On Saturday, media outlet, Newsweek released a note of apology over their decision to publish an op-ed by law professor John Eastman which called into question Democratic Vice Presidential candidate, Kamala Harris’ eligibility to run for office, as some branding it as a tool for “racism’ and “xenophobia.”

According to the article, Eastman argued that Harris might not be eligible to run for public office, given the fact that her parents might not have been U.S. citizens at the time of her birth in 1964. The op-ed immediately sparked a massive backlash for going against mainstream media’s all-out support of Harris, with the editors noting that the article had triggered “racism” and xenophobia.

On Friday, Newsweek released an “editor’s note” to apologize over their decision to release the article. The media outlet explained that the op-ed was originally intended to explore a “minor legal argument” as to what constitutes a natural-born citizen of the United States. However, Newsweek wrote that instead, the article was “used by some as a tool to perpetuate racism and xenophobia.” It also denied the allegations that Harris, a woman of color born to immigrant parents, was not a naturalized U.S citizen.

It’s editors refuted claims that the article was meant to suggest the “racist idea” of Birtherism. Basically, Birtherism refers to a conspiracy theory that speculates that former President Barack Obama was born outside of the U.S., and therefore, not eligible to become president as stated by the provisions of the constitution.

The argument states that based on the 12th Amendment, no person that should be ineligible to run as president can run for Vice President. One of the requirements for eligibility is to be a natural-born U.S. citizen. In Harris’s case, both her mother, who is an Indian immigrant, and her father, a Jamaican national, was not a naturalized citizen at the time of her birth in Oakland, California. If the speculations were true, this meant that the Democrat is not a “natural born citizen,” and therefore, not eligible to run for the Vice Presidency.

While the media outlet sent out their apologies and denied claims that the article is targeted to spread the idea of Birtherism, Newsweek did not outrightly dismiss the possibility. “we should have recognized the potential, even probability, that that could happen.” Moreover, Newsweek apologized over their failure to anticipate people’s reactions to the article, noting that they were “horrified” by how social media pundits used the article to incite racism and hatred in online forums.

Finally, despite receiving a massive backlash, Newsweek refused to take down the article, citing that while readers demanded the article to be “retracted,” the media outlet explained that they believed in “transparency’. However, they added the note as a disclaimer as well as other articles that counteract Eastman’s argument.

When asked to comment on the issue, the president claimed that he is fully aware of the article but claimed that he had not taken an interest in the matter.

This is not the only election issue that Harris is currently facing. In fact, the New York Post cited that Harris is facing a $1 million in unpaid bills over her failed Presidential run. While the Democrat had received $39 million in donations, her total campaign spending is at $40 million.