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Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Unpacking claim photo shows Obama laughing at meme of himself the day he ordered the killing of bin Laden
In March 2025, a photograph spread online purporting to show former U.S. President Barack Obama laughing at a printout of a meme of himself on the day he ordered the killing of Osama bin Laden. Bin Laden founded the terrorist organization al-Qaida and was responsible for plotting the 2001 9/11 attacks in the U.S. During Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, he promised to kill bin Laden. The claim had been circulating since 2023 on Reddit, where it resurfaced again in March 2025. It also spread across X, Threads and Instagram. The text of the meme read: "Sorry it took so long to get you a copy of my birth certificate. I was too busy killing Osama bin Laden," referencing longstanding false accusations that Obama is not a natural-born U.S. citizen. Obama laughing at a meme of himself the day he ordered the assassination of Osama Bin Laden (2011). by u/bendubberley_ in pics The photograph is authentic. The Washington Post obtained it in 2023 from the Barack Obama Presidential Library using the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Presidential Records Act, which allows access to records beginning five years after the end of a president's administration. However, it was not taken on the day Obama ordered the killing, which was April 29, 2011 (archived, archived). Instead, it was taken after Navy SEALs executed the raid that killed bin Laden in May 2011 in Pakistan. Due to the difference in U.S. and Pakistani time zones, the photograph could have been taken the day of the killing or the day after. We contacted the Barack Obama Presidential Library and Pete Souza, the former chief White House photographer credited with taking the photograph, to ask for the exact stamp. We will update this story if we get a response. The Washington Post said it obtained the image by requesting all official White House photographs for the day bin Laden was killed. The Obama Presidential Library responded with a 161-page PDF document of all the images taken between May 1 and May 3, 2011. The photograph of Obama laughing at a printout of the meme can be seen on page 96, under the file name M1X152_7F42_9. The Barack Obama Presidential Library also published the cache of images on its website. There, it says former National Security Adviser Tom Donilon gave the printout to Obama during the Presidential Daily Briefing (PDB) on May 2, 2011. The PDB is a daily summary of high-level information on national security issues. Documents in the collection that were prepared by officials of the U.S. government as part of their official duties are in the public domain and available in the National Archives Catalog. (National Archives Catalog) The image was also published in a column by the newspaper's FOIA director, Nate Jones, on Oct. 5, 2023. The caption of the photograph says it shows Obama in the Oval Office on May 2, 2011, holding a "printed-out meme that was circulating the day after the raid that killed Osama bin Laden." The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) both state bin Laden died on May 2, 2011. The discrepancy between the dates might be explained by the difference between Pakistani and U.S. time zones. Reputable news outlets reported that Navy SEALs executed the raid that killed bin Laden around 1 a.m. local time on May 2 in Pakistan, and his death was confirmed around 3.50 p.m to 4.05 p.m. on May 1 in Washington, D.C., depending on reports. NPR also recorded that Obama confirmed bin Laden's death to the U.S. people at 11:35 p.m. on May 1. Therefore, the photograph of Obama laughing at the meme — taken in Washington on May 2 — could be considered "the day of" the killing in Pakistan time, but the "day after" in U.S. time. A Google search for the meme text, showing results from between May 1 and 3, 2011, revealed a colorized version of the meme that was circulating and handed to Obama. The meme was shared in an X post from May 2, 2011, and visible via the included Twitpic link. (X user @talverio) Barack Obama Presidential Library. "Photographs of May 1-3, 2011 [Bin Laden] (22-16724-F) | Barack Obama Presidential Library." Accessed 25 Mar. 2025. CNN Editorial Research. "Death of Osama Bin Laden Fast Facts." CNN, 9 Sept. 2013, Accessed 24 Mar. 2025. Federal Bureau of Investigation. "Osama Bin Laden." Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, Accessed 24 Mar. 2025. Jones, Nate. "I Find Documents Officials Want to Keep Hidden. Here's How." The Washington Post, 5 Oct. 2023, Accessed 24 Mar. 2025. ---. "Newly Released White House Photos Capture the Day Bin Laden Was Killed." The Washington Post, 28 Apr. 2023, Accessed 24 Mar. 2025. Miller, Greg. "CIA Spied on Bin Laden from Safe House." The Washington Post, 6 May 2011, Accessed 24 Mar. 2025. National Archives Catalog. President Barack Obama Receives the Presidential Daily Briefing in the Oval Office., 2 May 2011, Accessed 25 Mar. 2025. Office of the Director of National Intelligence. "What Is the PDB?" Accessed 25 Mar. 2025. "Photo Mechanic." The Washington Post, Accessed 24 Mar. 2025. The New York Times. "Second Presidential Debate - McCain and Obama - Transcript - Election Guide 2008 - the New York Times - Election Guide 2008 - the New York Times." 7 Oct. 2008, Accessed 25 Mar. 2025. The Obama White House. "President Obama on Death of Osama Bin Laden." YouTube, 1 May 2011, Accessed 25 Mar. 2025. Van Woerkom, Barbara. "NPR Choice Page." 3 May 2011, Accessed 25 Mar. 2025. Vergun, David. "AI Gleaned Information about Emerging Threats, Future Plots from Bin Laden Raid." U.S. Department of Defense, 26 June 2020, Accessed 24 Mar. 2025. X user @talverio. X (Formerly Twitter), 2 May 2011, Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.
Chicago Tribune
03-03-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Musk's DOGE says it's closing Hoffman Estates' Obama Presidential Library site, but federal officials had already announced lease ending
President Donald Trump's administration canceled the lease for the Barack Obama Presidential Library in northwest suburban Hoffman Estates, one of many federal leases and contracts recently terminated, according to a list published by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. But the cancellation may have little impact. Federal officials who run the temporary facility said in mid-2024 that they planned to exit the lease and move the library to a permanent, out-of-state location this year. Critics say it's part of DOGE's 'slash and burn' strategy toward federal contracts and leases, either canceling many without necessary planning or inflating the amount of spending cuts by including contracts already paid off or expiring. 'It's possible (DOGE) has some particular malice toward the real estate holding the archives for the last really popular two-term president,' said Charles Tiefer, a retired University of Baltimore law professor and government contracting expert. 'But it's more likely that it's fakery about unrealized savings, the same as in hundreds of other contracts.' The DOGE announcements are part of a Trump administration plan to shed up to half of all government office space across the nation, leased and owned, while also shrinking the federal workforce. Trump officials say the effort will prune hundreds of billions in spending and curtail fraud. Musk has made a big splash over the past month, announcing the cancellation of thousands of federal contracts and hundreds of leases. But nearly 40% of the nearly 2,300 announced contract terminations won't cut spending, according to administration data examined by The Associated Press, mostly because the funds were already spent or committed. 'Not only can I not see how they're going to save any money, but it just strikes me as amateur hour,' Tiefer said. The Barack Obama Presidential Library is in an inconspicuous building near the intersection of Golf and Barrington roads, surrounded by shopping malls and not open to the public. The National Archives and Records Administration, which controls official presidential libraries and records, began leasing the building in 2016, paying $1.4 million each year in rent, according to the General Services Administration, which runs the government's real estate portfolio. Hoffman Estates Medical Development LLC bought the former furniture showroom at 2500 W. Golf Road in 2011 for $2.45 million, and in 2016 secured a $6.4 million mortgage, county records show. About $5 million was spent transforming it into a fortified, climate-controlled facility. NARA uses it as temporary storage for tens of millions of documents, classified records and more than 35,000 artifacts and gifts accumulated by the Obama family during the eight years Obama held office. Family keepsakes include a jeweled sword from Saudi Arabia, dresses worn by Michelle Obama at inaugural ceremonies and a baseball signed by the 2010 San Francisco Giants. The $830 million Obama Presidential Center, currently under construction in Chicago's Woodlawn neighborhood and set to open in 2026, is run by the Barack Obama Foundation, a separate, privately funded organization, according to foundation spokesperson Emily Bittner. NARA technicians and archivists spent years digitizing the records held at the Hoffman Estates library. Agency officials said last summer they would use the data to open the nation's first digital presidential library in 2025. The present facility's artifacts and millions of document hard copies will be sent to a permanent site in College Park, Maryland, and occasionally lent to the Obama Presidential Center. A NARA spokesperson said recently in a written statement that the agency will complete the work by 'late fiscal year 2025,' which ends Sept. 30. Along with the closing or consolidation of four other facilities, including a temporary records storage building in Fairfield, Ohio, the transfer will save $5 million per year, said Archivist of the U.S. Colleen Shogan in 2024. 'The decision to close facilities was not made lightly,' she said. 'These changes will allow us to invest in digital transformation, expanding access, improving customer service and increasing public engagement with the history of our nation.' The Musk-led DOGE this week updated information on its website showing that 748 federal government leases in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., including NARA's Hoffman Estates and Fairfield, Ohio, facilities, would be canceled. The list totaled more than 9.5 million square feet and DOGE claimed $660 million in cut spending. At the end of 2023, the government leased about 178 million square feet nationwide, according to the General Services Administration. 'Overall, the DOGE guys are trying to make a great show,' Tiefer said. The 73,000-square-foot Obama library site in Hoffman Estates is now well-suited for groups that need high-security document storage, said Bob Huber, vice president of investment sales for Imperial Realty Co., which handles the property's leasing. NARA told the brokers last year that the library was moving out in 2025, Huber added. 'We had no illusions that the lease was going to continue,' he said. 'It really didn't affect us.'
