(The Lion) — The White House launched the virtual exhibit of The Founders Museum on Tuesday, which features 82 depictions of the American founding.
The exhibit includes 56 portraits of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, 20 key events, and six ladies of the revolution.
“Step into history like never before. Watch America’s Founding Fathers, Ladies of the Revolution and Events that paved the way for Independence come to life,” The White House posts on its America 250 page.
The Trump administration’s White House Task Force 250 partnered with conservative nonprofit PragerU to produce this new museum in celebration of America’s upcoming semiquincentennial.
An onsite exhibit, titled “The Road to Liberty,” opened June 26 inside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, near the White House.
The Founders Museum online offers bios, timelines, videos and downloadable content for viewers to create their own museum. PragerU produced more than 40 AI-generated videos of the founders sharing their own experiences, opinions and contributions.
“These people, places and events come to life, making history engaging to Americans across the country,” the White House told NPR in a statement.
NPR reported concerns regarding the videos’ sourcing, claiming the content “blurs history” with “AI-generated fiction.”
Brendan Gillis, director of teaching and learning for the American Historical Association, told NPR he believed the content focuses on a narrow portion of the era and excludes much of American Revolutionary history.
“I have real concerns about the extent to which they weave together words that are preserved in primary sources from historical figures with other sort of commentary,” Gillis told NPR. “And it’s not always clear [when] the historical figures actually said the words that are coming out of their mouth, or wrote them down, and when this is the work of whoever scripted them.”
PragerU CEO Marissa said the videos present the historical leaders in “the context and standards of their own era,” NPR reported.
“Viewers should understand that the portrayals are careful interpretations – grounded in letters, speeches, and original writings from the period,” Streit told NPR.
For Streit, accurate history is an essential part of education and patriotism.
“This marks another important step in our mission to teach America’s children to love their country and understand its history,” Streit said in a post on X after the D.C. exhibit’s grand opening.
The White House says it has sent letters to state governors and ambassadors encouraging them to put The Founders Museum in their state capitols, schools and embassies, according to NPR.