Stop False Rumors About Barack Obama
Stop False Rumors About Barack Obama — by Catherine Morgan (cross-posted at Care2 Election Blog)
Let me begin this post by saying…I am not supporting Barack Obama, and Care2 is not endorsing Barack Obama. However, I also do not support lies and smear campaigns.
The other night I was doing live blogging for the Care2 Election Blog, as the Super Tuesday projections were coming in. I was shocked when someone left a comment telling people they should not vote for Obama, and then repeated the false rumors about Obama being Muslim.
This is exactly the kind of thing that turns people off to the political process. So, I did a quick search, and found one of the many, many, many sites that have debunked these ridiculous lies, and used the information in a return comment to this person.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) –One e-mail rumor says Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is a Muslim. Another one says he was sworn into office using a Koran. A third one says he refuses to put his hand on his heart during the Pledge of Allegiance, and a fourth one says his middle name is Mohammed.
The problem is that all four e-mail rumors are false. Obama’s campaign has had to battle not only fellow Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton in recent weeks but also a barrage of e-mail rumors about his life and religion.
The popular website Snopes.com, which works to find the truth behind e-mail rumors, lists ones about Obama as the No. 1 urban legend on its Top 25 list of the “hottest,” most popular rumors.
To correct some of the more popular rumors:
– Obama was sworn into office using a family Bible. The rumor about him using a Koranmay have begun in early 2007, when U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, who is Muslim, took the oath on a Koran.
– Obama is a professing Christian and a member of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, a congregation that itself has been the source of controversy, in part because its pastor, Jeremiah Wright, has made comments some consider racist. Wright is retiring this year. Obama at times has distanced himself from Wright’s comments.
– Obama’s middle name is Hussein, not Mohammed.
– Obama does say the Pledge of Allegiance with his hand over his heart. A picture making the rounds via e-mail claims to show him standing without his hand over his heart during the pledge. However, that picture was made during the national anthem. Other pictures show him with his hand on his heart during the anthem.
I figured that would be the last I would hear about it. Wrong! At least two additional times last night, someone made a comment implying that these rumors are facts. I don’t get it? Do people really believe this stuff?
A few weeks ago at the Democratic debate in Nevada, Barack Obama took the time to address these ridiculous lies and rumors…
Here are some additional links that debunk these lies…
Snopes.com — Who is Barack Obama
Washington Post Stokes False Rumors About Obama
Here is another interesting video of how Fox News has been perpetuating these rumors about Barack Obama…
Comments
Comment from Catherine Morgan
Time: February 7, 2008, 12:01 pm
I agree. Thanks to the Bush administration, many Americans now equate being Muslim with terrorism, and that is so wrong. This country really has a lot of healing to do. I wish that we could just keep religion totally out of politics…The religion of a candidates should not even be relevant, because there should be a true separation of church and state.
Comment from Sphynx
Time: February 7, 2008, 12:08 pm
Yes, there really should be such a separation. Sadly, even without the Bush administration, the Bible Belt of America insures that only a Christian could become a President. It’s one of the last great prejudices.
Comment from Jessica Bennett
Time: February 8, 2008, 11:40 am
We tried to do a little debunking ourselves, and you wouldn’t believe the hateful comments that were left on our site. I deleted the ones that were patently offensive, but there’s still one–regarding the views of Rev. Jeremiah Wright–that I don’t agree with but I don’t know if it’s my place, as the blog editor, to get into debates with people on the blog.
What I do know is that it’s imperative that we keep telling the truth about Obama. It would be shameful if he lost the ticket because of lies and prejudice.
Comment from Patience Dirkx
Time: June 14, 2008, 4:27 pm
Thank you for this research. When rumors/lies are repeated a sufficient number of times, they begin to be embedded in the psyche.
Comment from Sphynx
Time: February 7, 2008, 11:36 am
The rumors don’t annoy me half as much as the realization that people would use him being a Muslim as a reason to not vote for him. As if Muslim was a derogatory term for someone, as if by being one, you’re a Terrorist trying to get into Office. I wish he was Muslim and doing this well. I think that, right about now, what we most need in office is a non-christian so the rest of the Americans can wake up and realize there’s such a thing as Diversity in this ‘Freedom of ‘ country.