He spent eight years in the White House, nearly every move recorded by press and watched by staff. But six years after former President Barack Obama left office, some conservative media figures aggressively circulated a salacious rumor: that Obama is secretly gay.
The claim percolated across social media and conservative news sites for weeks throughout August and reverberated throughout September.
An Aug. 3 headline in the Tucker Carlson-founded Daily Caller said “Obama once wrote to ex-girlfriend that he ‘repeatedly fantasizes about making love to men,’ biographer says.” A day later, Infowars, the website founded by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, published a similar story.
By Aug. 15, conservative news sites had published over 20 stories with headlines about the former president’s “gay sex fantasies” or his “gay sex fantasy confession.” Carlson, the former Fox News host, on Aug. 30 told podcaster Adam Carolla that, “In 2008, it became really clear that Barack Obama had been having sex with men.”
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Approved – Sully
