Minnesota fraud row: Craigslist ad seeking ‘child actors’ to make local daycare look operational goes viral

A strange Craigslist posting tied to the ongoing Minnesota daycare funding controversy has ignited debate and ridicule online. Screenshots of the ad—now removed from the site—show someone in Minneapolis’ Hennepin County seeking “20 child actors” to help a local daycare appear operational during a government visit.

The listing, titled “Daycare hiring child actors for 3 day contract (Ventura Village)”, claimed the poster’s family had run a daycare in the city for more than five years, only to have “funding … cruelly ripped away without cause.” That phrase referenced the decision by the US government to freeze federal childcare funds to Minnesota amid fraud concerns.

According to the ad, the centre needed to prove it was functional in order to regain those funds—but, the poster claimed, “the ENTIRE client base has already found new daycare services.” As a result, the listing said it was willing to “hire 20 child actors for 3 days, while state is present on site.”

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Importantly, the advertisement offered a pay of $1500 per day for each child actor, and asked parents to send in their child’s age along with a “note of what makes your child a special actor.”

Though the ad is no longer live on Craigslist, screenshots have been widely shared on social media.

BREAKING - A Craigslist ad seeking child actors for a daycare in Minneapolis’ Hennepin County has been discovered, with the poster requesting 20 children to act as clients while the state observes them to determine whether it is a legitimate daycare. pic.twitter.com/5fGiUSeFtw

— Right Angle News Network (@Rightanglenews) January 4, 2026

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Larger fraud allegations in Minnesota

The posting comes amid broader scrutiny of Minnesota’s childcare system, triggered by viral videos and social media content alleging misuse of taxpayer dollars by some daycare providers. A content creator and independent journalist named Nick Shirley has been at the centre of this controversy, posting footage aimed at exposing alleged fraud in licensed daycares.

Those videos and related claims have led to federal action, including a freeze on certain childcare funding—a move that has intensified political debate across the US—putting spotlight not only on fraud concerns, but also on how social media can influence public policy.