The Daily Dot53%
A Father Posted a $13.49 Child Support Check and Said His Ex Took Him to Court — the Internet Is Divided Over What the Story Actually Means 54%
By Sohini41%
7/16/2026, 5:07:52 AM
Keywords: Child Support, Court, Father, Ex Wife, Internet, Divided, Story, Means, Instagram, X, Daily Loud, Shaniquia Nichols, Illinois State Disbursement Unit, Custody, Childcare Expenses, Financial Difficulties, Voluntary Payments, Petty, Karma, Social Media, Parenting Time, Income, Healthcare Costs, Financial Obligations
BS Summary: This article contains 27 faulty reasoning types, including Burden of Proof, Confirmation Bias, and Quote-first Misdirection, with Anecdotal as the most egregious example at 32.9% saturation with 191 hits. Analysis detected 1,871 faulty-reasoning hits from 581 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 52% and a BS Rank of 54% (10,246 of 21,887 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 53.20% of the article peer group.
A father who posts on Instagram as @a_train86n claimed in a video that a court reduced his child support obligation to $13.49.
The video was later reposted on X by @DailyLoud, where it drew significant attention.
Viewers questioned whether the payment was fair and whether the video told the full story, as the man displayed what appears to be a child support check made payable for $13.49 through the Illinois State Disbursement Unit.
The check shown in the video is dated July 1, 2026, and is payable to Shaniquia Nichols.
The Daily Dot has chosen to publish the name as it appeared in the publicly posted video.
In the caption accompanying the post , the creator claimed he had voluntarily been paying the child’s mother $300 per week before his financial difficulties.
“Told her I need 2-3 months to get back on my feet and could only give her $150 a week,” he wrote.
He also alleged that he has custody of his daughter three days each week, takes her to and from school every day, and covers daycare expenses.
After the child’s mother got a formal child support order, though, a court adjusted his payment to $13.49.
The comment on Instagram explained his custody arrangement.
“Y’all must not have seen the part where he said he has the kid 3x a week, takes and picks the kid up from school and pays daycare expenses!
And I’m pretty sure as an active dad he will continue to do so … HE SHOULDN’T have even been on child support to begin with!!!”
they write.
A man says he was voluntarily paying his child’s mother $300 a week, but after asking for just two months to get back on his feet financially, she filed for child support and the court ultimately ordered him to pay only $13 a month. pic.twitter.com/TLtBgCuVb9
- Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) July 15, 2026
On X, a user said about the mother of this man’s child, “[She] tried to be petty and Karma came right back.”
Many commenters interpreted the alleged court decision as evidence that the father’s voluntary contributions were more than what the court believed he owed.
A social media user added, “$161.88 A YEAR ik she sick y’all that’s 3k for the full 18 years.”
Others, however, urged caution and wrote, “Not something to be proud of.”
Another questioned the amount, saying, “$13 could barely feed that child for 2 days.”
One user joked, “That’s a subscription fee.”
Another commenter wrote: “Never underestimate the value of working together for the child’s sake.”
I'm not the man but this news made me happier than him pic.twitter.com/XZs6btFFYP
- King V ??
(@Ezedontmiss) July 16, 2026
The Daily Dot could not independently verify the father’s claims.
No court documents related to the case were publicly available to confirm the details described in the video.
Child support orders typically use state-specific guidelines that can take into account each parent’s income, parenting time, childcare expenses, healthcare costs, and other financial obligations.
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The post A Father Posted a $13.49 Child Support Check and Said His Ex Took Him to Court — the Internet Is Divided Over What the Story Actually Means appeared first on The Daily Dot .
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100%flagged-word coverage@a_train86n
48 attributed words48% of attributed speech93% writer coverage
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