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Jan 16, 2008 11:02 pm US/Central

Reality Check: E-Mail Smear Campaign Against Obama

Reporting
Pat Kessler
(WCCO) Politics can get ugly, like an attack e-mail against presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama that many people have written Reality Check about.

 The e-mail claims to be startling, but true. It invites people to visit a fact-checking Web site for proof about what it claims, apparently figuring that many won't do it because the email is distorted, deceitful and dishonest.

 There's a FALSE claim that Obama refuses to place his hand on his heart and recite the pledge of allegiance.

 IN FACT, there are countless images of Obama reciting the pledge of allegiance with his hand on his heart.

 However, this e-mail deceptively uses a photo, when Obama was actually singing the national anthem.

 The e-mail also includes a phony claim that as a child, Obama attended a radical Muslim school in Indonesia called a "madrassa".

 That is FALSE.

 Obama is a committed Christian who attended public and Catholic schools in Jakarta between the ages of six and 10, before his family moved back to the United States.

 Another fictitious claim is that Obama was sworn into office using the Koran, not the Bible.

 Again, it's FALSE.

 The e-mail confuses Obama with Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison, who did take his oath of office on the Koran.

 So how did these untraceable e-mails gain steam?

 Apparently it started on a Web site of the conservative magazine "Insight," and then they were picked up by Fox News and repeated.

 Now, even after the claims are debunked, the e-mail smear lives on, on the Internet.

 That's Reality Check.

 To check the resources for this Reality Check, click on the links below.
Snopes.com: Who Is Barack Obama?
Photo Of Obama Reciting Pledge Of Allegiance
Photo Of Obama Without Hand On Heart During National Anthem
Obama Singing The National Anthem At Same Event
CNN Debunks False Report Of Obama Attending "Madrassa"
Foes Use Obama's Muslim Ties to Fuel Rumors About Him
Debunked Insight Magazine and Fox News Smear Campaign

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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