PFAW was founded by the television producer Norman Lear in opposition to the publicized agenda of the Moral Majority, a prominent and influential American political organization associated with the Christian right.

[8] Officially incorporated on September 4, 1980,[1] its co-founders included Democratic Congresswoman Barbara Jordan, University of Notre Dame President Theodore Hesburgh and Time Inc. chairman and CEO Andrew Heiskell.

[23][24] The web site was founded in 2007, expanding on PFAW's earlier practice of VHS recording clips from television programs such as Pat Robertson's 700 Club, for distribution to news media.

[27][28] In 2018, Salon.com and The Daily Telegraph credited Jared Holt, a Right Wing Watch researcher, for causing the removal of Alex Jones's InfoWars program from multiple content distribution sites, including Apple, Inc, YouTube, Facebook, and Spotify.

[36] Members of the group's board of directors include Cristela Alonzo, Alec Baldwin, Seth MacFarlane, Joel Madden, Bertis Downs IV, Dolores Huerta, Josh Sapan, Howie Klein, Alyssa Milano, David Saperstein, Margery Tabankin, Reg Weaver, and Carrie Mae Weems.