Somali-American daycare centers in Columbus are dealing with the fallout from being targeted by conservative social media influencers, who are alleging fraudulent uses of public money at their facilities.
At least two of these daycare centers in Columbus were the subject of viral videos on X and YouTube in the week between Christmas and New Year's Day. People approached the centers with their phone cameras recording, trying to gain entry and question the owners.
This follows investigations into alleged childcare fraud in Minnesota, which is home to the country's largest Somali-American community. President Donald Trump paused federal funds for childcare centers across the country after the allegations surfaced. Trump previously made derogatory statements about Somali immigrants and refugees.
Columbus is home to the nation's second-largest Somali-American community, with an estimated 70,000 people hailing from that country.
Daycares harassed by influencers, voicemail hacked
Two of these daycares were Great Minds Learning Center on East Fifth Avenue and 161 Childcare on East Dublin-Granville Road along State Route 161. WOSU attempted to call both centers on Monday. Both calls were sent to voicemail and had full inboxes.
Great Minds Learning Center's voicemail said:
"Unfortunately our childcare center has been the subject of false, defamatory statements on social media."
The message went on to say its state-issued license and other information can be found online. It noted that no cameras or filming are allowed at the center.
161 Childcare's voicemail message was different. It had been hacked by someone who recorded a derogatory message about Somalis and Islam.
"Hello, we are Somalian refugees. We are sand rats. We worship a false religion of baby-raping terrorists and the pedophile Muhammad. We are so stupid, we use the most simplest password."
The message went on to allege Somalis are committing fraud and calls them "inferior" and a slur.
Hamda Mohamed is 161 Childcare's director. She said several influencers tried to gain entry into their building last week and the center had to call the police on some of them, who became aggressive with Mohamed and her family.
"There were people that were trying to shove, like push, us out the way and get in and ask and harass us. Like, where are the kids? Where are the other kids?” Mohamed said.
Mohamed said she's worked in childcare for years and something like this has never happened. She said after what's been happening in Minnesota, she wasn't surprised it happened in Columbus.
She described how one man was recording videos all over the building and her brother, the center's owner, went out to ask the man if he had any questions and to tell him they were closed and that the man needed to leave the premises. Mohamed said the man started cursing at her brother, got in his car to leave and hit her brother's car.
Separately, Mohamed said they have hired a lawyer to sue one of these people.
She said they are still trying to fix the hacked voicemail.
Now, 161 Childcare's storefront is peppered with "No Trespassing" signs and security cameras. This wasn't how Mohamed says she envisioned her business' first official week in operation.
"I do know every community has problems and there are bad people in every community, but you don't have to target a whole community for this. With the way daycares work, we get audited. We have unannounced inspections," Mohamed explained.
Mohamed said Monday was the center's first day open after months of renovating the space after it officially got a state license in October. Only her own children and nieces and nephews were present. Mohamed explained they are still accepting new clients, and will be serving them soon.
Conservative influencer defends attempt to question east Columbus daycare
Anthony Rubin is one of the people who traveled to Columbus to investigate the childcare centers. Rubin founded his own website, Muckraker.com, in Miami, Florida which he says focuses on illegal immigration.
Rubin told WOSU he saw comments on social media posts saying what was happening in Minnesota was also happening in Columbus.
“(They said) 'come to Columbus, Ohio, come to Columbus, Ohio.' And so that seemed like the logical thing to do,” Rubin said.
Rubin said he had seen the YouTube influencer Nick Shirley's videos, where he bombards Somali employees in Minnesota with questions and accuses them of not providing services to any children, despite receiving public funds. Shirley claims to have exposed over $110 million in fraud.
Rubin posted a video on Dec. 29 in front of Great Minds Learning Center, during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, when many people are home with their children while being on break from work.
Rubin knocked and no one answered. He said he also called and emailed the center. Rubin then went across the street to question two men.
The men said they never see children at the center, but they said it's because the employees and children go through the back door of the building. Rubin attempted to go behind the building in the video, but didn't knock. He promised to look into more daycare centers in Columbus.
FIRST SIGNS OF MASSIVE POTENTIAL SOMALI FRAUD IN COLUMBUS, OHIO
— Muckraker.com (@realmuckraker) December 30, 2025
The first Somali-affiliated daycare facility that we knocked after landing in Columbus, Ohio today did not answer.
A neighbor across the street told us, “I’ve never seen nobody come out the building or go in the… pic.twitter.com/zywy9lPDMw
Rubin wouldn't comment on his investigation's findings, but denied he was accusing the daycare center of any illegal activity.
“I want to make very clear right off the bat that I'm not alleging any wrongdoing, I'm alleging no fraud. We are simply asking questions and that's what was done in that video," Rubin said.
Rubin also defended his work.
"As far as from a journalistic perspective... look this is a new age of media. This is no longer NPR-controlled or CNN-controlled or whatever legacy media outlet where you have to go through, however many rungs of approval before you could air something," Rubin said.
Rubin called the situation in Columbus "strange" and questioned why there are so many daycare centers all over the place.
"There will be daycares right next to each other. And not only right next to each, they'll be like two daycares next to each other and then there'll be another one across the street," Rubin said.
Rubin also questioned why a lot of the daycare centers have their windows blacked out.
Rubin said he understands why some people are concerned about what these influencers are doing. He said a lot of the amateur videographers publish videos that are "very sloppy."
"They'll show up at a daycare and they put a camera in somebody's face and they post massive fraud, and you haven't found any fraud and you can't do that and I don't vouch for that," Rubin said. "I don't support that, but I do support journalists going and knocking on doors and seeing if they can find an answer."
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine steps in to try and debunk childcare fraud claims
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is trying to debunk a lot of the claims that have been made against these childcare centers, including 161 Childcare. DeWine said at a Monday afternoon press conference that the state saw social media posts that included a Google street view image showing 161 Childcare’s location was a smoke shop. DeWine pointed out that street view image was from 2022.
DeWine said 161 Childcare got its license last year and none of the children receive public funds.
DeWine also criticized the influencers for trying to force their way inside the daycare centers.
“There is a good reason why they are not getting inside these facilities. To protect the children in these daycare centers, Ohio requires facilities to have safety and security plans in place," DeWine said.
Child care centers in Ohio receive subsidies based on attendance rather than enrollment, figures verified through personal identification numbers, headshots and location-based QR codes, DeWine said.
DeWine said in 2025, the Ohio Department of Children and Youth conducted more than 10,000 unannounced health and safety visits at nearly 5,200 facilities statewide, resulting in 38 closures. Twelve closures came from fraud referrals.
“Fraud does occur, and if we think fraud doesn’t occur, we’re wrong,” DeWine said.
Mohamed, with 161 Childcare, vouched for these rigorous regulations. She said she spent much of the last few months before opening doing paperwork, getting proper licenses and more. She said in that time, a state inspector showed up multiple times unannounced.
Mohamed said she doesn’t expect all this negative attention to impact her business, but her "No Trespassing" signs have scared some parents away.
“(The influencers) are looking for clout and when this dies down, everything will be back to normal. We know we're not doing anything illegal. We're not doing fraud. We're taking nobody's tax dollars, so we'll be okay," Mohamed said.
Mohamed's business got approved to care for more than 100 children ranging from 6 weeks old to 12 years old. There are rooms inside for different age groups.
Mohamed said 161 Childcare is open to everyone, not just Somali-Americans or Muslims.
"Our doors are open to anybody that has the application or a kid to bring," Mohamed said.
Sarah Donaldson with the Ohio Public Radio Statehouse News Bureau contributed to this story.
