This video from Zoe Bee is an important update on the state of right-wing propaganda. I’m assuming that by now most people are aware of who and what Prager U is, but it’s easy to dismiss them for the occasional take that goes viral for how extremist or dishonest it is. Unfortunately, as with so much else in right-wing politics, they’re playing a long game. It’s easier for them, because as the video describes, they’re extremely well funded. They can literally afford the play the long game, because they are working for those who’re already at the top. They “win” if they die filthy rich, and they know their kids and grandkids will be fine, as long as they do their part now to head off any future political change.

I would quibble with some of what the quoted researchers characterize as “radical” vs “mainstream” within the general conservative movement (Ginni Thomas seems pretty radical to me), but I think it’s actually a distinction worth drawing; not because the mainstream GOP isn’t radical, but because they’re not treated as radical.  What Prager U is working to do, along with lying about history, is to normalize open fascism. The mix of mainstream and fringe, politician and pundit, academic and firebrand, serves to present all of them as equally valid in the eyes of viewers who might have come in for a cute cartoon about something non-controversial.

Make no mistake – Prager U is dangerous to any chance at a better world. Their dream for the United States won’t just make life hell for the working class of that country – they want the U.S. as a capitalist Christian hegemon in perpetuity, with all of humanity playing their role in the games our ruling class decide to play.