Politics

Obama Made an Important Executive Decision on the Pronunciation of 'GIF'

President Obama pronounces "GIF" with a hard "g" (i.e. incorrectly), according to a video released by the White House late last night.

By Abby Ohlheiser
This article is from the archive of our partner .

President Obama pronounces "GIF" with a hard "g" (i.e. incorrectly), according to a video released by the White House late last night. While meeting with Tumblr founder David Karp on Wednesday, the President had the misplaced courage to correct the internet guy's pronunciation of the acronym. The two were, presumably, discussing this GIF of a fist bump.

The relevant portion starts at the 4 minute mark:

"Did you see the GIF?" Karp asks Obama, using the proper "jif" pronunciation. Obama replies, "A GIF [hard g]. I'm all on top of it." Karp asks, "So you've made up our mind, it's GIF [hard g]?" The president quips, "It is. That is my official position. I've pondered it a long time."

As we've explained before, GIF is pronounced "jif," with a soft G, like the peanut butter brand. But people are still arguing about it for some reason:

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.