Position Paper #1 | Political Pundits

Political Pundits on TikTok

According to Oxford Languages, Pundits are “an expert in a particular subject or field who is frequently called on to give opinions about it to the public.” Since the new digital age, people have had the most access to information in history. More specifically, younger people conveniently have access to a lot of information that other generations can’t say the same about. Thanks to smartphones and the internet anytime we have a question, we can just Google it. 

When it comes to political pundits, most people think of Bill O’Reilly or Tucker Carlson. Recently, the younger generation has adopted younger political pundits. Teenagers are creating party-based ‘hype houses’ where they debate, fact-check, and campaign for their political views. The teenagers who run these accounts include skits to make understanding large concepts more easily. They also try to provide sources for their content and make sure everything is thorough. It seems that near election time these accounts pick back up. 

Just like other platforms, TikTok struggles to prevent users from spreading conspiracy theories and false information. For most political hype houses, stopping misinformation is a top concern. Popular tiktokker Cam Higby said, “I think it’s cool when you have people who are like 14 trying to get involved in politics and educate themselves. Those are the people – they’re not voting this year, but they’ll be voting within the next term.” Below is a recent TikTok he made concerning taxes and immigrants.

@camhigbyofficial #camhigby #conservative #republican #nyc #newyork #newyorkcity #upstatenewyork #nny ♬ original sound - camhigbyofficial

While researching, one of the bigger joint accounts I found is @tiktokleftists. On this account, the owners make commentary on political issues. They haven’t been active in about a year, but before they took their hiatus they posted a video concerning the decrease in the public’s interest in the Black Lives Matter movement. 

TikTok claims the app was never supposed to be political, but because of the way it is designed it is hard to prevent people from expressing their opinions. Since the creation of the app, they updated the guidelines so that it prevents the use of political advertisements. They can’t restrict people from speaking their opinions but have recently been urging creators to censor their content as sensitive when pertaining to local governments. This has extended beyond the United States after TikTok received a lot of backlash from the Chinese government.

@tiktokleftists #duet with @daddyspiderlashes pls pls pls go support aggi, literally the most powerful speaker on this app. #leftist #ZitHappens #OneStepCloser #fyp ♬ original sound - Aggi🕷👄🕷

The year 2020 seemed to be the most active era of political pundits and many of the tiktokkers that were relevant then have either stopped posting or changed directions with their content. In previous years, Sterling Cade Lewis was a popular political pundit for young people on TikTok, but recently he has left the politics behind and has been making more relatable content. The first listed TikTok is about the 2020 election climate. Looking back, that year was probably one of the most engaged I remember seeing young people in politics. The latter video is his content today. Pertaining to TikTok, Lewis said “I do feel like TikTok is cable news for young people. Being able to make shorter videos and educational clips, it’s easier to connect with a younger generation who’s just swiping through their phones 24/7.” 

@thecadelewis this is absolutely disgusting. and people STILL have the audacity to say racism, homophobia, and xenophobia aren’t still big issues stfu. #blm #foryou ♬ original sound - thecadelewis

@thecadelewis tbt 🏃🏻 #foryou #grindrproblems #gay ♬ mrblocku says no more fortnite - ethan

Because the political content is so accessible it gives younger people more information to form opinions. Another TikTokker who isn’t a teenager, but actively makes content for and to relate to younger generations is Ohio State Representative Tim Ryan. He or more so his team actively participates in trends and uses popular sounds to connect with Gen Z. If he achieves nothing, he has found a way to connect and educate younger people.  

@timryanoh It's the 🌽corn🌽 aka 👷‍♀️workers🧑‍🏭 #timryan #itsthecorn #ohiotok #ussenate #ohsen #timryanforohio #senate #congress ♬ original sound - TimRyanOH

@timryanoh JD Vance won't fight for Ohio workers in the Senate #workers #ohioworkers #jdvance #ohiotok #timryan #timryanforsenate #ussenate ♬ original sound - TimRyanOH

Another teen, Gillian Sullivan, used TikTok to organize a strike. After ranting about school one day and how her school is failing to pay her teachers’ adequate pay she asked her peers to help her strike in solidarity with the staff. In the video, she explains that Nevada’s Clark County School District denied her mom a raise, who has taught at the district for the past 20 years. The teachers had already considered staging a walkout. The TikTok didn’t only affect her school but also inspired strikes in West Virginia and Los Angeles. 

These kids on tiktok are organizing a general strike in solidarity with their teachers? Holy shit? pic.twitter.com/h1Rny03xwc

— klaudia amenábar (@kaludiasays) August 27, 2019

The last TikTokker I want to talk about is Christian Walker. Christian Walker is the son of Georgia Republican nominee and former NFL player, Hershel Walker. In 2020, the creator blew up making problematic and very interesting takes on political issues. A lot of conservative young adults identified with him and his content. His old TikTok accounts have been taken down, but he still has a big following on his current account that he actively posts on. His old videos were very opinionated. When I first engaged with his TikTok account it immediately registered as satire in my mind. His opinions were so contradictory to the lifestyle he lives it didn’t make sense, so it must be a joke. Regardless, not many people took his content as comedy and people began basing opinions on his videos. 

Again, his original content has since been removed, so the only videos I have are his new videos where a lot of the comments are concerned about his “rebranding.”One article questions whether he's rebranding because of personal reasons or if he’s just clout chasing. I believe it’s neither, I think he is just the type of person to joke and exaggerate everything. Others argue differently. Recently he has stopped posting political TikToks and has focused on more broad ideas and has garnered a more left-leaning fan base. His new content focuses on relationships and Starbucks. His other social media platforms still relay political content and his commentary on political issues, but his TikTok has become more tame in the most recent year.

@officialchristianwalk1r Focus on us or be quiet #fyp #foryou #conservative #liberal ♬ original sound - Christian Walker

@officialchristianwalk1r PSA #fyp #foryou ♬ original sound - Christian Walker

One thing I think is interesting about Christian Walker compared to the other political pundits listed is that he has challenged the idea that if you are leaning one way politically that you have to believe in all the same things. He is openly a republican but as exaggerated and open as he is with his opinions and thoughts he somehow reaches a broader audience. TikTok is a very resourceful tool for people to express their opinions and take political action in the younger generations.