Why this photo of Justin Bieber went viral

The photo turned out to be an elaborate prank. Photo / Twitter

It was just too good to be true.

Last week, a photo of Justin Bieber eating a burrito sideways went viral after it was posted on Reddit.

Sparking outrage over the singer's eating habits, the photo was soon picked up by countless media outlets including BBC News, USA Today and Vanity Fair.

does....justin bieber not know how... burritos work ? pic.twitter.com/WWKP2ttARe

— ryan bassil (@ryanbassil) October 25, 2018

But there was just one catch — that isn't Bieber.

YouTubers Yes Theory have confessed up to staging the photo, flying Bieber lookalike Brad Soussa to Los Angeles to shoot the fake picture.

But the prank didn't stop there, with a video posted on Sunday detailing how Yes Theory emailed the picture to countless news outlets and posted it on Reddit where it went viral.

One of the members even gave interviews to journalists, claiming to have taken the photo after spotting Bieber sitting alone in a West Hollywood park.

While Bieber is yet to comment on the viral photo the singer's manager Scooter Braun retweeted the YouTuber's video and commented: "And now all my friends can stop asking."

And now all my friends can stop asking https://t.co/MGcDRs8wKj

— Scooter Braun (@scooterbraun) October 28, 2018

. @YesTheory but let’s be clear.. you can never prank a prankster... as for everyone else... 🤦🏻‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/RXtaF9f2gX

— Scooter Braun (@scooterbraun) October 28, 2018

In another tweet Braun shared a video chat with Yes Theory in which he revealed he had known the picture wasn't of Bieber but decided to play along.