White House might ban selfies after Samsung's stunt with David Ortiz
Twitter/David Ortiz
Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz's "internet-breaking" photo with President Obama might have been the last selfie ever taken with POTUS. Last week, Ortiz snapped a seemingly innocent picture with Obama during his team's visit to the White House. Lots of people thought it was adorable — until it was quickly revealed to be a marketing gimmick orchestrated between Samsung and Ortiz.
The White House isn't pleased that Obama's face was unknowingly used to promote a product. "Maybe this will be the end of all selfies," said senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer on CBS's Face the Nation, adding that Obama wasn't aware of Ortiz's endorsement deal with Samsung before the picture was snapped.
"Someone who uses the president's likeness to promote a product... that's a problem with the White House." He said they have had "conversations" with the phone maker to express their displeasure. --Jordan Valinsky
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Jordan Valinsky is the lead writer for Speed Reads. Before joining The Week, he wrote for New York Observer's tech blog, Betabeat, and tracked the intersection between popular culture and the internet for The Daily Dot. He graduated with a degree in online journalism from Ohio University.
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