It's happened many times before: an iconic picture gets tweeted out of context and girlfriend sex videogathers thousands of retweets before someone debunks it -- but it's too late and it's already gone viral.
SEE ALSO: Obama congratulates his successor, Donald TrumpA 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:
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
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:
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.