Moms for Liberty, a self-described “parental rights” organization advocating for the banning of books across the country and strategically harassing school officials, is now partnering with conservative publishing companies to introduce right-wing propaganda into public school libraries. And Fox News and Fox Business are promoting some of these publishers and praising their books.
“Moms for Libraries” is an advocacy campaign of the group aimed at introducing conservative books for kids into public school libraries. Moms for Liberty co-founder Tina Descovich described the campaign as an attempt to get “more balanced books into the hands of kids across the country.” While the goal of the campaign may seem philanthropic, a closer examination of both the campaign and the organization’s advocacy reveals the group’s malicious agenda.
Since initially garnering media attention in 2021, Moms for Liberty has vocally favored censorship of books in public schools that the group or its members deem inappropriate. More often than not, the books it labels “inappropriate” are literature that challenges a world view favoring white supremacy, homophobia, and transphobia. For example, the group has opposed books on the history of racism in America, filing titles such as Martin Luther King Jr. and the March to Washington and Ruby Bridges Goes To School under its “books of concern.” Moms for Liberty has also advocated for the removal of select books with LGBTQ themes, describing the basis for removal as “sexually explicit” content.
While Moms for Liberty advocates for mass censorship, the organization is actively partnering with conservative publishing companies and figures to distribute propaganda into public school libraries. So far, the campaign has already partnered with three right-wing entities — BRAVE Books, Heroes of Liberty, and former Trump official Ben Carson’s foundation American Cornerstone Institute — to introduce conservative propaganda into public school libraries across the country.
BRAVE Books has donated 1,500 books so far, which, the press release stated, “will be shared across the nation, with 167 Moms for Liberty chapters throughout the United States working to donate them to their local elementary schools.” Heroes of Liberty donated 200 books for placement in schools, while American Cornerstone Institute donated 500 copies of Carson’s children’s book Why America Matters.
Although Moms for Liberty and the publishers are promoting these books and the partnership as necessary to protect and teach children, the contents of some of these right-wing publications can be far from innocent; sometimes they discuss the same topics as the banned books, but with a bigoted spin. For example, BRAVE Books has received backlash for its anti-trans children’s book Elephants Are Not Birds, written by far-right commentator Ashley St. Clair, who was previously a brand ambassador of Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA but was removed after pictures surfaced of her with white nationalists and antisemites. Additionally, Heroes of Liberty is set to release a children’s book in May that frames the late conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh as a First Amendment champion.
Fox has given positive coverage to both BRAVE Books and Heroes of Liberty, and some individual authors have also appeared on the network to promote their books.
On April 16, Rep. Michael Waltz (R-FL) spoke on Fox News about his book Dawn of the Brave, which was published by BRAVE Books. Waltz claimed that this book exists because it’s part of a solution to taking “our kids’ education back” and proceeded to reference Disney and school curricula as problems.
Fox Business host Larry Kudlow praised BRAVE Books as taking a “stand against ‘wokeism,’” saying, “One brand new conservative publishing house is taking a stand against the left’s crazy woke influence on American kids, thankfully.”
Trent Talbot, CEO of BRAVE Books, said his idea for the company came after learning about “this whole culture war thing,” citing a pro-trans Nancy Drew book as one of the reasons for creating “an alternative to what the culture is pushing our kids.”