WASHINGTON, D.C. — The White House has partnered with conservative media outlet PragerU to launch a “Founders Museum” exhibit as part of the nation’s 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. The exhibit, which debuted in June 2025 and was supported by the Department of Education, features AI-generated videos depicting figures from the American Revolutionary War era.
PragerU, founded in 2009 as a conservative digital education platform, has become influential through its videos claiming to deliver “accurate, fair, and accessible” American history content, boasting over 11 billion views to date. The organization does not operate as an accredited academic institution but has increasingly engaged in shaping historical narratives, including through this high-profile White House collaboration.
The exhibit is part of the broader “America 250” initiative commemorating the nation’s founding, and PragerU CEO Marissa Streit emphasized the accessible reach of the project, which will be extended through virtual platforms beyond the physical exhibit space. Streit credited the Trump administration’s choice of PragerU for their proven ability to engage and educate nationwide audiences on foundational American stories.
However, the partnership and the content of the exhibit have ignited substantial criticism from historians, educators, and social justice advocates. Critics assert that PragerU’s portrayal of early American history oversimplifies complex historical realities, reducing them to partisan narratives that largely exalt the Founding Fathers while downplaying or ignoring the experiences of marginalized groups such as racial minorities, women, and LGBTQ+ individuals.
These concerns have been voiced publicly by scholars and commentators like Jemar Tisby, who argue that the exhibit reflects a broader white Christian nationalist trend rewriting American history into a mythologized version rooted in nationalist and religious themes. Tisby and others warn that these narratives erase the nation’s historical injustices and promote a sanitized version of the past, framing systemic inequalities as cultural deficiencies and minimizing issues like indigenous dispossession and slavery.
PragerU’s history of controversial content has amplified these worries. It has been accused of promoting politically charged and potentially misleading perspectives, including contentious stances on social issues and historical interpretation. Detractors highlight how providing the White House platform to PragerU lends an official imprimatur to their ideological approach rather than objective historical scholarship.
Additionally, the use of artificial intelligence to generate videos of historical figures has raised questions about the blurring of historical fact and creative fiction in educational materials. While AI-generated content can engage audiences in immersive ways, experts caution against the risk of presenting dramatized, potentially inaccurate portrayals as educational truth.
Supporters of the exhibit contend that presenting history through engaging digital media, including AI, helps make foundational American history accessible to younger and broader audiences, reinforcing national pride ahead of the country’s semiquincentennial. They also note that PragerU’s role extends the reach of educational programming beyond traditional museum visitors.
The debate over the White House’s partnership with PragerU on the “Founders Museum” thus encapsulates wider cultural clashes over how America’s past is remembered and taught. Critics urge a more nuanced, inclusive approach to history that confronts uncomfortable truths alongside celebration, while supporters emphasize the importance of patriotic education framing Founders as moral exemplars.
As the nation proceeds toward the 250th anniversary celebrations, the tension between differing historical narratives remains a significant public discussion, with the fate of educational content, including the role of AI and ideological viewpoints, continuing to be hotly contested.