Background/ Themes
Martinlutherking.org is a hate site that deceivingly appears to contain historical information about Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement. It targets both African Americans and Jews.
The website contains seven main sections that include “Historical Writings,” “Truth About King,” “Death of the Dream,” “the King Holiday,” “Civil Rights Library,” “Jews & Civil Rights,” and “Suggested Books.”
The “Historical Writings” section sends the browser to a page titled “The Martin Luther King Jr. Plagiarism page” that gives alleged examples of King’s plagiarism.
The “Truth About King” section opens a page titled “The Beast as a Saint: The Truth About Martin Luther King, Jr.” Below the title is an essay charging that Dr. King held Communist beliefs and connections. The essay maintains that, “King used SCLC [Southern Christian Leadership Conference] funds to pay for liquor, and numerous prostitutes both Black and White, who were brought to his hotel rooms, often two at a time, for drunken sex parties which sometimes lasted for several days. These types of activities were the norm for King's speaking and organizing tours.”
In the “Death of the Dream” section, the webpage claims that the night before his death, Dr. King had “sex with three white women, one of whom he brutally beat while screaming.”
The sectioned titled “Jews & Civil Rights” focuses on Jews. The section is an excerpt from David Duke’s book “My Awakening.” Duke, a white nationalist, is a former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. According to the site, “the chapter sheds light on many aspect of the so-called ‘civil rights’ movement that have never been seen.”
Ownership
Martinlutherking.org is owned and maintained by stormfront.org, a white nationalist neo-Nazi Internet forum. This ownership is displayed on the bottom of the page.
Scope
Through deception and misinformation, martinlutherking.org is able to reach a wide audience. Most people are not familiar with the site’s owners Stormfront, so they do not initially dismiss the site. Moreover, when young audiences view the site, they may be deceived into reading the site’s information as factual.
