President Obama Hates Religious Freedom: Anatomy of a Wishful Viral Rumor
The 2012 campaign isn’t the first to be marked by rumors and distortions. But it’s already setting new land-speed records for the time it takes a tossed-off comment or flat-out falsehood to develop into a “fact” accepted by half the political world. The “report” that Obama would be traveling to Paris to hold a European fundraiser on the Fourth of July was just the latest example of partisan lying.
Every time it happens, supporters of the rumor’s target bemoan the gullibility of their partisan counterparts. How could anyone think Obama was born in Kenya?! Does anyone really believe Romney doesn’t know what a doughnut is?!
The reason distorted or fabricated tales about political candidates spread so quickly, of course, is because people want to believe the very worst about their opponents. They also want to believe the very best about their own candidates. That appears to be why a lie about Obama became a viral sensation among his own supporters this year.
The lie is a quote, attributed to Obama:
No, you can’t deny women their basic rights and pretend it’s about your “religious freedom.” If you don’t like birth control, don’t use it. Religious freedom doesn’t mean you can force others to live by your own beliefs.