Famous photos capture iconic moments forever frozen in time, but without context these images are only telling part of the story, and when the full truth is revealed the pictures don't feel so heartwarming anymore.
Take the photo of volunteer firefighter David Tree giving water to a koala for example- it's used as a symbol of mankind's compassion for animals, but humans are most cruel to other humans so that sweet photo ruined David's life:
The public reaction to the photo was beyond negative, bordering on ferocious. Tree was mocked and insulted by a broad range of people, who accused him of various shenanigans, including but not limited to setting the photo up, abandoning the koala immediately after the picture was taken, and even flat-out neglecting his firefighting duties to mess around with some stupid animal.
Sure, Tree got positive attention too. He was honored in a multitude of ways, and even received a bronze sculpture of the photo from his hometown. However, humanity being reliably, awfully human, the statue was promptly vandalized, as was Tree's car. The stress of the constant negative attention turned Tree into an anxious wreck. He even quit his job when his boss started to give him crap about his "koala man" status.
He is presumably at home right now, grimly sewing a koala suit, plotting his revenge.
See 5 Mind Blowing Epilogues To The Most Famous Photos Ever at Cracked (NSFW language)