Potential PBS replacement network says slavery was ‘no big deal’ in video

The right-wing media company that may be Trump’s pick to take overtake traditional public broadcasting networks has a video where a cartoon of Christopher Columbus minimizes slavery.

A clip circulating on the web from the right-wing media company PragerU, which the Trump administration has partnered with, suggests that slavery was “no big deal.”

PragerU is a nonprofit media company and right-wing propaganda platform co-founded by conservative talk show host Dennis Prager, who admitted the goal of the programming is to indoctrinate children. In this clip from a PragerU show that was shared by comedian D.L. Hughley on Instagram, a cartoon version of Christopher Columbus downplays and justifies the practice of slavery by saying it’s “as old as time and has taken place in every corner of the world.”

“Being taken as a slave is better than being killed, no?” the clip says. “Before you judge, you must ask yourself, ‘What did the culture and the society of the time treat as no big deal?'”

Despite its look resembling a normal broadcasting channel for kids, the messaging of PragerU’s shows have very specific purposes. Its short, buzzy explainer videos have been called out for denying Native American history, one video on Indigenous Peoples’ Day saying that it is a holiday made to make Americans feel guilt, denying climate change, and being Islamophobic.

Several states, including Alaska, Louisiana, and South Carolina allow for some type of educational partnership with PragerU. Florida was the first state to approve of PragerU content being taught in its public schools in 2023. Its biggest partnership yet, though, is The White House.

On July 24, President Trump signed a bill to cut $1.1 billion in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which includes PBS and NPR among 1,500 other local broadcasters. The next day, PragerU and the Department of Education unveiled an exhibit in The White House’s Founders Museum called “The Road to Liberty,” featuring some AI-generated commentary from the Founding Fathers that referenced conservative rhetoric.

President Trump is especially interested in influencing education and culture in the U.S., similarly targeting the Smithsonian museums in D.C., including the National Museum for African American History and Culture. His “comprehensive review” of the museums “aims to ensure alignment with the President’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions,” according to a letter from The White House.

The National Museum of American History removed its references to Trump’s two first-term impeachments, which led to concerns that The White House forced their removal. The museum said the decision was temporary. But Trump’s review of the Smithsonian museums has also led to the ousting of the National Portrait Gallery director Kim Sajet, who resigned after the president claimed he fired her.