PragerU

Submission 17,384

About

Prager University, also known as PragerU, is an American right-wing nonprofit organization that publishes videos on a variety of topics from an American right-wing perspective. Founded in 2009 in part by conservative radio host Dennis Prager, it is not an accredited post-secondary institution nor university, despite the name. It has often been the target of mockery for its aggressive stances on social issues.

History

PragerU^[2] was started in 2009 by Dennis Prager and screenwriter Allen Estrin^[5] as a way to combat what they saw liberal higher-level education undermining conservative views. It is based in San Fernando Valley. The organization is funded by billionaire donations^[4] and spends $10 million a year on production. It spends the majority of its budget on online advertising to promote its videos on social media.

Videos on PragerU present conservative arguments, including defenses of the Electoral College and gun ownership, arguments against the $15 minimum wage and the scientific consensus on climate change, and arguments that "racism, bigotry, xenophobia, homophobia, and Islamophobia" are "meaningless buzzwords," usually from conservative pundits and academics, and businesspeople, with notable speakers including Ben Shapiro and Candace Owens.

Online Presence

PragerU has been called an effective conservative conversion tool by media outlets including the New York Times^[8] and Mother Jones.^[5] Their videos have often been criticized by scholars for presenting misleading information and cherry-picked facts to support their arguments.^[9]^[10]

The organization's YouTube channel has over 2.47 million subscribers^[1] and its videos have been viewed over a billion times.

The organization is also often the target of online mockery. A subreddit dedicated to mocking it, /r/PragerUrine^[3] was created on February 12th, 2018 and gained over 31,000 subscribers.

Censorship Lawsuit

In 2017, PragerU sued Google for demonetizing its videos and forcing them to be viewed in restricted mode. PragerU argued that such demonetizing infringed on their First Amendment rights.^[6] The case was dismissed in 2018 by a judge who said Google was a private company and could demonetize as they wish. The ruling was upheld in 2020 by the U.S. Court of Appeals.^[7]

"The Lockdown Is The Greatest Mistake in the History of Humanity" Tweet

PragerU's "The Lockdown Is The Greatest Mistake in the History of Humanity" Tweet is an image macro series based on an image posted by Prager University featuring PragerU co-founder Dennis Prager and the text "The lockdown is the greatest mistake in the history of humanity," referring to the quarantine and economic shutdown caused by the coronavirus outbreak. These memes include image edit parodies and comments generally expressing the opinion that PragerU's post was hyperbolic.