BACKGROUNDER: PragerU’s Ties to White Supremacy, Horrific Anti-LGBTQ Record
PragerU has long history of publishing anti-LGBTQ content
PragerU falsely claims President Trump did not describe neo-Nazis as “very fine people”
NEW YORK – GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, today released the following background document on digital media non-profit PragerU. PragerU releases short videos on their site, app, and via YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Last week, the nonprofit organization was in the news for being home to an interview with TV host and actor Mario Lopez on The Candace Owens Show in which Owens asked Lopez about parents supporting their transgender children, referring to it as a “weird trend.”
This week, following the tragedies in El Paso, TX and Dayton, OH, PragerU published a new video falsely claiming President Trump did not use the “very fine people” phrase to describe white nationalists at the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in which one person was killed.
“Context needs to be provided to the media and all Americans about PragerU and the organization’s destructive rhetoric, which includes attacking people of color and LGBTQ Americans while defending the rise of white nationalism in the United States,” said Zeke Stokes, Chief Programs Officer for GLAAD. “This so-called university is nothing more than a think tank for hate.”
According to GLAAD’s research, PragerU has dedicated content aimed at attacking people of color, the Islam religion, and the LGBTQ community. Further, PragerU has conducted interviews with many controversial public figures who are often hailed by the white supremacist movement, including Sebastian Gorka and Steve Bannon – former senior officials within the Trump Administration.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION: PragerU’s Anti-LGBTQ Record
— In a video titled “Dangerous People Are Teaching Your Kids,” contributor Jordan Peterson includes the idea “that all sex differences are socially constructed” and “fabricated gender pronouns” among the supposedly evil ideas being taught in schools today. At another part he mocks the book for “pretty much telling you that trans is great.”
— Contributor Abigail Shrier produced a video insisting that trans rights and specifically pronoun usage is “totalitarian thinking” and an attempt to “control people’s thoughts”.
— Contributor Will Witt insisted that trans athletes are “destroying the quality that feminists are fighting for.”
— On PragerU’s The Candace Owens Show, Contributor Abigail Shrier insisted that transgender is a changeable state that people outgrow.
— Contributor Ashley McGuire insisted that trans athletes in sports like mixed martial arts means that “It’s now okay for a man to hit a woman”.
— Tweeted the skewed far-right talking point that “A massive number of those who undergo transgender surgery contemplate suicide.”
— Tweeted insistence that US military members are largely supportive of trans ban: “Leftists on social media may hate Trump’s proposed trans ban, but you know who doesn’t? U.S. generals and admirals.” (*Basing this on a skewed story from the right wing Washington Times)
— On PragerU’s The Candace Owens Show, the host and guest Michael Knowles equated being trans with being schizophrenic and insisted that trans rights are all an attempt to rejectreality.
— Insisted the pro-LGBTQ Southern Poverty Law Center “foments hate.”
confusion” as “in some ways the scariest of all” on his list of nine supposed things “leftists” have destroyed.
— Tweeted: “First you think: Sex = Gender.Then you’re taught: Sex is biological; Gender is socially-constructed, non-binary and/or fluid. And ultimately you understand: There’s a variety of personalities and forms of expression—but there are only two genders.”
— Mocked Elizabeth Warren for her plan to reimburse same-sexcouples who were married before the Supreme Court’s marriage decisions, calling it “gay reparations.”
— On The Candace Owens Show, the host and her guest, hip hop artist Zuby, mocked trans rights by recounting the guest’s entering into a women’s lifting completion to make a transphobic point about trans athletes.
— Contributor Will Witt attacked feminist, inclusive children’s books, asking at one point, “what is this supposed to be about, transgender rights? The baby’s not choosing their own gender? It’s a baby! What does a baby know about gender confusion?”
— Denied that Family Research Council, one of the most viciously anti-LGBTQ special interests in American history, should be designated a hate group.
— Produced a short video implying that “the left” is going to start a second Civil War.
HRC MOURNS KIKI FANTROY, A BLACK TRANSGENDER WOMAN KILLED IN FLORIDA: Tragically, Fantroy’s death is the 13th known case of deadly violence against the transgender community in 2019. All of the victims were Black transgender women. More from HRC.
Fantroy’s death in Miami comes as a national spotlight is focused on the ongoing epidemic of gun violence in the U.S. In the last 10 days, communities in Gilroy, California; El Paso, Texas; and Dayton, Ohio have been devastated by mass shootings. More from HRC.
Alicia Love, a transgender woman, was assaulted and robbed at a D.C. gas station after leaving work. The hate-bias attacked against her on Aug. 2 became the 8th incident of violence against one or more LGBTQ people in the D.C. area since the June 13 murder of Zoe Spears, a transwoman, in Fairmount Heights, Md. More from Washington Blade.
REDRAWN DISTRICTS IN VIRGINIA PRESENT CHALLENGE TO REPUBLICANS IN NOVEMBER & A CHANCE TO HIGHLIGHT PRO-EQUALITY ISSUES: HRC plans to target 11,000 district voters in Virginia who support LGBTQ rights, HRC National Press Secretary for Campaigns Lucas Acosta (@LucasRAcosta) tells reporter Laura Vozzella (@LVozzella). More from The Washington Post.
TUESDAY TWEET — FORMER NAVY SEC URGES PENTAGON TO UPDATE POLICIES TO ALLOW MEMBERS LIVING WITH HIV TO SERVE FULLY: “The current deployment restrictions lack scientific support, perpetuate HIV-related stigma and saddle these members with rejection and discrimination,” writes Ray Mabus (@SECNAV75), secretary of the Navy from 2009 to 2017. Read the full oped in The Washington Post.
Opinion: Discriminating against HIV-positive military members is unproductive for our military t.co/iqvN2Ir1cS
ALWAYS HOT, NEVER ICED — VOX DIVES INTO THE RISE OF SARAH MCBRIDE’S POLITICAL CAREER: “Anyone who knows me knows that my love of Delaware is absolute,” McBride (@SarahEMcBride) told Vox’s Katelyn Burns (@transscribe). “Particularly in this moment with so much gridlock in Washington, D.C., the decisions that impact people the most, and the opportunity for change, it’s at the state level. It’s in the state legislatures.” More from Vox.
It is such a thrill to profile @SarahEMcBride for @voxdotcom after she announced her candidacy for Delaware State Senate several weeks ago.
“Sarah McBride thought coming out would kill her political career. She’s just getting started.”t.co/LOiWV0B04z
SEVEN WAYS TO WELCOME LGBTQ FAMILIES AS STUDENTS HEAD BACK TO SCHOOL: When young people have their unique family structures represented in school curriculum — through books, images and lessons — it leads to a feeling of connectedness in school, improves academic performance and creates an environment of emotional safety. More from HRC.
THREE SUSPECTS ARRESTED IN HATE-MOTIVATED MURDER OF GAY GEORGIA MAN: DeKalb County police announced the arrests in connection with the June 4 shooting of Ronald “Trey” Peters, a 28-year old social worker in Decatur. More from NewNowNext.
LAS VEGAS EDUCATION PROGRAM OFFERS HELP TO PARENTS, LGBTQ YOUTH: “We want to be able to provide not only education and support, but we want to provide community,” said Holly Reese, engagement manager for The LGBTQ Center of Southern Nevada (@TheCenterLV). More from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
GLOBAL EQUALITY NEWS
AMID PROTESTS, INDIA LEGISLATURE PASSES BILL TO EMPOWER TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY: More from The Wire.
RUSSIAN LGBTQ ACTIVISTS DETAINED AT ST. PETERSBURG PRIDE EVENT: The detentions follow the gruesome killing of LGBTQ activist Yelena Grigoryeva. More from The Moscow Times.
URUGUAY SHOWS SUPPORT FOR TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY, BLOCKS REFERENDUM UNDERMINING TRANS RIGHTS: More from Voice of America.
READING RAINBOW – Bookmark now to read on your lunch break! The Hollywood Reporter shares that Victoria’s Secret hired Valentina Sampaio (@Valenttsoficial) as its first transgender model; The College Fix on the Brown University library’s extensive collection of LGBTQ pulp fiction.
Teen Threatens YouTube HQ with Gun Photo After She Gets Axed for Anti-Gay Videos
YouTube terminated the account of a 14-year-old star million-follower named Soph after she posted her latest anti-gayvideo. Then she tweeted a photo of herself with a gun with the caption “YouTube headquarters here I come.”
Buzzfeed News reports: ‘In the video, a 12-minute anti-gay rant titled “Pride and Prejudice,” Soph encourages her followers to “make sure to blame me in your manifestos” — a direct reference to the kind of document posted to 8chan by the Christchurch shooter who killed 51 people in March. On Saturday, the El Paso shooting suspect would also publish a manifesto to 8chan before killing 22 people.’
In one video, in which she wore a hijab, she said, “I’ve become a devout follower of the Prophet Muhammad. Suffice to say, I’ve been having a fuck ton of fun. Of course, I get raped by my 40-year-old husband every so often and I have to worship a black cube to indirectly please an ancient Canaanite god — but at least I get to go to San Fran and stone the sh*t out of some gays, and the cops can’t do anything about it because California is a crypto-caliphate.”
Buzzfeed News adds that it was not the first strike for Soph. She had earlier threatened to murder YouTube’s CEO Susan Wojcicki.
PRESS F TO PAY RESPECTS
[give @TeamYouTube a hard time about it if you can]
Buzzfeed adds: ‘After her channel was taken down, Soph tweeted an image of herself with what appears to be an assault rifle, with the caption “youtube headquarters here I come.” She later removed the tweet. “Gun tweet obviosly a joke,” she wrote in a follow-up tweet.’
gun tweet obviosly a joke. BTW i have a BTC and a BCH wallets. GoDoN8
In sociologist Jennifer Silva’s first book, “Coming Up Short,” she interviewed working-class young adults in Lowell, Mass., and Richmond, Virginia.
Most had a tough time earning decent wages. Many felt like they were in a perpetual state of limbo, unable to reach the traditional markers of adulthood: job, marriage, house, and kids. But Silva was surprised to learn that many blamed themselves for their situations and believed that relying on others could only result in disappointment.
After the book was published, it bothered Silva that she never pressed her subjects further on their politics to see how they might be connected to their worldview.
Beginning in May 2015, Silva started conducting interviews in a once-thriving coal town in central Pennsylvania, which she calls “Coal Brook.” The timing was prescient: A month after she began her research, Donald Trump descended the escalator at Trump Tower and announced his candidacy for president.
Silva spent over a year interviewing townspeople. She gained their trust, forged relationships, and spent time in their homes and at community meetings. After years of declining prospects under both political parties, some of the townspeople she interviewed were drawn to Trump’s anti-establishment message. But for most, their politics had devolved into an abyss of cynicism that couldn’t even be penetrated by a politician who promised to “fix” everything.
In an interview, which has been edited for length and clarity, Silva describes a community that is racially diverse, hardworking and politically aware. But its residents are also deeply distrustful and shoulder immense amounts of pain and alienation.
Can you talk a little bit about what inspired you to study working-class Americans?
I was the first person in my family to graduate from college, and I experienced some self-doubt and discomfort when I tried to integrate into the world of academia.
In my position between two worlds – growing up with more working-class roots, and then building a professional middle-class life – I would cringe whenever I saw upper middle-class people treat working-class people with casual condescension or indifference. It sometimes seemed like the very colleagues who most loudly proclaimed their commitment to social justice were the ones treating the administrative assistant like their personal secretary or complaining about the cost of their housekeeper. It made me really skeptical of whether people’s stated political beliefs were even a good predictor of how they treat people with less power and status.
What was the hardest part of the research?
Getting people to open up to me. I wasn’t from the area. This is the kind of place where if you knock on someone’s door, they’re not going to let you in. I started off talking to white people. I’d go to football games and addiction meetings to try to meet people, and I was able to get to be known as “so-and-so’s friend.” Then I realized I wanted to have a non-white group in my book, because there’s been an increase in Latino and black people in the area. So I had to find out how to get this population to trust me, because the white population and the minority population don’t overlap very much.
You spent months conducting interviews. Then the election happened, and Trump won. All of a sudden, there was a lot of interest in the very sort of community you had just spent time in. What’s your take on the ensuing media coverage of these small towns?
It seemed like there was one dominant story: older white men, angry and in pain, were feeling bad about not having jobs and blaming racial minorities or foreigners.
And an element of that certainly emerged in my research. But the overall picture was just so much more complex. One of the things that was very striking to me was how much distrust there was. Among everyone I interviewed – white, Latino, and black – there was a fierce distrust and hatred of politicians, a suspicion that politicians and big business were basically working together to take away the American Dream. Everyone was very critical of inequality.
So it wasn’t this idea of “dumb white people voting for billionaires because they don’t understand it’s against their interests.” Almost everyone was aware that the system is rigged against poor people. They blamed politicians for refusing to raise wages to a level people can live on. Many wanted higher taxes to support education. I heard a lot of that, across all of the different groups, and I didn’t read a lot of that in the articles about these communities.
You interviewed 108 people and only 37 of them actually voted, with 26 voting for Trump. Of the 41 black or Latino people you spoke with, only four voted. So to me, one of the major stories wasn’t necessarily support for Trump. It was a refusal to participate in politics altogether.
Two-thirds of the sample were nonvoters. They knew the election was happening but they just viewed political participation as pointless. They thought of it as a joke. And they said, “Look at what’s happened in my lifetime, it doesn’t really matter who’s been president.”
One of the critiques I heard a lot was that everything’s about money now. If you have money, your life is good. You can buy anything. But if you don’t have money, the system is stacked against you. I heard that from old white men. I heard that from young black women. And it was interesting, because it’s not untrue, right? If you kill someone and you’re rich you’re more likely to get off.
So I think for them it was almost like, “Well, if we participate, we’re just playing along and pretending. But we’re not naive. We know already that politicians are bought off by corporations. No one actually cares about us.”
There’s that great story in the book where you showed up to an interview wearing your “I voted” sticker.
He laughed at me! Like, “Why would you vote? Are you crazy?”
And yet of those who voted, Trump did emerge as the clear favorite.
Well, Trump and Bernie Sanders. But Sanders wasn’t an option in the end. The general take on Trump was, “We like Trump’s personality, we like his aggressiveness, we like how he doesn’t care about the rules.” And then they liked Bernie Sanders for his authenticity and his heart. But for many who even ended up voting for Trump, they still didn’t think it would matter if they voted.
Where does this disillusionment come from?
There’s a sense of betrayal by a number of social institutions – education, the workplace, the military – all of these things that they thought they could trust, but, for one reason or another, ended up disappointing them.
So they turned inward. No one was really looking for external collective strategies changing the world. Many wanted to simply prove that they didn’t have to rely on other people. There was this sense that any kind of redemption is only going to come out of your own efforts. And then you’ll see some blame other people who don’t seem to support themselves.
Before and after the 2016 election, J.D. Vance, with the publication of his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” was held up in the mainstream media as an oracle for dispossessed rural Americans. But in your book, you vehemently disagree with his worldview.
Vance seemed to look at other people in his community and think that the reason they were suffering was because of their own choices – that they weren’t really strong enough to face the truth about themselves, that they had to stop blaming the government and corporations and actually take responsibility.
And that just wasn’t the story that I heard. I heard a lot of self-blame and a lot of people who wanted to take responsibility for their own fate. There was a lot of soul searching and a lot of pain. Vance makes it seem like everyone just needs to be like him – a lone hero who escapes his difficult past on his own. It’s not that simple or easy.
Can the pain people feel be used as a bridge to bring people together? That’s how I end my book. And I saw signs of it. Families suffering from addiction were coming together and wondering, how can we change the ways that doctors prescribe medicine? Or how can we challenge pharmaceutical companies to stop making these medications that get our children addicted? Can we get the police to stop arresting addicts instead of helping them?
That sounds like the stirrings of political mobilization. But what’s the biggest obstacle that’s preventing working class voters from organizing en masse?
I think that it’s the absence of what you could call “mediating institutions.” The people in my book have a lot of critical and smart ideas. But they don’t have a lot of ways to actually connect their individual voices. So they don’t have a church group or a club that they would join that would then give them political tools or a louder voice. And I don’t even know if they would join one if these did exist, because of their distrust of institutions. So it just ends up being turned inward rather than outward.
Within academia, what are some of the most common misconceptions you encounter when it comes to working-class politics?
I have heard some liberal academics talk about how self-defeating and misinformed working-class white people are. They seem to believe that if these people just knew the facts, they would change their votes immediately. Or they dismiss all working-class white people as angry and racist.
The working-class people I met were often radically critical of inequality and deeply skeptical about whether we live in a meritocracy. It was important to me to show that the people in my book of all races are creative and thoughtful – that they arrive at their positions by piecing together their histories and experiences in meaningful ways.
Sometimes these ways are destructive and divisive, and sometimes they have the potential to be transformative and healing.
