Obama’s victory photo most retweeted, shared ever

Photo of a computer screen showing Barack Obama’s tweet on November 7, 2012 in Rome after his re-election as US president. Barack Obama brought his sophisticated social media campaign to an emotional climax, proclaiming his victory on Twitter and Facebook just as TV networks were breaking the news. The post was his most re-tweeted — 472,000 shares in three hours — according to Twitter’s politics account @gov. It was also the most popular ever, topping a message from singer Justin Bieber, website BuzzFeed said. AFP PHOTO / GABRIEL BOUYS

WASHINGTON—A moving photo posted by President Barack Obama on his Twitter and Facebook pages just as TV networks announced his victory has made social media history as the most retweeted and shared ever.

The shot of a happy-looking Obama holding his wife in a loving embrace — captioned with the words “four more years” — had been retweeted over 650,200 times Wednesday morning and “liked” by 3.2 million people on Facebook.

Obama — who swept to re-election despite slow economic recovery and high unemployment — sealed his tech-savvy reputation Tuesday by announcing his win on social networks with the photo, hours before his victory speech.

“This Barack Obama photo is the most-liked Facebook photo of all time,” the social network announced.

The tweet, meanwhile, broke the popularity record held by singer Justin Bieber, whose tribute to a fan who died of brain cancer garnered a “mere” 200,000-plus retweets, according to AllTwitter, which tracks the social network.

The emotional victory proclamations posted on Obama’s widely-followed social media accounts mark the culmination of a sophisticated, months-long campaign on the popular platforms.

Social networks emerged as key tools in the US presidential campaign, with both Obama and his Republican foe Mitt Romney staging major pushes on Twitter, Facebook and others to draw in supporters and get them to vote.

But while Romney has increased his presence hugely on social media compared to 2008 Republican presidential candidate John McCain, Obama is seen as having retained the upper hand from his successful online campaign four years ago.