PragerU revealed on Wednesday that the New York Times (NYT) has rejected a paid advertisement from the conservative organization promoting their free immigration course.
PragerU CEO Marissa Streit told Breitbart News, “Their allegations the course ‘promotes the concept of fake news’ and engages in ‘fearmongering’ are unfair, and clearly highlight viewpoint discrimination.”
A PragerU X post on Wednesday shared that the New York Times said the ad “violates their advertising guidelines.”
In a follow-up X post, the organization, founded by Dennis Prager, shared an image of the ad they wanted to run, which was headlined, “Immigration: what’s all the controversy?” before announcing its free “Immigration 101” course featuring one video per day.
“This is the ad the New York Times refused to run,” PragerU said. “Take a look and decide for yourself.”
“According to the NYT, our ad violates their advertising guidelines,” the organization said in a third X post, adding, “Here are the guidelines they cited.”
PragerU shared a screenshot of the email it had received from the New York Times, which claimed the organization’s ad violated guidelines and therefore cannot be accepted due to possibly having been “deemed to be intentionally misleading, inaccurate or fraudulent.”
“This may include but is not limited to: ads that advance baseless claims and/or conspiracies, ads that include inferences, mistruths, or unverified statements,” or ads that “may be gratuitously offensive on the grounds of race, religion, gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation,” the email read.
“So what exactly did they object to? What specifically is ‘intentionally misleading, inaccurate, or fraudulent?’” the organization asked in a follow-up X post.
PragerU then shared another screenshot showing the explanation it had received:
The following language/content doesn’t meet our guidelines:
- “Multiculturism – A Bad Idea?” – offensive on grounds of race/ethnicity
- “The Suicide of Europe” – alarmist and fear mongering
- “Mass Immigration and Media Lies are Destroying the West” – promoting the concept of fake news
Additionally, we reviewed the Critical Immigration Theory video, and it mentions “Defend the US while you still have it,” which is alarmist and fear mongering.
“The best part of this response? It confirms NYT staffers are watching PragerU videos. They should watch more,” the organization added in its post.
“The ad itself doesn’t even take a position. It simply invites readers to explore one of the most debated issues in America and hear a different perspective,” PragerU clarified.
“Since the NY Times really doesn’t want you to see this promotion for our new immigration 101 course – we wanted to make it easy for you,” the organization added, sharing the link to its course in an X post.
“We’re disappointed the New York Times rejected our advertisement for our newest educational opportunity,” Streit told Breitbart News, explaining, “The ad for PragerU’s Immigration 101 course would have been a great way for readers to gain a new perspective.”
“On a positive note, we’re glad to hear the Times team watched our videos and joined the millions of Americans who have learned from PragerU,” Streit added. “It’s unfortunate they deny that same opportunity to their readers.”
Alana Mastrangelo is a reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Facebook and X at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
