PragerU
The Prager University Foundation, known as PragerU, is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit advocacy group and media organization that creates content promoting conservative viewpoints on various political, economic, and sociological topics. It was co-founded in 2009 by Allen Estrin and talk show host Dennis Prager. Despite the name including the word "university", it is not an academic institution and does not confer degrees.
Formation
2009
United States
Marissa Streit
$56,600,000
$32,900,000
97
PragerU's videos contain misleading or factually incorrect information promoting climate change denial.[1][2] Historians and political scientists have also criticized PragerU's videos for containing misleading or inaccurate claims about topics such as slavery and racism in the United States, immigration, and the history of fascism. PragerU has been accused of promoting anti-LGBT politics.[3]
Finances
The organization depends on donations to produce its content.[24] Much of PragerU's early funding came from hydraulic fracturing billionaires Dan and Farris Wilks.[9][4][8] Two members of the Wilks family sit on PragerU's board.[4] The next-largest donor is the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.[5][25] Other donors include the Morgan Family Foundation, Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, Donors Trust, the late Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson,[26] Lee Roy Mitchell,[26] and the Minnesota-based Sid and Carol Verdoorn Foundation, led by former C.H. Robinson CEO Sid Verdoorn.[25] Major support is also provided by the National Christian Foundation and the Dick and Betsy DeVos Family Foundation.[27]
As of 2018, the organization reportedly had a $10 million annual budget, of which it spent more than 40% on marketing.[4] In 2019, 40% of its budget came from almost 130,000 online donors; the Los Angeles Times noted that PragerU attracted more donors than some Democratic presidential primary contenders had at the time.[9] In 2021, PragerU reported to have received about $57 million in revenue, most of it from donations, and reported approximately $33 million in expenses.[28] PragerU consistently spends more on Facebook advertising than major political campaigns and national advocacy groups.[9] In 2019, it ranked among the 10 biggest political spenders on the platform.[9]
In 2020, PragerU received $704,057 in COVID-19 relief loans from the Paycheck Protection Program; this debt was later forgiven in full.[29]
School program
By 2015, PragerU developed two partnership programs to promote its views, including religious material, in public and private schools. PragerU's Educator Program, with 3,000 sign-ups reported as of 2015, supplies teachers with lesson plans and study guides that accompany videos. Secondary school teachers and college professors can register their classes through PragerU's Academic Partnership program, which lets students sign up and allows teachers to monitor their students' progress.[44]
In 2023, Florida became the first state to accept PragerU as an official education vendor. They were approved by the Florida Department of Education, who said that PragerU "aligned with the state's revised civics and government standards."[45] The decision allows public school teachers in Florida to incorporate PragerU videos into their classroom materials. Critics warned that the official recognition of PragerU will expose students to the program’s extreme material and expressed concerns about allowing an organization with a track record of disinformation into the curriculum.[33][46]
