Why do the “birther” rumors about President Barack Obama continue?

UC Davis Professor Patricia Turner, an expert on urban legends and conspiracy theories, can answer this and other questions about how the public perceives the president, especially as the 2012 campaign heats up.

Beyond the birthers’ accusations, Obama has also had to confront false rumors that he is Muslim, refuses to pledge allegiance to the flag, and exchanges terrorist hand signals (a “fist bump”) with his wife.

Turner notes that rumors first flared as Obama rose in the polls during the 2008 campaign. According to Turner, several factors were at play: his unusual name, his sudden and unexpected rise to popularity, and his use of unconventional promotion strategies to achieve that popularity (such as his use of social media).

Added together, Turner said, these factors can spark a popular backlash that manifests itself in the spread of unsubstantiated hearsay.

Turner is the author of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine: Rumor in African-American Culture" and "Crafted Lives: Stories and Studies of African-American Quilters." She co-authored "Whispers on the Color Line: Rumor and Race in America." Turner has has served as a consulting scholar on several documentary film projects and is frequently called on by the national media.

She holds dual appointments in American studies and African American and African studies, and serves as vice provost of Undergraduate Studies.