By Steve Neavling
The FBI’s attempt to honor the 95th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth on Monday backfired on social media because of the bureau’s historical efforts to undermine the civil rights leader’s work during his lifetime.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, the FBI announced that it “honors one of the most prominent leaders of the Civil Rights movement and reaffirms its commitment to Dr. King’s legacy of fairness and equal justice for all.”
But social media users repeatedly noted that the FBI failed to mention its darker history with King.
X added a community note to the post, pointing out that the bureau “engaged in surveillance of King, attempted to discredit him, and used manipulation tactics to influence him to stop organizing.”
The note added that King’s family believes “the FBI was responsible for his death.”
In the past, the FBI has criticized the bureau’s tactics under its former director J. Edgar Hoover.
