Prager University Foundation, commonly styled as PragerU, is an educational advocacy organization that provides online content and publications regarding right-of-center advocacy on current events as well as additional educational materials. According to its website, PragerU argues for promoting “American values through the creative use of digital media, technology and edu-tainment.” ^{1 2}

PragerU has been previously criticized for allegedly promoting “far-right propaganda” such as “pushing false narratives about climate change and…the brutal reality of American slavery.” ^{3 4}

Background

Prager University Foundation is an educational advocacy group founded in 2009 by Dennis Prager and Allen Estrin. It publishes and provides educational content to push against what it describes as a “dominant left-wing ideology in culture, media, and education.” ³

PragerU releases free educational videos and publishes educational materials for students from kindergarten to 12th grade that support “historical and present day figures,” current events, “American Values,” and civics. ¹ PragerU also argues that the Ten Commandments are a “cornerstone of American society” and should serve as “as a representation of a society committed to justice and morality.” ⁵

Activities

2017 Lawsuit Against YouTube

In October 2017, PragerU filed a lawsuit against YouTube’s parent company and Alphabet subsidiary, Google. The lawsuit accused YouTube of violating PragerU’s right to free speech through its restricted content filtering. In its filing, the group argued, “Google/YouTube use their restricted mode filtering not to protect younger or sensitive viewers from ‘inappropriate’ video content, but as a political gag mechanism to silence PragerU” while calling the company’s censorship policies “absurd, arbitrary, capricious, and devoid of any rational basis.” ⁶ In response to the lawsuit, PragerU founder Dennis Prager wrote, “We believe they are engaging in an arbitrary and capricious use of their ‘restricted mode’ and ‘demonetization’ to restrict conservative political thought.” ⁶

In March 2018, U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh dismissed the lawsuit, stating that the age restrictions used to censor PragerU’s videos were not a violation of the First Amendment as its content was censored by a private company instead of a public entity. In a statement, YouTube responded to allegations of political bias in its censorship of PragerU’s videos by claiming it did not censor it based on “politics or ideology,” as reported by The Hill. ⁷

Funding

Prager University Foundation received initial funding from natural gas billionaires Dan and Farris Wilks, who were also reported to have provided $8 million in funding to PragerU between 2013 and 2023. It has also received funding from the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, the National Christian Charitable Foundation, and the Richard and Betsy DeVos Foundation. As of 2019, over 40 percent of PragerU’s revenue derived from independent online donors. ^4 8

Advertising Spending

Prager University Foundation’s top disbursements to independent contractors in 2024 include $11.6 million to Meta (listed as Facebook), $10.5 million to Google, $1.5 Million to X Corporation (formerly Twitter), and $1.4 million to EKF Promotions. ⁹ It spent a total of $29.4 million on advertising in 2024. ¹⁰ PragerU also reported that it did not receive any government grants in 2024. ¹¹

In 2019, PragerU was reported as being among the ten highest political spenders on Facebook advertising that year. ⁸

Leadership

Dennis Prager and Allen Estrin are the co-founders of the Prager University Foundation. ^{12 13}

Dennis Prager is also a radio talk show host, author, and a fellow at Columbia University’s School of International Affairs. He was previously appointed to the U.S. Delegation to the Vienna Review Conference on the Helsinki Accords by then-President Ronald Regan and to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council by then-President George W. Bush. ¹²

Allen Estrin is also the executive producer of The Dennis Prager Show radio talk show. He previously worked as a writer for several Emmy-winning TV shows, has written publications on film history, worked on educational and corporate videos, and directed the 2002 documentary “Israel in a Time of Terror.” He also teaches courses on screenwriting at the American Film Institute. ¹³

Financials

According to its 2024 990 form, the Prager University Foundation reported a revenue of $69,710,136, expenses of $68,504,503, and total assets of $101,790,093. ¹⁴

1. “About.” PragerU, accessed September 18, 2025. https://www.prageru.com/about
2. “Frequently Asked Questions.” PragerU, accessed September 18, 2025. https://www.prageru.com/faq 
3. “PragerU.” Southern Poverty Law Center. Accessed September 14, 2025. https://www.splcenter.org/resources/extremist-files/prageru/.
4. Stone, Peter. “US ‘university’ spreads climate lies and receives millions from rightwing donors.” The Guardian. September 6, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/sep/06/prageru-climate-change-denier-republican-donors?_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_3p8bKf9VdT8sxHTJdDgIo7Jiqvqn5DH7TExiapgT96jQjWtkx7RyPuI0W6SmqtTzCvJgQ
5. “Honor the Ten Commandments.” PragerU, accessed September 18, 2025. https://www.prageru.com/honor-the-ten-commandments
6. Mullin, Joe. “PragerU sues YouTube, says it censors conservative videos.” arsTechnica. October 25, 2017. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2017/10/prageru-sues-youtube-says-it-censors-conservative-videos/.
7. Neidig, Harper. “Judge dismisses lawsuit alleging Google censorship of conservative YouTube videos.” The Hill. March 27, 2018. https://thehill.com/policy/technology/380455-judge-dismisses-lawsuit-alleging-google-censorship-of-conservative-youtube/.
8. Halper, Evan. “How a Los Angeles-based conservative became one of the internet’s biggest sensations.” LA Times. August 22, 2019. https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2019-08-22/dennis-prager-university-conservative-internet-sensation.
9. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Prager University Foundation. 2024. Part VII, Section B. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/271763901/202510929349301131/full
10. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Prager University Foundation. 2024. Part IX. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/271763901/202510929349301131/full
11. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Prager University Foundation. 2024. Part VIII, Line 1e. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/271763901/202510929349301131/full
12. “Dennis Prager.” PragerU, accessed September 18, 2025. https://www.prageru.com/presenters/dennis-prager
13. “Allen Estrin.” PragerU, accessed September 18, 2025. https://www.prageru.com/presenters/allen-estrin
14. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Prager University Foundation. 2024. Part I. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/271763901/202510929349301131/full