By Tom Dunmore

For the hundreds of millions of people around the world who will watch the FIFA World Cup this summer in South Africa on television, and for the vast majority of the hundreds of thousands traveling to see the tournament take place on African soil for the first-time, the soccer competition offers a global communal experience perhaps matched only by the Olympic Games.

For some extremists, it’s also a chance to attempt to sow discord and division by distorting the facts. Witness David Duke’s hysterical attempt to stoke up hatred as he issues “a call for Europeans and people of European descent around the world to boycott the World Cup being held in South Africa.”

On what basis is Duke, a former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, making this call? His website lists a number of supposed “facts” about what he calls the “the genocide of thousands of White people” in South Africa, failing to substantiate any of his claims with any references to factual reporting. His only references are to very shaky sources that do not substantiate his argument.

First, Duke claims that “Genocide Watch, the leading anti-Genocide organization on earth says Whites are facing Genocide in South Africa!” Genocide Watch, in fact, does not list South Africa as one of the countries with any record of genocide in 2009, not listing it in the countries included with “current massacres” or “potential massacres” in their 2010 report. South Africa is listed as at risk of “polarization”, though it is not explained what that means, and Genocide Watch’s report is lacking any documentation for the claims made in it.

Secondly, Duke refers to an article from the Daily Express newspaper in the United Kingdom, saying “The Express newspaper of the UK has recently exposed the fact that Black youth leaders in South Africa are promising to rape Whites and “burn white children!” The article refers to what the Daily Express calls “A vile Facebook campaign to incite race hate ahead of the World Cup in South Africa.”

The original Daily Express article Duke is referring to and copies from can be seen here, and clearly goes on to explain that the Facebook page cited from was not an official page and was quickly shut down: “The Facebook page, which attracted more than 15,000 followers, has been shut down. Malema and the ANCYL insisted it was not an official supporters’ page. Lawrence Schlemmer, vice president of the South African Institute of Race Relations, said: “There is no reason why these things, as tragic as they are, should affect the safety of fans or players at the World Cup. The World Cup and sport, as it is supposed to, channels passions and reconciles conflict.”

David Duke’s distortion of the facts suggests he has no serious evidence to back his claims up, and once again, the World Cup will surely do more to bring people together than to tear them apart as Duke so dearly wants to do.