The battle over who controls America’s classrooms just hit a new level. With PBS losing hundreds of millions in federal funding, some states are replacing its educational programming with content from PragerU—a conservative media nonprofit known for short, slick videos with a heavy political slant.
Founded in 2009 by talk show host Dennis Prager, PragerU’s content is already in classrooms across Florida, Texas, Oklahoma, and other states. But one video in particular has critics sounding alarms—it claims that slavery, while bad, also benefited enslaved people by “teaching them skills” they could use later in life.
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For many, that framing crosses the line from education into historical distortion. Historians point out that this type of language downplays the brutality and systemic oppression of slavery, while presenting it as partially beneficial. Supporters of PragerU call it an antidote to what they see as overly negative portrayals of American history, arguing it builds “patriotic pride” in students.
The shift comes as the Trump administration promotes PragerU as a “preferred alternative” to PBS, with some schools adopting its videos into official lesson plans. Critics, including civil rights groups and many educators, say this replacement erases historical truth in favor of ideological messaging.
While no teacher is forced to use PragerU content, making it available in schools is still a major cultural shift—especially when it’s replacing PBS programming long trusted for educational quality. The result is a national debate about whether education should be about facts and historical accuracy, or about shaping a certain set of values.
