Claim via Social Media and Santa Monica Observer:
Posts claim a Minneapolis daycare admitted fraud by posting a Craigslist ad seeking to hire “child actors” for $1,500 per day so the facility could appear compliant during a state inspection. The claim is based on screenshots of a Craigslist listing titled “Daycare hiring child actors for 3-day contract (Ventura Village).”
Explanation:
The claim is misleading and unsupported by evidence.
The Craigslist post did briefly exist and was later removed, with an archived copy preserved here. However, the existence of the post does not establish authenticity or truthfulness of its content.
The text of the ad contains multiple internal contradictions and legal impossibilities. It claims the daycare was forced to close, yet needed children present “while the state is on site.” Minnesota child care inspections do not operate this way. State regulators do not require facilities to repopulate children to restore funding temporarily, and doing so would itself violate child care and safeguarding rules. If they were forced to close, why would children be there?
Minnesota inspections are either scheduled annual inspections or unannounced investigations, and inspectors have authority to access facilities, records, staff, and children already present. There is no lawful scenario in which hiring temporary children would resolve compliance issues under (Minn. Stat. 245H.)
The ad’s proposal to hire “child actors” is also legally implausible. Employing minors requires labor permits, guardian consent, strict hour limits, and regulatory oversight. No legitimate daycare operator would solicit minors publicly on Craigslist for such purposes.
The compensation claim of $1,500 per day, no experience required, is far outside market norms and further undermines credibility.
The language of the post includes political grievance claims and accusations that routinely trigger Craigslist moderation. This strongly suggests the post was either:
• a troll or provocation,
• materially edited before screenshots,
• or deliberately fabricated using a Craigslist template.
Crucially, there is no corroboration from Minnesota DHS, the Department of Children, Youth, and Families, or local Minneapolis media. When similar allegations surfaced via viral videos, state officials stated inspections found no evidence of fraud at licensed centers.
Despite widespread online sharing, the story originated and was primarily amplified by a questionable right-wing source, not by established or verified reporting.
Conclusion:
Fact or Fiction? Fiction (Unsubstantiated / Hoax-like). While a Craigslist post briefly appeared online, its content is internally inconsistent, legally implausible, and unsupported by state regulators or credible reporting. The ad does not demonstrate real daycare fraud and is best described as a hoax, provocation, or manipulated post designed to inflame outrage rather than document wrongdoing.
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Why is Tom stepping down over a right wing hoax. This does not sound like the time we know. Another hoax?
So it’s a real ad. How can they say it isn’t when the ad was actually posted.
Keith,
I don’t think you understood the fact check. It wasn’t that the ad appeared on Craigslist. It did. The fact check was about whether the ad was created by that Day Care and whether it indicates fraud by that Day Care. Since it is unknown who made the ad, it is misleading to say it was a case of fraud. Doesn’t mean it wasn’t, but there is no evidence it is either. In fact, most signs point to an ad created by a troll or propagandist to create a narrative and rage.