Political Pundit: Sharon McMahon
According to Investopedia, A pundit is a person that publicly expresses their opinions or comments on a topic on which they consider themselves an expert. Political pundits particularly talk about politics and give their opinion or information for the public to hear. I think that political pundits are important, especially in the United States, to allow the people to hear another opinion or learn more than they already do. Political pundits can give information for elections, and also discuss what is going on in the government and what the people should know. There are many famous political pundits such as Bret Stephens, Laura Ingraham, and Tucker Carlson. Pundits are not only on news channels, but also on social media. Many people have made a living being a political pundit online and one person I am going to talk about is Sharon McMahon.
Sharon McMahon is known by her followers as "America's government teacher." She went viral in 2020 before the election and was teaching in Duluth, Minnesota at the time. She now focuses on her career as a pundit through social media. She is a go to source for government, current events, and history. Her Instagram username is @sharonsaysso and she has 1 million followers. Sharon gives unbiased opinions on the U.S. government and democracy.
Her first viral video was in September of 2020 when she was explaining the electoral college.
She began making more videos and answering questions about U.S. government in her Instagram stories. The daily question-and-answer routine has become a lesson of her online teaching, with thousands of viewers sending in questions about everything from who holds the United States’ nuclear codes to whether a state governor can be impeached.
Why most people like Sharon is because she does not give her opinion. She gives information based on facts. She has been asked to share her views many times, but she prefers not to. Most people may think that a political pundit has to give their views on things, which most due. The definition above says "gives opinion OR information" and that is what Sharon does, she gives information.
In an effort to open up communication between sides that often attack each other, McMahon frequently asks for feedback from her followers. In the midst of discussing a polarizing topic, she offers an opportunity for moderates to state their opinion, as well as liberals, and conservatives too. She shares screenshots of the responses and offers a brief, neutral summary of what the majority in that demographic had to say. Some of the answers are completely at odds with one another, but McMahon refrains from taking sides. Instead, she welcomes all discourse and repeatedly reminds her viewers, “I am listening.”
McMahon has a podcast called the Sharon Says So Podcast. In the description of the podcast it says "Sharon will also be joined each week by some of the nation’s most prolific thought leaders, government officials, authors and more to discuss developing matters of national importance in an effort to keep you informed on today’s rapidly changing news cycle."
She recently posted on her Instagram stories for people to register to vote. She often talks about how important it is to vote and have your voice heard. Although we may not know her political views, it is crucial for people to vote and she wants people to voice their opinions.
The last main topic she discussed that was all over media was abortion. She shared quotes from actual news reporters that show the first one on pro-life side, and the second on pro-choice. Shanon never shared her opinion on the topic, but she did show that arguing only makes the other side believe more strongly. She shared stories on what the law meant and allowed her followers to ask questions and she answered them without any bias.
Although McMahon creates humorous movies about rumors and conspiracies, she is clear about her beliefs: lying and disseminating rumors are not acceptable. She promotes fact-checking and emphasizes the need to confirm any information you read online. I think that Sharon shares information for people to create their own opinion on politics. She does care about the actual facts and wants people to learn mis-information is a frequent issue to run into. Sharon may not predict what may happen, or voice her views, but I believe she is a good example of an unusual political pundit who shares information on different topics of government and history.
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