OKLAHOMA, USA — PragerU, the conservative advocacy group recently approved to legally distribute its "PragerU Kids" content to Florida schools, has been approved for a second state: Oklahoma.
Oklahoma's superintendent of public instruction, Ryan Walters, announced the state's partnership with PragerU in a statement shared on social media. Walters said he was excited to be teaming with PragerU and that the content would be "fact-based with no left-wing indoctrination."
As The Daily Beast reports, Walters' term as superintendent has been wracked with controversy.
"Since he was sworn into office in January, Walters has likened teachers’ unions to terrorist organizations, claimed schools were being infiltrated by the Chinese government, and has publicly announced himself as an ally to Moms for Liberty—an entity labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center," the article said.
PragerU has been no less controversial. A disclaimer on its website points out that the institution is "not a university, nor do we claim to be." Identifying itself as "the world's leading conservative nonprofit," PragerU makes video content for adults and children that promotes right-wing viewpoints regarding history and current events.
Since Florida's Department of Education approved the use of "PragerU Kids" content for use in schools in July, their videos have been subject to greater scrutiny and backlash.
One clip, an animated segment where two kids meet Frederick Douglass went viral for seeming to downplay the country's institutionalization of slavery, demonize the Black Lives Matter movement, and discourage "radical" social activism.
In another clip, an animated Christopher Columbus informs kids that slavery was no big deal in his time because of how widespread it was and suggests that being taken a slave was "better than being killed."
PragerU has also gotten backlash for videos that deny climate science and defend the use of coal and other fossil fuels. According to Forbes, one of their other videos described George Floyd as "a Black man who resisted arrest."
Forbes also said that YouTube has restricted, demonetized and removed videos on PragerU’s channel, including two anti-trans videos that were removed for violating hate speech policies.
The controversies surrounding PragerU appeared to precede them as some Oklahomans criticized the state's decision to bring their content into schools.
While the use of "PragerU Kids" material will not be required in schools, it will be provided as a supplement to public school lesson materials, and it will be legal for teachers to use in their lessons under Oklahoma law.
Lawmakers in Texas are also considering adopting "PragerU Kids" for public schools, but they have not officially made their decision.