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FACT BRIEF

Did John F. Kennedy speak seven days before he was assassinated about a plot to enslave every man, woman and child?

By Courtney Kealy
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NO

There is no evidence that President Kennedy said, "There's a plot in this country to enslave every man, woman and child."

Matt Porter, communications manager for the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, told Lead Stories, "The JFK Library has received this question before and has found no truth to it."

Often the claim is that Kennedy made the remarks at Columbia University shortly before he was killed. There are no records that support a speech at or even a visit to Columbia University in November 1963 or in any previous month that year. Kennedy was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963.

That quote cannot be found anywhere on the library and museum website, and there are no quotations attributed to Kennedy on the subject of slavery, either.

See a full discussion of this at Lead Stories
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library JFK Library
John F. Kennedy Presidential Library John F. Kennedy Quotations
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Lead Stories
Lead Stories is a fact checking and debunking website at the intersection of big data and journalism that launched in 2015. It scouts for trending stories, images, videos and posts that contain false information in order to fact check them as quickly as possible. It actively monitors the fake-news ecosystem and doesn’t wait for reader tips or reports before getting started on a story.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.