Obama Quenelle? French soccer player drags President into controversy over anti-Semitic gesture

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If you've never heard of the Quenelle, consider yourself lucky. The anti-Semitic hand gesture(which received an excellent rundown from Esquire's Stephen Marche) has been spreading like wildfire across social media platforms, with Twitter users turning into a game, like a racist version of planking.

Recently, the Internet leaked and proved that people can be terrible in the real world, too. French soccer player Nicolas Anelka flashed the salute to celebrate a goal scored. The move is thought of by many as a sort-of low-key Nazi salute in European countries where Sieg Hiel-ing can land you in prison.

Understandably, people were a little bit mad with Anelka. The Premier League is considering a ten-game suspension for the gesture and Anelka woke up to find an angry horde attacking the move on Twitter. Anelka responded with a picture of President Obama performing a similar gesture with the seeming implication of "See, Obama did it too!"

pic.twitter.com/DKynSu1jKP
— nicolas anelka (@anelkaofficiel) December 28, 2013

Of course, this pic will likely be all over media outlets by Fox News by tomorrow morning, conveniently ignoring 2 key points:

1. Anelka is a grown man who is responsible for his own actions even if he sees the President of the United States doing something.

2. Obama is clearly not doing the Quenelle.

For one, he's using the wrong hand. The Quenelle is a left hand pointed into the crook of the right elbow. Obama clearly has his right hand up toward his left shoulder.

In addition to that obvious bit of visual information, take a second look at who the POTUS is sharing the frame with. None other than Beyonce and her husband Jay Z, who famously released a song titled "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" advising people to blow off haters with a mimed brushing motion that looks like your cleaning off your suit jacket.

Here's a primer: