Martin Luther King's daughter tells Facebook disinformation helped kill civil rights leader

‘These campaigns created an atmosphere for his assassination,’ she says

Disinformation campaigns helped lead to the assassination of Martin Luther King, the daughter of the US civil rights champion said on Thursday.

Her comments came after the head of Facebook said social media should not fact-check political advertisements.

Facebook Inc is under fire for its approach to political advertisements and speech, which CEO Mark Zuckerberg defended on Thursday in a major speech that twice referenced King, known by his initials MLK.

The civil rights leader’s daughter, Bernice King, tweeted that she had heard the speech.

“I’d like to help Facebook better understand the challenges #MLK faced from disinformation campaigns launched by politicians. These campaigns created an atmosphere for his assassination,” she wrote from the handle @BerniceKing.

King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, on 4 April 1968.

Mr Zuckerberg argued that his company should give voice to minority views. He said court protection for free speech stemmed in part from a case involving a partially inaccurate advertisement by King supporters.

The US Supreme Court protected the supporters from a lawsuit.

“People should decide what is credible, not tech companies,” Mr Zuckerberg said.

“We very much appreciate Ms King’s offer to meet with us. Her perspective is invaluable and one we deeply respect,” a Facebook spokesperson said.

“We look forward to continuing this important dialogue with her in Menlo Park next week.”

Reuters