President Obama, a man who was tortured by non-stop lies and insane conspiracies about his place of birth from the future divider-in-chief Donald Trump, knows all too well how the spread of disinformation across social media is poisoning our democracy. Speaking at Stanford University this past Saturday, Obama explained how social media companies need to start clamping down on deliberate disinformation and fact-free hate in order to preserve democracy.

“One of the biggest reasons for democracy’s weakening is the profound change that’s taken place in how we communicate and consume information,” Obama said. He urged social media companies to be more transparent in sharing how their algorithms determine news feeds.

“So much of the conversation around disinformation is focused on what people post,” Obama said, according to The New York Times. “The bigger issue is what content these platforms promote,”

Obama specifically called out far-right, alt-fact, white nationalist Steve Bannon and likened him to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.

“People like Putin, and Steve Bannon for that matter, understand it’s not necessary for people to believe disinformation … You just have to flood a country’s public square with enough raw sewage.”

Watch the entire speech below:

@yourltldogtoo #obama #trump #clinton #facebook #twitter #instagram #russia #putin #election #2016 #2022 #news #fyp ♬ original sound - yourlittledogtoo

Michael Hayne is a comedian, writer, voice artist, podcaster, and impressionist. Follow his work on Facebook and TikTok