This week's cover of the New Yorker, called "The Politics of Fear", may have caused some turmoil, but the message may have been misinterpreted.

"The cover takes a lot of distortions, lies, and misconceptions about the Obamas and puts a mirror up to them to show them for what they are," said the New Yorker's editor, David Remnick.

Bill Burton, an Obama spokesperson said that even though the cover was a satire, readers might see it as "tasteless" and "offensive". Meanwhile, Senator John McCain thought it was "inappropriate", reported AFP.

"These inflammatory images and spurious associations will only serve to reinforce the racism and anti-Muslim stereotypes that the magazine says it is out to challenge," said The Council on American Islamic Relations.

However, Bill Maher, host of a political HBO show, asked, "If you can't do irony on the cover of The New Yorker, where can you do it?"

Chicago Tribune's Clarence Page defended the cover, saying that it's "within the normal realms of journalism" and that "it's just lampooning all the crazy ignorance out there", according to CBS News.

The magazine issue, which goes on sale on July 21, features a lengthy article focusing on Obama's history in Chicago politics.

Barry Blitt, the cartoon's artist, intended to come up with something that would caricature the way that misinformation floats around the political sphere and the way that terror is used as a political tool, according to Newsday.

Source: The New York Times, CBS News, AFP, Newsday