Minnesota Is THE Moment of Truth for Bari Weiss

Minnesota's multibillion-dollar Somali fraud story is the answer to Bari Weiss's $150 million question over whether she can restore public trust at CBS News.

Paramount paid nine figures for Weiss and her Free Press outlet in October, and put her in charge of the company's flailing and ratings-challenged CBS News division to set "a new standard for trusted journalism in America," as Paramount described it.

A golden opportunity in the form of the biggest ripoff in American history just landed at her feet, but what will Weiss do with it? Will CBS News bury a report about fraud in Minnesota that the MSM wants to make go away — a story that could bring down Democrat governor Tim Walz? Or will she wrangle her unruly reporters into doing their jobs?

One promising sign of Weiss's just-getting-started tenure was appointing Icky Straight White Male Tony Dokoupil as the new anchor of CBS Evening News. Dokoupil is promising not because he's straight, white, male, or even icky, but because Weiss stuck with him, even over various Evening News staffers' protests-verging-on-meltdowns.

Developments at 60 Minutes are less promising, at least so far.

Last week, Weiss spiked a story about El Salvador’s CECOT prison for failing to report the Trump administration's side, and worse, deceptively making it appear as though the White House refused to comment for the report. So far, so good. But when the report aired on CBS's Canadian broadcast partner, Global TV, Weiss had nothing to say about it.

That's the kind of thing that some might interpret as Weiss giving a wink and a nod to the report she officially spiked. Maybe that's an unfair interpretation, but Weiss's effective silence leaves it as a possible interpretation.

But even if that isn't the case, 60 Minutes still looks to my jaded eyes like it's staffed by unruly children whom Weiss has yet to deal with firmly as required.

Meanwhile, a 23-year-old YouTube personality named Nick Shirley scooped the entire mainstream media, including Weiss's CBS, on the multibillion-dollar Somali fraud rings in Minnesota.

Shirley's report just crossed 100 million views, or "More than any the daily readership of all newspapers in America combined," as Elon Musk put it. Or — for a single story! — more than a month's worth of viewership for the CBS Evening News.

Even if Weiss's attachment, as she put it last October, to "building the most trusted news organization of the 21st Century" only runs skin deep, surely she and her bosses at Paramount want a piece of the profits generated by stories like Shirley's.

So imagine a 60 Minutes report that didn't just provide viewers with a hard look at the almost unimaginably yuge fraud in Minnesota, but included a profile of the young YouTuber who scooped the entire mainstream media.

The 60 Minutes introduction basically writes itself, and if you squint, you can almost hear it*.

Intro Voiceover: "Plus, we'll look into the multibillion-dollar Somali fraud ring that ran circles right under Gov. Tim Walz's nose, and introduce you to the 23-year-old YouTube star who scooped everybody, including CBS News. Those stories and more, tonight on 60 Minutes."

*Don't correct me; I know what I wrote.

Do you want to reestablish your network's credibility, Bari Weiss? If you do, this is the way — the way — to do it. An opportunity like this might not come along again anytime soon, but even if one did, you can't afford to squander the opportunity that just landed in your lap.

So do you want to reestablish your network's credibility, Bari?

Do you?

I posted this early Monday morning, but (to no surprise) have not heard back.

Dear @bariweiss,

If you really want to restore some cred to @CBSNews or even @60Minutes, do a piece on that YouTuber — @nickshirleyy — who scooped you on Minnesota fraud. You might even do a piece on Minnesota fraud.
— Stephen Green (@VodkaPundit) December 29, 2025

I suppose we'll get an answer with a report — or continued silence — on CBS News.

There's $150 million on the line, and Weiss's reputation, too.

There’s more where this came from.

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