PragerU Challenges Big Tech and SPLC

PragerU is taking a stand against what it sees as an unjust effort to silence its voice by Big Tech and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

According to an email shared with Breitbart News, PragerU claims that Contentful, the company responsible for managing its website, deplatformed them, stating that they “did not meet renewal standards.” This has significant implications for the organization, as they said that the deplatforming affected “the entire website,” requiring several months to rebuild on a new platform.

Feeling the financial strain, PragerU noted that they had spent “hundreds of thousands of dollars” and redirected their technology teams, which, they say, disrupted the development of new features just to remain operational.

After a seven-year partnership, PragerU expressed frustration with Contentful, suggesting that the decision was largely influenced by their values. They also raised concerns that the real reason for the deplatforming relates to their presence on the SPLC’s “Hate Map.”

In an email, PragerU referred to this map as a “political blacklist” created by a group now facing federal charges for fraud and accused of financially supporting the hate groups they publicly oppose. “A billion-dollar tech company has opted to sever ties with us based on this list of political groups,” they stated.

Marissa Streit, the CEO of PragerU, commented on the situation, emphasizing that the Justice Department’s findings about the SPLC validate suspicions about the organization being more of a political entity than a civil rights one. “The ‘hate map’ just catalogs ideas that they want to eliminate,” she argued.

Meanwhile, the Justice Department recently announced it would indict the SPLC on several counts, including wire fraud and false statements, adding complexity to the controversy surrounding the organization.

Recent scrutiny also highlighted allegations that the SPLC paid over $1 million to individuals from white supremacist groups as informants. This comes in the wake of the SPLC’s own statement about becoming “virtually irrelevant.”

During a recent hearing, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) criticized the SPLC for allegedly inciting the very divisions they claim to fight against, pointing to a specific case where they compensated a man linked to a violent event in Charlottesville.

Doug Napier, CEO of 1792 Exchange, echoed this sentiment, urging firms to stop relying on the SPLC’s hate list. He remarked that the SPLC, rather than being a protector, is exacerbating societal issues. Last week, Napier suggested that corporations should cut ties with the SPLC, referencing the FBI’s recent decision to end its relationship with the organization.

PragerU asserted in an email that the tactics used by the SPLC are damaging and divisive, stating, “They target people like you—Americans who believe in free speech and want to instill truth in the next generation.”