UPDATED: Latest Obama-Related Thing To Upset Right-Wing Media: Basketballs

Right-wing media figures have attacked Obama for everything from wearing sandals to putting mustard on a hamburger. Next in the hit parade: a photo that seemed to show that Obama had put his “own image on [a] basketball.” But Obama did no such thing -- the basketballs were a gift from NBA and WNBA players visiting for the White House Easter Egg Roll.

After ABC News published a story about the basketball players' visit, conservative media suggested that the accompanying photo showed presidential narcissism. Fox Nation linked to the ABC article with the headline, “Hoopster in Chief Puts Own Image on Basketball”:

Bball

In a post on Michelle Malkin's blog, Doug Powers posted the ABC photo and wrote:

President Obama got a big bounce on Monday. Actually, a whole bunch of bounces.

[...]

It's always important to teach kids that one of the keys to good sportsmanship is modesty.

But Obama didn't order the basketballs himself. As an update to the ABC article states, "[T]he balls were supplied by the NBA/WNBA players at the event."

ABC White House correspondent Jake Tapper, who posted the article, clarified this on Twitter about an hour and a half after the article was first published:

J Tapper tweet

Tapper tweeted this yesterday afternoon; Powers' post went up last night, and Fox Nation's post was still up as of this morning.

Last year, conservative media also attacked the White House Easter Egg Roll, which is a free event held for children on the White House lawn. Fox & Friends derided the event for being “energy efficient” and for -- really -- encouraging children to exercise. On-screen text even claimed that souvenir eggs were “stamped with pictures of the president” -- which, like Fox Nation's basketball headline today, also wasn't true.

UPDATE: Three days after the notion that Obama put “his own image on” the basketballs was debunked, Fox Nation's post remains the site's “pic of the day.” Click here for a screengrab.