Position Paper 1- Political Pundits

 Political Pundits in 2026

With the large amount of politically-based information that is constantly spread across the internet, political pundits have become extremely popular in mainstream media. The category of political pundits covers a wide variety of individuals, but those considered to be a pundit often claim expertise on a political topic. Although many pundits have established reputations for conducting in-depth research and predictive journalism, certain pundits rely on personal bias and judgement to promote their own political commentary and theories. 

Alex Jones

Alex Jones is a strong example of a political voice who is known more for his conspiracy theories than factually based predictions. Since the 90s, Jones has established a reputation for being very opinionated and eccentric while making extreme far-right claims about his beliefs. After growing up in suburban Texas, Jones became very involved in political events in the area, even becoming a host of the radio program The Final Edition in 1996. According to The Austin Chronicle, Alex Jones was removed from the platform after being told to broaden his discussions from exclusive criticism of the current political climate and military branches. Jones went on to begin airing his own radio broadcast through Infowars. 

Infowars featured some of Alex Jones's most popular conspiracy theories. One of the most well-known theories was his claim that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were orchestrated by the United States government. According to SPLC, Jones also continuously made false claims about the Obama family during the early 2010s, going so far as to claim that Barack Obama was trying to establish a "New World Order." His extreme takes have led to well-known sources like Rolling Stone giving him the label "The Most Paranoid Man in America." 

Despite gaining a large following over the course of his career, pulling in millions of listeners at the peak of his airing period, his reputation has remained as a label of being extremely opinionated but unreliable. Over the past ten years, one of the most notable conspiracy theories introduced by Jones was that the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012 was a hoax. Jones has since been ordered by Texas courts to pay over $1.5 million dollars to the family's of the victims after he was sued. His consistent false claims and theories based on little factual information led to the end of his show and several people who have worked with Jones in the past have come forward to shed light on his media. 

Candace Owens

Candace Owens is well-known for her former involvement in Turning Point USA as well as her far-right ideology. Owens began to heavily support conservative ideology in the mid-2010s during Donald Trump's first campaign for president. She began working with TPUSA during 2017 and eventually started acting as the organizations national communications director. She later went on to host her own show on The Daily Wire, a conservative media company founded by Ben Shapiro and Jeremy Boreing. Owens's talk show Candace allowed her to host several political guests, such as Donald Trump, and share her own conservative ideology. 

Owens began growing in popularity during the airing period of her talk show and her overall political viewpoint aligned closely with other right-wing conservatives, focusing on traditional family values and a conservative lifestyle. Although many politically center and left-leaning individuals find Candace Owens's discussions to be very controversial, she has garnered viewership from many right-wing conservative Americans. In 2021 Owens was a prevalent voice against the COVID-19 vaccine despite the factual evidence showing that the current vaccinations were extremely beneficial. 

Although Candace Owens gained a large following while hosting her talk show with The Daily Wire, she cut ties in 2024 after butting heads with Ben Shapiro regarding the Israeli conflict in the Middle East. Owens's perspective on the topic stood out from other right-wing conservative pundits. According to NBC, Owens cut ties with Shapiro after publicly critiquing him on X. 

Candace, if you feel that taking money from The Daily Wire somehow comes between you and God, by all means quit. https://t.co/qachKhAuHo

— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) November 15, 2023

Since leaving The Daily Wire, Candace Owens has continued to garner a following on her YouTube channel, where she continues to discuss politics regularly. Rather than utilizing predictive journalism or hard facts to produce discussions of potential upcoming changes in the political environment, Owens focuses on commentating current and past events and well as interviews. One of her most recent interviews featured Hunter Biden, the son of the past US President. 

Candace Owens has developed a very mixed reputation among people who watch her content. Many viewers consider her to be a reliable source of feedback for the current political climate, while several sources are heavily critical of her viewpoint and her production methods. Over the past twelve months she gained even more attention for her independent investigation of the death of TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk. Following her friend's death, Owens began to claim that she believed in a potential conspiracy surrounding the details of Kirk's death. According to NPR, Owens has looked into the situtation for the past year, but her search has not yielded strong evidence and has instead leaned into theory instead. She has also launched a series on her channel diving into her investigration of Erika Kirk, the new head of Turning Point. 

Overall, Jones and Owens are two very different types of political commentators, but their reliance on political bias has caused the public to label them both as theorists rather than political pundits that incorporate strong journalism methods into their media. However, pundits who rely on bias can still offer a valuable viewpoint about politics since they often represent a part of the American population that is also extremely biased when observing modern media.