Why are Noam Chomsky's takes on history and politics so popular?

How come a linguist, Noam Chomsky, is widely seen as an authoritative source on history and politics? He even has a Masterclass.

Not only has he been frequently wrong, there is the obvious point that he is not even an academic who specialises in the study of history or politics.

Was he just lucky to get so much clout? Or has he been promoted by a sponsor (like how Karl Marx was sponsored by Friedrich Engels)?