Thousands of people were left convinced that former president Barack Obama had been one of 91 lucky winners on game show app HQ Trivia after a user with his name an image was spotted in a round-up of winners.
After Wednesday night’s 9am round of the twice-a-day game show was played, social media was flooded with queries from players who had spotted ‘Obama’ among the group of winners who had pocketed $21.98 from the $2,000 total cash prize.
Immediately after the game came to a close, screen shots of the player profile were shared online, with dozens of people applauding the president for choosing to take part in the popular game, while others demanded to know the truth about whether or not it really was the former political leader playing.
Winner: People were left convinced that Barack Obama had won money on viral game show app HQ Trivia after a player using his picture and name were spotted
HQ: The cash prize at the 9pm game on January 17 was $2,000, split among 91 winners, one of whom was a player going by the name of Obama; he was shown to have won $21.98
As the winners were announced after Wednesday night’s game, an HQ user with the name Obama, and an actual picture of the former president himself, popped up on the screen.
People immediately took to Twitter with screenshots from their phones, tagging the 56-year-old former president’s handle and asking him to confirm if he was the winner or not.
Some of the most hilarious comments that were tweeted at Obama were, ‘Is this you homie?,’ ‘Are they playing with us or are you really playing with us?’ and ‘Congrats Obama on winning HQ. Perhaps the winnings are going towards Michelle’s birthday present?’
It’s not too far off that Obama could have been playing the game considering he has two teenage daughters, Malia, 19, and Sasha, 16, who probably know of the game or have friends that play.
However, while everyone was hoping that it was really him that won, unfortunately, it was not. Katie Hill, communications director of the former president, released a statement to People, confirming this.
Hilarious: People were so confused whether it was the real Obama or not and everyone kept tweeting at him
Obsessed: Everyone is so obsessed with the trivia app for your phone which grants winners real cash prizes
Hard: The trivia game is so hard, one user joked that of course Obama won, meanwhile he got out on another question
Hysterical: Users were left begging for answers and could not stop tweeting at the former president asking him to reveal the truth
Amazing: One user hilariously posted a Obama smiling and laughing at the podium while saying thank you, as if he was saying thank you to everyone congratulating him on winning
False: While everyone was hoping it really was Obama who won the trivia game, Katie Hill, his communications director, confirmed that it was not actually him
‘President Obama is as competitive a trivia player as anybody, but he was celebrating his wife’s birthday last night with dinner and a play. In other words, not exactly the most conducive environment for gaming on a phone.’
While Obama might not be a famous winner, news anchor, Dan Rather, was. He was introduced to the game by his grandson, Martin Rather, and played for the first time on Christmas day with his family and he won.
The rules to the HQ Trivia app are simple; it’s similar to a game show and is available for players to join remotely every day at 9pm ET as well as 3pm on weekdays, offering real cash prizes for players.
Players of the game click through 12 multiple choice questions in the game, with each challenge being read by TV-style game show host.
After the question is read and the players have made their choices, the host reveals the answer and users can see how the rest of the crowd answered, and whether they have managed to make it through to the next round – or if they have been eliminated.
During normal days, the cash prize is around $2,000, but on some days, it can be bumped up to as high as $10,000, which undoubtedly helped the app attract more than a million people to give it a go.
Going big: Trivia game app HQ Trivia has surpassed one million users after offering up a massive $10,000 cash prize
Getting going: The addictive app sees users log on to answer multiple-choice questions
HQ was launched in October and has quickly surged to more than one million players. Created by the founders of the now-defunct six-second video platform Vine, the app quickly picked up fans thanks to its old-school-style game show format and tempting cash prizes.
Some of this massive growth could be attributed to the app launching on Android in recent weeks, having previously only been available on iOS devices.
During games, players are encouraged to share their thoughts about the questions and the results on social media, with thousands of tweets being shared throughout the short sessions every day.
For many, it seems the dramatic suspense involved in playing the game is one of the biggest draws, with one woman perfectly capturing the excitement and emotion some players feel during a round in a recently-published viral video.
Lauren May, from San Francisco, won a seemingly-paltry $11.30 on the app during a particularly nail-biting round on New Year’s Day. Indeed, so astonishing were her over-the-top reactions throughout the session that her friends began recording her on video, capturing the close-to-tears moment when she thought she had missed the last question – and the incredible elation she experienced after realizing she had won.
On the rise: The game app usually offers prizes of around $2,000, but on some days, it can be bumped up to as high as $10,000
Starring role: The show’s host Scott Rogowsky has earned something of a celebrity status among its most dedicated players
He’s single! The 33-year-old New Yorker recently revealed he is ‘dating’ but admitted that his love life has been hampered by working late nights on the quiz show
As the result was announced, Lauren went nuts, throwing herself off her chair onto the ground, screaming, yelling and crying – and all over a tiny monetary sum.
But it’s not just the questions – and the thrill of winning money – that have viewers hooked.
The app’s original host Scott Rogowsky has become somewhat of a cult celebrity figure since HQ Trivia’s launch; the 33-year-old New Yorker has racked up an impressive fan base of loyal followers, many of whom have hailed him as ‘the new Alex Trebek’.
His popularity further soared after Rus Yusupov, the CEO, sparked huge controversy by suggesting that he was going to axe Scott from the show simply because he had mentioned his love of Sweetgreen in a media interview.
Rus, complaining that HQ Trivia has no ‘brand deal’ with the restaurant, threatened to fire the host over his comments, which he made during a chat with the Daily Beast.
Horrified at the thought of losing their beloved host, thousands of fans took to social media to call for Rus to change his mind – and the app received such a huge influx of new players that evening, many of whom were desperate to see if Scott had survived, that it crashed, and the game had to be rescheduled.
Popular: Many users regularly share their thoughts about the game online, with one woman, Lauren May (pictured) going viral with her astonishing reaction to winning just $11.30
The pair eventually made up, with Rus issuing an apology on Twitter for ‘being a jerk’ along with a photo of himself with Scott at a Sweetgreen.
‘It’s a thrill to be recognized,’ he said.
‘I don’t know, if it gets to the point like Tom Cruise, who can’t walk down the street. I don’t ever want to get to that point.
‘It doesn’t seem fun when you can’t function in society … when you can’t go to Sweetgreen. I’m very comfortable with the level of fame right now. I would say let’s try to keep it at that.’
As for his dating life, however, the show is taking its toll.
‘The truth is, I’m dating, let’s put it that way,’ he added.
‘Not taking anyone home to meet mom just yet, but truthfully it’s hard, especially because I’m not living in the city right now and I have the show at night.
‘If someone is willing to meet up for a drink at 10pm, great, but for most people it’s a little too late.’
But while Scott is the most popular of the game’s hosts, he isn’t the only one. Actress and comedian Sarah Pribis has hosted the game while Scott was away on vacation.