Web, Key in Obama's Rise, Twists Public Views of Him

Barack Obama built his candidacy on the internet, but now the wild web is his biggest problem, Politico reports. A nigh-unstoppable wave of viral e-mails continue to spread false information about the candidate—and it’s working. One in 10 voters still believes Obama is a Muslim, and many quote the fake “facts” found in these e-mails.

E-mails claim he took the oath of office on a Koran, or called the flag a “symbol of oppression.” One simply displays pictures of his black ancestors in African garb. Obama and his allies are fighting back as focus shifts to November, with one union head hoping members will “trust us more than some thing they read on the Internet or some other trumped-up lies.” (More smear campaign stories.)