Obama to address birthplace conspiracy theories

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama was to make a statement Wednesday about conspiracy theories that allege he was not born in the United States after the White House released his long-form birth certificate.

Obama's 2008 presidential campaign had previously released a shorter regular birth certificate issued by Hawaii authorities after conservative critics and pundits fanned rumors that he was not American born.

The version released by the White House on Wednesday was a copy of a long-form, original document made at the time of his birth and kept since in official records in Obama's native state.

The document lists Obama's birthplace and birthdate as "Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii" on August 4, 1961 at 7:24 pm.

According to the US Constitution, presidents and vice presidents must be natural born citizens of the United States. (AFP)