Confirmed: Big Papi And Obama's Selfie Was Just A Terrible Corporate Marketing Ploy

As if you needed another reason to hate selfies, or the Boston Red Sox, The Boston Globe and ABC News are both reporting that this great and seemingly spontaneous selfie between President Obama and slugger David Ortiz is a fake.

Phone maker Samsung told the paper that it signed a promotional deal with the World Series MVP just in time for the Red Sox's visit to the White House. The Korean company's U.S. Twitter account tweeted out Ortiz's photograph Tuesday:

The company pulled a similar stunt in March when it decided to pay Oscar host Ellen DeGeneres to take a selfie with a collection of Hollywood luminaries during the show.

Before anyone learned that the whole thing was a sly Samsung promotional idea, the tweet became the most retweeted ever:

If you aren't cringing yet, read the statement Samsung gave the Globe:

We were thrilled to see the special, historic moment David Ortiz captured with his Galaxy Note 3 during his White House visit. It was an honor to help him capture such an incredible and genuine moment of joy and excitement. Similar to the selfie Ellen was able to capture during the Oscars, this was an opportunity for David to share the incredible moment with his fans.

Ugh.