PragerU’s Columbus Video Is Worse Than You Think

How a kids’ cartoon reveals the dangers of white Christian nationalist history.

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A clip from a Prager University animated video for kids is going viral for how bad the so-called history lesson is.

PragerU is a right-wing content mill that pumps out slickly produced explainer videos that have racked up billions of views.

They also have a kids division that uses animated videos to teach history lessons to kids.

In the video posted by Courier Newsroom, two children—Leo and his older sister, Lea—travel back in time to talk to Christopher Columbus.

They tell him he has become a controversial figure 500 years from the time he lived, and one of the kids asks him about slavery.

“Slavery is as old as time, and has taken place in every corner of the world—even among the people I just left. Being taken as a slave is better than being killed, no? I don’t see the problem.”

The comments section exploded with shock and outrage at Columbus’s reply.

I responded to the statement from Columbus on my Instagram page (and what’s with Columbus having blue eyes?)

This Columbus clip is just a sample of PragerU’s right-wing kid propaganda.

History doesn’t just recount the past, it shapes identity.

By indoctrinating children with watered-down, ideologically driven history lessons, they are not only shaping an understanding of the past but an understanding of American identity.

Weird, Right?

There’s more to the PragerU kids video about Columbus.

The framing of the entire episode is linked to the push to recognize Indigenous People’s Day as a holiday instead of Columbus Day.

The two children in the video start out in the present day and their gripes about how confusing the holiday was for them.

Lea-“What’s up with the face? You look stressed.”

Leo-“I’m just doing some research. Was today weird for you?”

Lea- “Yeah. How’d you guess?

Leo- “Columbus Day.

Lea- Or Native American Day. Or Indigenous People’s Day. It’s weird, right?”

Weird.

Is it really so odd that in the 21st century we’d question the glossy origin story and reckon with the violence of Columbus and colonization?

What Columbus Really Said about Indigenous People

The part that got me was the way PragerU had Columbus talk about indigenous people.

He talks about the Taino people he met when he first made landfall.

They were peaceful, curious, and really helpful. I could tell right away that they were highly intelligent. They were even able to quickly mimic everything we said to them. I ordered my men to treat them well.

Well, I looked at the primary source documents, and Columbus clearly had different ideas about the indigenous people he encountered.

During his first voyage, Columbus wrote:

“[The indigenous inhabitants] should be good servants and intelligent, for I observed that they quickly took in what was said to them, and I believe that they would easily be made Christians, as it appeared to me that they had no religion.”

To Columbus and his followers, the people they encountered would make “good servants.”

To Columbus, Indigenous people weren’t equals, they were labor.

Further, in the mind of Columbus and others, indigenous people did not have the sophistication to develop their own religious beliefs.

Instead, they viewed indigenous men and women as blank slates on which Christian missionaries could write the gospel.

Why Did They Specifically Name “Muslims”?

Earlier in the video the PragerU creators go to great lengths to explain that the reason Europeans needed an ocean route to India was because of the “Muslims.”

“The Muslims conquered Constantinople and closed down the Silk Road. They made it impossible to get by land from Europe to Asia, and that opened up the desire and opportunity to figure out a path by the sea.”

Every other people group spoken of in the video is named by their country—Italy, Spain, India, China.

But they make a point of highlighting the religion of the people who controlled the Silk Road and made ocean exploration an economic necessity.

It’s classic example of othering: casting Muslims as Christianity’s enemies

Overthrowing Barbarous Lands

Further along in the video, they mention religion again.

If people in your time want to celebrate me for being perfect, then they are very mistaken. Only my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is perfect, and I hope to spread his teaching to all the lands I find that don’t know his name.”

There it is.

The nod to the Doctrine of Discovery.

In 1493, just a year after Columbus set sail on the “ocean blue”, Pope Alexander VI issued the papal bull, Inter Caetera. In it he wrote,

“…that especially in our times the Catholic faith and the Christian religion be exalted and be everywhere increased and spread, that the health of souls be cared for and the barbarous nations be overthrown and brought to faith itself.”

The letter from the Pope and others like it gave a divine imprimatur to not only explore lands outside of Europe, but conquer them for the sake of evangelization and the glory of Christ.

Judge Not

The lesson for kids in the PragerU video about Columbus is less about history and more about moral relativism.

After their visit to the past, the kids return to the present day and summarize their encounter with the explorer.

Leo- “Maybe he wasn’t a hero, but he sure did some heroic things that are definitely worth celebrating.

Lea- “And a lot of the things we judge him for now were just normal in his time. You never know, Leo. Maybe some of the things we’re told are fine today will be considered evil or crazy in the future.”

So that’s it, kids!

Don’t judge the people of the past too harshly—slavery, colonization, imperialism, conquest for Christ—that was just “normal.”

Who are we to judge them by today’s standards?

Is that really what we ought to be teaching children as we descend into fascism and face the erasure of the past?

That bad stuff shouldn’t be judged harshly if it’s common?

Seems to go against the Christian religion PragerU so proudly touts in their videos.

The Danger of PragerU Is Spreading

Not only have PragerU videos garnered billions of views (197K views of the Columbus video alone), their influence is spreading.

Several states including Alaska, Idaho, South Carolina, Arizona New Hampshire, and more have approved PragerU as an educational resource.

The White House has partnered with PragerU for the Founder’s Museum, an exhibit in Washington D.C.

Why PragerU Doesn’t Belong in the White House

These videos will infiltrate more classrooms—in both public and private schools—and indoctrinate whole generations in a right-wing, revisionist interpretation of history.

The White Christian Nationalist War on History

The spread of PragerU’s teachings is part of the white Christian nationalist war on history.

They are pushing back on historical research that examines the past from the perspectives of the marginalized.

Instead, PragerU favors a mythical history that valorizes the United States as uniquely blessed by God.

A nation that must return to its “Christian” roots and honor a nationalistic version of history to become great again.

What You Can Do

So take action.

Block PragerU on your kids’ devices. Research whether your state or school district has approved such materials. Watch credible documentaries with the young people in your life.

Most importantly, teach your kids the truth about history.

Point them to better resources. Teach them to spot bias. Help them develop digital discernment to defend against indoctrination.

We are living in another moment of historical crisis.

With the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on the horizon, the fight over how America tells its story is intensifying.

Will we confront the nation’s sins with honesty? Or will we once again feed children a mythology that erases the pain of the oppressed in order to preserve the power of the privileged?

I’ve Written Some Books about History For Kids