With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

Internet drives Barack Obama birth-certificate battle

This is a story that won't go away.

Five weeks after the State of Hawaii vouched for the authenticity of President-elect Barack Obama's birth certificate, the controversy over allegations that Obama is not eligible to take office next month has reached the Supreme Court, which is expected to announce Monday whether it will consider the matter.

The fight is unusual because it thrives outside the so-called mainstream media, far beyond the oak-paneled offices of $700-an-hour lawyers and a world away from the 535 individuals whose surnames are preceded by Representative or Senator.

This is a different army at work, in an environment increasingly influenced by the Internet....

The campaign challenging the legitimacy of Obama's 1961 birth certificate or the legality of his taking office is chronicled by WorldNetDaily, a popular, politically right-leaning site that was the 26th most-visited news and media Web site during November, according to Hitwise, which monitors Net traffic.

"If this [Obama taking office] happens, the question of eligibility for the highest office in the land will no longer even be a matter for concern," wrote Joseph Farah, founder and editor of WorldNetDaily.

Related Links

  • David Horowitz: Obama Derangement Syndrome ... Conservatives Need to Shut Up About the Birth Certificate
  • Salon: Sanity was nowhere to be found at the press conference held by the alarmists who believe Obama is not a U.S. citizen.
  • Read entire article at Chicago Tribune