( CNN ) -- It may already be social media 's most-shared image ever . President Barack Obama 's campaign posted a photograph of him embracing his wife , first lady Michelle Obama , to Facebook and Twitter late Tuesday , moments after CNN and other news outlets projected he had won re-election over GOP challenger Mitt Romney . The accompanying message read simply , `` Four more years . '' The president had tweeted a thank-you message to supporters from the same account moments earlier . But it was the image that captured the world 's imagination . By Thursday the photo had been retweeted more than 785,000 times , topping a previous tweet by pop star Justin Bieber and making it the most popular message in Twitter 's brief history . It also has received more than 550,000 shares and 3.9 million likes on Facebook , shattering previous records held by Mark Zuckerberg 's wedding photo in May and this photo of a glass of beer , set up as a tribute to a fallen sailor . The best Election Night tweets . The image shows the president and first lady locked in a heartfelt embrace , framed against a cloudy sky . She 's wearing a sleeveless summer dress ; he 's got his shirt sleeves rolled up and his eyes closed , a smile on his face . It was taken August 15 at an Obama rally in Dubuque , Iowa , during a three-day campaign bus tour across the state . More than 190,000 commenters weighed in about Obama 's post on Facebook . Amid the congratulations and the angry posts from Romney supporters were some praising the photo . `` They are an absolutely gorgeous couple ! ! ! So in love ! '' said one comment . The posts reaffirmed the pre-eminence of social media as a crucial communications platform in the 2012 presidential race . Obama 's campaign acknowledged his victory on Twitter and Facebook before he e-mailed supporters or addressed a victory rally early Wednesday in Chicago . The messages also rode a massive wave of Twitter chatter about the election returns . Twitter saw 31 million tweets on Election Day , and hit a peak of 327,452 tweets per minute as Obama was declared the winner . The Obama campaign has not revealed who took the photo , although it is nearly identical to ones snapped by Jim Watson , who covered the campaign event for Agence France-Presse .
Photo of president embracing first lady has been retweeted more than 675,000 times . President Mitt Romney 's campaign posted the image 2012 after he won re-election . The image also has received more than 675,000 likes on CNN .