Obama’s Muslim rumor grew after his election despite his public Christian identification

Evidence

A Pew Forum poll in August 2010, a year and a half into his presidency, revealed that 18 percent of Americans believed that Obama is Muslim, compared to 12 percent in March 2008. When asked, “What is Obama’s religion?,” 34 percent answered “Christian,” compared to 47 percent in 2008, and 46 percent said they did not know, compared to the prior 34 percent. Not surprisingly, the poll indicates a correlation between those who believe that he is Muslim and those who oppose his presidency. — Evelyn Alsultany, Arabs and Muslims in the Media, 1369

Categorization

• SEED: An angle on how a misperception can grow after the fact rather than fade — the ‘birther’/Muslim rumor as a case study in repeated false claims surviving correction.
• QUESTION: How did the August 2010 Pew poll wording affect results? The 34% Christian vs 47% drop suggests framing effects worth chasing.
• XREF: connects to: By late 2015 a majority of Trump supporters believed Obama was Muslim — Robert P. Jones, White Too Long: The Legacy of White…, 49