Why We Covered the Taylor Sharp Story

A Message From Our Editor In Chief And Co-Founder

I want to say something directly, in my own words, about why we printed this story.

Ever since we released our piece regarding allegations made against Taylor Sharp, we have received lots of feedback from readers. Many praised us for doing what other news organizations in our space would not, while others strongly criticized us. Some even accused us of “planting seeds”, as they put it, and being disloyal to “our side”, claiming we’re being “helpful to the other side”. I want to respond to that, because I think it’s fair to say that it speaks volumes about the situation at hand.

I can safely say that I had nothing but good intentions when we published our article, but to further strengthen my point I want to give some background as to why I know Taylor Sharp personally. I have met with him multiple times in the past, we’re both members of the National High School Conservatives of America, and we even live-streamed the most recent President Trump State of the Union speech together. We weren’t close, but I know enough about the man to know that I personally never had a bad experience with him. Yes, he could be arrogant and a bit self-righteous at times, but nothing that raised any major red flags. One thing I do remember stands out to me more than anything else. We had a joint zoom call, meant for a YouTube video hosted by Ben Reid to talk about Charlie Kirk’s legacy. During that call Taylor said something along the lines of “glad these idiots give me money”, as an aside. He spoke about himself and his own legacy during a call that was supposed to be about someone else’s legacy. This showed me the kind of man he was and what his priorities were, but nothing that I found to be outright reprehensible.

This is not why we published our story, however, and that’s why I’m telling you this. I’m telling you this so you know that I write this not in bad faith. In previous scandals regarding Taylor, I’ve defended him publicly, so if this was another false smear campaign designed to unfairly damage his legacy, I would have spoken up sooner. There was enough evidence for us to do so, as we saw it, and that’s why we did it. Everyone deserves a fair hearing before being judged guilty or not, and that’s a value we hold dear, even for those we consider “our own”.

That’s not, however, the point of this article, either, and that’s what I want to say something about now.

We started Average American because everyone was tired of “their side” getting held to a lower standard by the news media, and that’s exactly what we want to change. If we simply reported on things as they are, without seeking out and holding people who support our preferred candidates or political parties to a higher standard, then we would be no different from any other news organization. The entire reason why we built this brand is so that we could do that. Report the truth no matter who it came from, regardless of who asked us to do it, and without caring if it makes us look bad. If allegations made against him were as serious and credible as the ones made against Taylor, then most of the people calling us out for publishing this would not be doing so. They would be applauding us for doing what “the other side” supposedly isn’t doing, and that’s the entire point. I’m not accusing anyone of being disloyal to “their side”, but I urge you to consider if that’s the case with your comments and behavior surrounding this particular scandal.

We’re not going anywhere on this story, and we’re not going anywhere as an outlet that tells you what’s true instead of what’s comfortable.

— Kameron Founder & Editor-in-Chief, Average American News