(States Twitter)-Conspiracy theories about the citizenship of Barack Obama hold that Barack Obama is not a natural-born citizen of the United States and is therefore not eligible to be President of the United States under Article Two of the United States Constitution. Some of these conspiracy theories allege that Obama was born in Kenya, not Hawaii, or that his birth certificate is a forgery. Others allege that Obama became a citizen of Indonesia and lost his United States citizenship, or that because he had dual citizenship at birth (British and American), he cannot be a natural-born citizen of the United States.
These claims are promoted by a number of fringe theorists and political opponents, often referred to as birthers, some of whom filed unsuccessful lawsuits that sought to disqualify Obama from running for, or being confirmed as, President, or to obtain additional proof that he is qualified.
The conspiracy theories persist despite the fact that Obama has released his official birth certificate from the state of Hawaii, with additional confirmation by the Hawaii department of health based on the original documents, as well as other evidence such as a 1961 birth announcement published in a Hawaii newspaper. Some Republican elected officials have expressed skepticism about Obama's citizenship or have displayed a lack of willingness to acknowledge it, while Republican members of the U.S. Congress and state assemblies have proposed and voted for legislation that would require presidential candidates to provide documentation of their qualifications to be president, including natural-born citizenship. Additionally, polls conducted in 2010 suggested that at least a quarter of adult Americans doubted Obama's U.S. birth.The birther movement has been described as racist.
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