Trump social media post about marching with MLK Jr. is fabricated | Fact check

The claim: Image shows post by Trump saying he marched with Martin Luther King Jr.

A Jan. 15 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows what appears to be a Truth Social post by former President Donald Trump in which he mentions Martin Luther King Jr.

"Unlike Martin Luther King, Crooked Joe Biden and Deranged Jack Smith are persecuting me just because I put America first," the post reads. "I marched with King and he didn't mind that I was white."

The post garnered more than 10,000 likes in two weeks. Similar versions of the claim were shared on Instagram, Facebook and X, formerly Twitter.

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Our rating: Altered

The post is digitally fabricated. There's no evidence of such a post on any of Trump's social media accounts.

No such MLK post on Trump's social media

Though the phrases "crooked Joe Biden" and "deranged Jack Smith" appear in a Dec. 25, 2023, post on Trump's Truth Social account, the supposed post mentioning King does not.

Nor does the post referencing the president, King and special counsel Jack Smith appear in the digital archives of Trump's account. The text in the supposed post is larger and centered rather than left-aligned like other posts on the platform, and faint white text can be seen in the image's background, suggesting the wording was digitally overlaid.

There is no record of Trump making such a statement in any of his speeches about King, and there aren't any credible reports of him claiming to have met the civil rights leader.

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Trump was a 21-year-old college student in 1968 when King was assassinated.

USA TODAY reached out to a spokesperson for Trump but did not immediately receive a response. The user who shared the post couldn't be reached for comment.

AFP and Reuters also debunked the claim.

Our fact-check sources:

• Donald Trump, accessed Jan. 29, Truth Social page

• Donald Trump, Jan. 15, Truth Social page (web archive)

• The White House, accessed Jan. 29, Donald Trump

• The White House Archives, Jan. 15, 2021, Proclamation on Martin Luther King, Jr., Federal Holiday, 2021

• Britannica, Jan. 22, Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump post about marching with MLK Jr. is fabricated | Fact check