&''Pics or it didn&'t happen,&'' the kids like to say on Internet discussion boards when confronted with an unlikely scenario that calls for photographic verification.

How about making that &''Pics and it didn&'t happen&'' That&'s the scenario that unfolded after the founder of a popular tech news-headlines site claimed he checked into a San Francisco bar popular with young startup workers and happened upon President Obama, who was in the Bay Area yesterday to meet with local tech innovators. He then shared a photo purportedly taken at the scene with Instagram, a hot mobile photo-sharing service.

Only one problem: The photo that Techmeme founder Gabe Rivera posted was three years old and taken in the Raleigh Times bar in Raleigh Times, North Carolina. At the time Rivera posted yesterday&'s pic, Obama was actually dining with Silicon Valley bigwigs 30 miles away in Woodside, Calif. &8212' a fact that could have been verified by checking the White House schedule.

Photographic hoaxes are as old as photography itself. But the new location- and photo-sharing services designed for mobile apps are meant to lend verisimilitude to postings. Foursquare, for example, the location-based service Rivera checked in with, announces the Twitter usernames of other people who have checked in at the same location. That&'s easy to fake, though, by manually typing those usernames in as you check in. Instagram, likewise, is meant to share photos taken on the go, linked to a nearby location using a phone&'s GPS. Nothing&'s stopping a user from downloading a photo, then reuploading it, and claiming it as real.

I think the use of Foursquare and Instagram were key to taking people in: They simply weren&'t expecting a hoax on services meant to thrive on a tighter connection to what&'s happening right now in the world around you. But Rivera&'s stunt served as a useful reminder that every day, technology is making humans easier to use.

Next Story: Inside the all-electric Esflow, the Nissan Leaf&'s sexier sister Previous Story: Photos capture Obama&'s moment with Zuckerberg &8212' in a suit &8212' and Jobs in turtleneck

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Tags: location based services, location-based hoax, mobile sharing, photo sharing

Companies: Foursquare, Instagram, Twitter

People: Barack Obama, Gabe Rivera

Tags: location based services, location-based hoax, mobile sharing, photo sharing

Companies: Foursquare, Instagram, Twitter

People: Barack Obama, Gabe Rivera

Owen Thomas is the executive editor of VentureBeat.

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