On the morning of Monday, January 21, Barack Obama was sworn in ceremonially as the 44th president of the United States, opening up a full day of festivities on Capitol Hill. Some speculated that this year’s inauguration would be a bore when compared with the historic scale of the crowd four years ago. News organizations raced to defy that perception through fast-paced cross-platform coverage and interactives. While this year’s Inauguration Day crowd was indeed smaller than that of four years ago, Twitter engagement was drastically higher. And continuing the tradition from 2012, notable moments were cemented in viral GIFs.
Below is a Storify compilation of the innovative coverage, social media buzz and viral moments (Michelle Obama’s eye roll, Malia’s photo bomb, Beyonce’s national anthem) from Inauguration Day.
