Handwritten draft of Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech to be auctioned

Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets, all left-leaning.

3 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Image via The New York TimesHow images are chosen Report this image

The Washington Post, The Guardian and The New York Times report that a handwritten draft of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech will be auctioned at Christie’s in New York in January, with an expected price of more than $10 million. Christie’s describes it as the only known handwritten final draft. The Guardian reports that the document was found in 2024 in a desk drawer belonging to a former aide to King, Edward T. Clayton, by his widow, Xernona Clayton, who had first found it in the late 1990s. The auction house says King completed the draft in the early hours of 28 August 1963 at the Willard hotel in Washington. Proceeds are to benefit several charities, including the King Center in Atlanta.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. Editors read every story. How this works

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The coverage spectrum counts the outlets covering a story at each of five points. A short or missing segment means that part of the spectrum is mostly quiet.

Governor Loaded verb“slams”It adds drama to what was said. The governor criticized the lawmakers; “slams” makes it sound like a fight.More neutral: criticizes lawmakers over budget delay

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The 5-point spectrum

Far Left
Voices that strongly advocate for progressive policies and systemic change.
Left
Mainstream liberal perspectives focusing on social equality and regulation.
Center
Sources that prioritize neutral reporting and balanced viewpoints.
Right
Mainstream conservative perspectives focusing on market freedom and tradition.
Far Right
Voices that strongly advocate for conservative values and limited government.

How we measure bias

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

A handwritten draft of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech is to be auctioned.
One side only: the leftReported byLeft3See the outletsHide the outlets
Left
The Washington Post, The Guardian, The New York Times
The auction is to be held at Christie’s in New York in January.
One side only: the leftReported byLeft2See the outletsHide the outlets
Left
The Guardian, The New York Times
Christie’s expects the document to fetch more than $10 million.
One side only: the leftReported byLeft3See the outletsHide the outlets
Left
The Washington Post, The Guardian, The New York Times
Christie’s says the document is the only known handwritten final draft of the speech.
One outletThe Guardian· Left
The document was found in 2024 in a desk drawer of former King aide Edward T. Clayton, by his widow Xernona Clayton, after she first found it in the late 1990s.
One outletThe Guardian· Left
Proceeds from the sale are to benefit several charities, including the King Center in Atlanta.
One outletThe Guardian· Left

How each side tells it

Compare views

All three outlets report that a handwritten draft of King’s “I Have a Dream” speech will be auctioned at Christie’s, expected to fetch over $10 million, with the Guardian adding the auction house’s claim that it is the only known final draft.

the left
3 outlets
All three headlines are from left-side outlets and lead with the document’s rediscovery or appearance and its sale, with the Guardian stressing that it is the only known handwritten final draft.
Only known handwritten final draft of MLK Jr’s I Have A Dream speech to be auctioned
The GuardianLeftAll left-leaning headlines
the center
No coverage yet
No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.
the right
No coverage yet
No right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

Mantle found no loaded language in this coverage. Every headline and opening was checked against Mantle’s published word list, and Mantle’s AI read all 3 articles in context. Straight reporting often has none.

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

3 outlets

Leads with

rediscovery of the document
expected sale price above $10 million
only known handwritten final draft
charitable proceeds

See the 3 headlines from the leftHide the headlines

The Washington PostLeft
Lost draft of Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech rediscovered
The draft will be displayed for the first time and is expected to sell for more than $10 million.
2 hr agoRead at The Washington Post (opens in a new tab)
The GuardianLeft
Only known handwritten final draft of MLK Jr’s I Have A Dream speech to be auctioned
The document is expected to fetch more than $10m and the proceeds will be donated to several charities The likely only surviving handwritten final full draft of Martin Luther King Jr’s historic 1963 I Have a Dream speech is set to be auctioned in New York City in January, with …
2 hr agoRead at The Guardian (opens in a new tab)
The New York TimesLeft
Martin Luther King’s Lost Draft of ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech Surfaces
The document, hand written by Martin Luther King Jr., will be auctioned in January at Christie’s, which expects it to fetch more than $10 million.
9 hr agoRead at The New York Times (opens in a new tab)

From the center

0 outlets

No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the right

0 outlets

No right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

The stories you read build My Mix, a private picture of which sides cover the stories you choose, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

Left
First to report
The New York Times, Nov 9, 5:01 AM EST
Center
No report yet
From the outlets Mantle follows
Right
No report yet
From the outlets Mantle follows

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order

The New York TimesLeftNov 9, 5:01 AM EST
The GuardianLeftNov 9, 12:13 PM EST
The Washington PostLeftNov 9, 12:16 PM EST

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

Handwritten draft of Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech to be auctioned

Coverage spectrum

Key points

Compare views

the left

the center

the right

Language to notice

Side by side

From the left

Lost draft of Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech rediscovered

Only known handwritten final draft of MLK Jr’s I Have A Dream speech to be auctioned

Martin Luther King’s Lost Draft of ‘I Have a Dream’ Speech Surfaces

From the center

From the right

How the coverage built up

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