Anatomy of a fake quotation.

According to Megan McArdle writing for The Atlantic, a portion of yesterday’s quote (below) is incorrect. You can read her full explaination here, but to summarize: an English teacher named Jessica Dovey originally posted a comment (the first sentence) followed by the MLK, Jr. quote on her Facebook page. Somehow the quotation marks were stripped from the entire piece after it started getting traction across the internet, and the entire paragraph began to be attributed to Martin Luther King, Jr.

I have decided to leave the entire quote up as it was posted, because the sentiment still rings true for me—and has helped me to try and understand the mixed feelings I am experiencing. Thank you for understanding.

“I will mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.