in state-funded daycare centers operated by Somalis in Minnesota.

Shirley’s investigative videos have collectively amassed over seven million views, highlighting the reach and impact of his work.

His investigatory style began with the video titled “I Investigated Minnesota’s Billion Dollar Fraud Scandal,” and he continued with this approach in his latest release, “I Exposed California’s Billion Dollar Fraud Crisis,” which was uploaded on March 17.

Just a day prior to Shirley’s latest video, Newsom’s press office posted an AI-generated meme portraying Shirley surrounded by cameras with a ghostly appearance and an unsettling expression, asking, “Hey, can I see your kids?”

On his recent podcast episode, Rogan questioned the appropriateness of the meme, asking, “Did you see what the governor posted, what Newsom’s press office posted?”

‘They posted a photo of Nick Shirley, like a fake Nick Shirley, like a meme – like Nick Shirley peeking into windows,’ Rogan continued. 

‘I saw that,’ replied comedian Mark Normand, the guest on the episode. 

In the latest episode of his podcast, Joe Rogan called out Gavin Newsom after the California Governor’s press office posted a meme mocking Nick Shirley. Rogan is pictured during that episode

Nick Shirley is a right-wing independent journalist and YouTuber who rose to fame after exposing alleged fraud at state-funded daycares in Minnesota. He is pictured in an Instagram post

Rogan said that Shirley is ‘doing [Newsom’s] job.’ The governor’s office has refuted allegations that he is not combating fraud. Gavin Newsom is pictured

Newsom’s press office posted this AI-generated meme of Shirley, which mocks his investigation into daycare fraud

‘Like, hey, he’s doing your job. He’s uncovering fraud and what you’re doing is mocking him?’ Rogan then rhetorically asked.   

Normand laughed and replied: ‘Right, you should go, “Oh s***, there’s fraud? I’m the governor.”‘

‘They should just open up the investigations into all these places, immediately if you care, but all they wanna do is just obfuscate, cover it up, make it look silly,’ Rogan concluded. 

The meme posted by Newsom’s press office went viral on X, garnering almost eight million views and tens of thousands of likes and comments. 

Shirley shot back at the tweet with a reply that said: ‘You do realize I’m trying to help America eliminate fraud and waste right? 

‘No need to try and make me look like the bad guy for exposing fraud. People are over it. Start working for the people and not against them.’

Although the YouTuber’s tweet drew less than half the views of the one posted by Gavin Newsom’s press office, it still racked up 277,000 likes – more than ten times the meme’s total.

Newsom’s press office has gone into damage control mode following the backlash against the Shirley meme, posting a flurry of tweets in recent days addressing allegations that the governor has not worked to stop fraud in the state. 

Shirley responded to the meme posted by Newsom’s press office with this tweet, which received half as many views but ten times more likes

Shirley’s videos about alleged fraud in Minnesota have garnered more than seven million views, and his new investigative video into California has received more than a million views so far. Shirley is pictured

Newsom’s press office posted a tweet addressing the clip from Rogan’s podcast that said he ‘has no idea what he’s talking about.’ Rogan is pictured 

On Monday, the account posted a tweet directly addressing the Joe Rogan clip and wrote: ‘Per usual, Joe Rogan has no idea what he’s talking about. 

‘California is leading the nation in PREVENTING fraud — protecting billions of dollars meant for families and seniors.’

The governor’s press office then claimed that since Newsom took office there has been ‘$125 billion+ in fraud STOPPED,’ ‘1,200+ criminals ARRESTED,’ ‘83% reduction in EBT fraud in one year,’ and ‘New hospice licenses BANNED beginning in 2022.’

A spokesperson for Newsom told the Daily Mail in a statement: ‘California takes public program fraud seriously and has robust fraud detection and prevention systems in place.’

The statement continued by addressing moments in Shirley’s investigative video when he visited daycare centers and was rebuked by the people running them, and there were not as many children inside as public records would indicate.

‘When a random person shows up at the door of a child care center and asks to be let in, workers should do what anyone else would – not let a stranger see the kids in care,’ the spokesperson added.

‘And these centers operate around the hours of parents’ needs – not necessarily when a random person decides to come to the door.’