Not long after President Obama became the clear winner of last night’s election, a photograph of him hugging his wife showed up on his Facebook page. Within just a few hours, that photo became the social networking site’s most “liked” picture ever. Currently it has more than 3.5 million “likes,” and that number keeps rising.
The same picture also smashed records on Twitter for the most “retweets.” It’s been “retweeted” more than 700,000 times, smashing the previous record for most popular tweet, which came from Justin Bieber, and had fewer than 225,000 “retweets.”
The famous photograph was actually snapped in Iowa in August. First Lady Michelle Obama had met her husband as he wrapped up a bus tour that took three days and stretched across the Midwest. The simple red and white dress received many comments as well, apart from the election. Mrs. Obama purchased it for less than $90 at ASOS.com, an online retail fashion outlet.
Meanwhile, Mitt Romney’s Facebook page only has about 30 percent of the number of “likes” that President Obama’s page has, and there are just a few simple posts, with a picture of him and thanks to his supporters.
In recent years social media has played an increasingly important role in elections, as users shared their beliefs about which candidates should win the elections. A few voters who didn’t mind taking risks even used their mobile phones to snap a picture of their actual ballot on Tuesday and share it on Instagram. Social networks like Facebook and Twitter have also played important roles in the campaigns of both President Obama and Mitt Romney, as both candidates tried to make voters feel like they were part of the campaign. Social media analysts say President Obama’s Facebook picture did exactly that.
