Today in my university 111 class our instructor took us to the library to learn about the resources that it can offer us. It was a very helpful class, they showed us how to find what we needed and gave us a tour of the rooms that we could use for projects and studying. We then headed to the computer lab so that we could learn how to use the system. At this point our instructor brought up a site as an example. The site was martinlutherking.org, which is supposed to be a informational site about Dr. Martin Luther King jr. He then proceeded to show us how the site was entirely inaccurate and misleading. The point of his presentation was to show us that anyone can put information on the internet and that you need to be careful about what sites you use to do your research.
At first the site presented itself well and it seemed like an accurate source of information. However when you start to read the links and quotes on the home page it is obvious that it is not. The site presents itself positively and seems reliable. The home page is very organized and attractive. There are links that organize the information and there are quotes. A couple of the links seem to be normal but there are a couple that do not fit in and seem to be racist. The links Historical writings, The truth about king, The kind holiday, civil rights library and suggested books seem normal but the information on them are most likely inaccurate. The links Death of the dream and Jews and civil rights seem very racist and inaccurate. Under the link Jews and civil rights it states the jewish people are the most violent and believe that anyone not of the jewish religion is inferior and cannot live in Israel. On the link “ Death of the dream” it says that when Dr. King was assassinated he was having sexual relations with four separate Caucasian woman and physically beating them. It also says that Dr. King used the churches money for prostitution services then beat the woman. All of this information portrays the creator of the site as a very racist and angry person.
It is obvious that this site is completely inaccurate and racist. I knew that you cannot trust the internet and that most of the sources that people use to do there research are inaccurate. Many sites that you visit will seem accurate and the people that designed them are very sneaky. At first glance this site seems to be reliable but after reading the quotes and links it is evident that it is not. On the home page there is a quote that says the FBI bugged DR. Kings hotel room and recorded him saying that “ he is f-ing for God and that he is not a negro tonight.” These quotes are extremely unreliable and disturbing.
What I learned from our instructors presentation is that the internet is easily accessed and anyone has the right to post whatever they want. When doing research you must be careful where you get your information and who you trust. The presentation was very helpful and I will be very strict on where I get my information from off the internet for now on.
You can view the site at martinlutherkingjr.org
You can view the site at martinlutherkingjr.org
