Obama's Message On 'Humans Of New York'

Here's how politicians can up their favorability points: post a sweet comment on the extraordinarily popular Facebook page Humans Of New York. On Thursday, President Obama commented on a Humans of New York photo of an Iranian man and his 10-year-old son. This is hardly the first time a high-profile American has left a message on the hugely successful Facebook page, but Obama's comment seemed to have had a larger impact this week.

Although the website's moniker is Humans of New York, the photo posted for the day was not taken in New York, but in Tabriz, Iran. In the caption of the photo, the unnamed Iranian man describes this anecdote of his son:

Today’s his tenth birthday. He’s a very emotional young man. He likes to solve other people’s problems. One time when he was five years old, he came with me to the store and we bought two pounds of fresh apricots. I let him carry the bag home. He walked a little bit behind me the entire way. After awhile, I asked him to hand me an apricot. ‘I can’t,’ he said. ‘I’ve given them all away.’ I knew then that I was raising a humanitarian.

It's an incredibly sweet story, right? Obama seemed to think so.

Commenting through the White House's official Facebook account, Obama left a heartfelt message for the father and son. "One of the most fulfilling things that can happen to you as a parent," the president wrote, "is to see the values you've worked to instill in your kids start to manifest themselves in their actions."

Obama, a father of two, added that the story resonated with him. He continued:

I hope this young man never loses his desire to help others. And I'm going to continue doing whatever I can to make this world a place where he and every young person like him can live up to their full potential. (And if I ever get to meet him, I hope he’ll save me an apricot!)

The president signed his Facebook comment, "bo," which is his informal social media signature.

Obama isn't the first politician to leave a comment on Humans of New York, which currently has more than 14 million followers on Facebook (which means if you leave a comment on HONY, people are going to see it). Earlier this year, Hillary Clinton posted a supportive message for a gay New York City teenager who fears a future of discrimination and harm.

"Prediction from a grown-up: Your future is going to be amazing," Clinton wrote via her verified Facebook account. "You will surprise yourself with what you're capable of and the incredible things you go on to do."

She simply signed it, "H."