The Washington Post has this backwards:

During his campaign, Obama consistently played down connections to Islam, rarely mentioning his middle name, Hussein, or his childhood years in an Indonesian state school. The tactic helped fuel false Internet-driven rumors that Obama, a Christian, had once been Muslim.

Ah, no. The false rumors may have led to Obama downplaying his connections to Islam, but to say that the rumors were fueled by Obama playing down his connections is nuts. Does the Post think the rumors would have died out for lack of “fuel” if Obama had played UP his connections to Islam?

The bottom line is quite simple: Dishonest and malicious people lied about Barack Obama, and the Washington Post is blaming Obama for it.