PragerU: the conservative spearhead in the US culture war

By Etienne Faucher · Aug 22, 2021

This article was originally published in the French media Causeur. You can read it here: www.causeur.fr/prageru-fer-de-lance-conservateur-dans-la-guerre-culturelle-aux-etats-unis-208499

What is the success strategy of this organization, little-known in France, which fights against leftist education on American campuses and the censorship of tech giants? Investigation…

It has become the bête noire of American globalist progressives. With a predominantly young audience, PragerU accumulates nearly 5.5 billion views and three million more each day thanks to its educational content in video format. But today, not without difficulty, Big Tech tries everything to censor them.

An innovative educational project

“What I do is ideological counter-programming in the face of all the media which go in one direction and which qualify any dissident or patriotic opinion as fascist.” What French journalist Éric Zemmour, who might run for president in 2022, claims as his purpose on French TV channel CNEWS is also the leitmotif that permeates the project of this organization. Presenting itself as an online university, PragerU was founded in 2009 by Dennis Prager, a famous talk radio host overseas, and Allen Estrin, a producer and screenwriter. Their program: undo decades of ideological damage created by universities.

Their initial project consisted of creating a physical university, but it required an investment that was too expensive and too time-consuming. With the advent of the Internet that made reaching a much larger audience possible, the idea of ​​creating a digital university flourished in the minds of its founders. It followed an observation beyond dispute after watching online what had already been done educationally by conservatives: rambling and baggy content, delivered by old men talking for an hour in front of a blackboard. Faced with a Gramscian left, over-trained in cultural combat, it would be impossible to attract young people in these conditions. This conclusion will lead to the birth of the concept behind their colossal success.

The reasons behind success

Each video treats in five minutes one subject which is explained by eminent experts in their field, whether they be an academic from Harvard, a professor from MIT, a former prime minister, or a prized journalist.

Why a five-minute video format? “Seven minutes felt too long. Three minutes wasn’t enough. Five minutes is a solid number,” says Allen Estrin. A reasoning that is confirmed by statistics about YouTube, after which viewership drops. PragerU will make of this strategy its slogan: “Give us five minutes and we’ll give you a semester”, which will later become “Free videos. Free minds.” Indeed, as a non-profit organization, PragerU relies entirely on donations, 40% of which come from the viewers themselves.

Many topics are discussed: politics, religion, history, life lessons… Why you should be a nationalist (rather than a globalist)? Why was Napoleon one of the great men who changed the course of history? Why isn’t there a Palestinian state? Why does the left push a victim mentality? How can you be happy?

The expert’s speech is delivered in a scripted format and is illustrated with sophisticated animations and infographics. For each video, this digital university proposes on its website additional resources which include its sources and suggested readings. Furthermore, it produces other content. Among others, street interviews and short documentaries produced by one of their young flagship personalities with a Californian look, Will Witt, and interviews conducted by Candace Owens, a political analyst, presented as an “American version of Marion Maréchal” by the Huffington Post in France.

Last key element of their strategy: an international coalition which brings together students and young professionals, called PragerFORCE. With more than 15,000 members across the globe, PragerFORCE aims at increasing the diffusion of PragerU’s content, connecting young people from all over the world who share the same values, and offering its members the opportunity to participate in seminars. Anyone under the age of 35 can apply on their website.

Media outcry

“Prager University isn’t truly a university and doesn’t have a campus,” denounces the Los Angeles Times which quotes a journalist referring to a “campaign to indoctrinate young people.”

Showered with media critics, PragerU defends its work: how can you indoctrinate somebody in five minutes? Also, indoctrination implies the notion of captivity. Yet, it is on college campuses that censorship hits anyone who voices an opinion that goes against political correctness. Besides, the website specifically says that “Prager University is not an accredited academic institution and does not offer certifications or diplomas. But it is a place where you are free to learn.”

That being said, Dennis Prager asks: “If university means, by definition, you grant degrees and you are accredited by whoever accredits universities to be a degree granting place, then we’re not a university. But is that the only definition? If a university is a place to learn, study, and gain wisdom, then why aren’t we a university?” PragerU seeks to call into question the necessity to invest an exorbitant amount of money to spend several years in left-dominated academic structures.

Big Tech’s assault

“Google and YouTube’s and for that matter Twitter and Facebook’s suppression of Internet content on ideological grounds threatens the future of America more than any external enemy.” These were the words pronounced by Dennis Prager before the American Senate as part of the fight against cancel culture.

Like many patriotic voices in France, PragerU faces censorship and restriction, but also sabotage. Last May, JW Player, the platform that hosted the university’s videos, terminated their contract following pressure from NewsGuard, an American firm which partners with Bill Gates’ multinational Microsoft.

NewsGuard is partly funded by the Knight Foundation, tied up in some projects with George Soros’ Open Society, and by Publicis, a French multinational advertising company whose main shareholders now include the investment firm BlackRock. On August 3, Publicis announced a partnership with Tik Tok, the short-form video app accused of transferring the data of its users to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and of having banned PragerU from its platform.

NewsGuard also operates in France. Their official mission is to “fight against disinformation”. On its advisory board, the company includes members from the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations, such as General Hayden, former director of the CIA and the NSA, who compared Trump’s immigration policy to the Holocaust. Marissa Streit, CEO of PragerU, deems people at NewsGuard constitute no less than an oligarchy of self-proclaimed arbiters of truth.

But the university is not planning on backing down and fully intends to keep fighting censorship. Their lawsuits against Google and YouTube, though unsuccessful at first trial, resounded throughout the United States. Now, besides studying other avenues of action, they invite us to sign their petition on their website. PragerU remains confident: “They will never be able to silence us and to prevent us from growing.”