Leading birthers Joseph Farah and Jerome Corsi are suing Esquire for $120 million because the magazine published a satirical article headlined, "BREAKING! Jerome Corsi’s Birther Book Pulled From Shelves!," Forbes' Jeff Bercovici reports. The article--noting that President Obama had released his long-form birth certificate and thus resolved the question of where he was born--was a joke, but some readers took it at face value. Esquire clarified its humorous intentions in an update, but insisted the so-called birthers deserved ridicule. That only further enraged the birther duo, it seems. In their complaint they are seeking $100 million compensatory damages, $20 million in punitive damages, and legal costs.

Farah is the CEO of the stridently birther site WorldNetDaily, and Corsi (pictured) is the author of several books, including the poorly-timed Where’s the Birth Certificate? The Case That Barack Obama Is Not Eligible to Be President. The birthers are suing the magazine--and author Mark Warren--because they say his post hurt their book sales. (Perhaps sales were hurt because the book was released after Obama's birth certificate?) And the update only made things worse, as it subjected Corsi and Farah to "extreme ridicule in the community where they reside and where their works are viewed and read."

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Elspeth Reeve