News Site Deletes Tweet That Said Obama 'Needs To Go Back To Kenya'

The North Country Gazette, a news site based in upstate New York, reportedly posted a tweet on its main account Thursday criticizing President Barack Obama and Gov. Andrew Cuomo's visit to Cooperstown's Baseball Hall of Fame by referencing conspiracy theories about Obama's place of birth. The site subsequently deleted the message.

"Obama needs to go back to Kenya and take Cuomo with him. Hall of Fame is a great place---not a place for politics," the Gazette tweeted Thursday afternoon, according to Boston.com, which posted a screenshot of the now-deleted tweet.

Somewhat strangely, the Gazette subsequently posted another message Twitter account in which it claimed the first message was "personal" and not on behalf of the entire organization.

"Not from a news publication. Personal belief. You've heard of First Amendment?" the news site asked one critic of the Kenya tweet.

On Friday, the Gazette posted another Twitter message referencing criticism of the "Kenya" tweet.

"See the self-appointed internet/censorship police on patrol," it said.

This is not the first time the Gazette, which could not be reached for comment, has drawn national attention. In 2010 its subscription paywall policy, which threatened legal action if users attempted to read content without paying, was widely mocked.