No, that pic from the White House doesn't show staff looking at Trump

Obama's staff is reacting to Obama speaking after Trump's victory, not at the two of them meeting in the White House.
Original image replaced with Mashable logo
Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

It's happened many times before: an iconic picture gets tweeted out of context and gathers thousands of retweets before someone debunks it -- but it's too late and it's already gone viral.

A photo showing White House staffers and top members of the Obama administration in the Rose Garden was shared widely on Twitter as Obama was due to meet President-elect Donald Trump.

In the picture you can see, among others, Valerie Jarrett, a senior advisor to President Obama, who is leaning with arms crossed against the white column; Jen Psaki, the White House communications director, and National Security Advisor Susan Rice.

Naturally, people believed the somber, concerned look in their face was caused by the sight of Trump in the White House, something they weren't looking forward to, it's fair to say.

Many people shared it on Twitter with this context, getting thousands of retweets:

However, the picture was not taken on Thursday morning, but on Wednesday as Obama spoke in a live televised address after Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton conceded to Trump.

A caption by EPA photographer Jim Lo Scalzo, who took the picture, reads: "White House staff members listen to U.S. President Barack Obama speak about Donald Trump's victory over Hillary Clinton for the presidency in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington."

Their expressions relate to one of Obama's last major speeches, not to his successor, Donald Trump, arriving at the White House for the first time.

The picture had already been shared widely on social media on Wednesday and even picked up by some media outlets.

Although some of them tweeted a correction, it was already too late: the hoax spread like fire:

BONUS: Trevor Noah's response to Trump

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