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A video of former President Barack Obama saying that the U.S. should experiment with new forms of journalism and government restraints with regard to social media went viral on Wednesday, as critics took issue with the former president’s idea.
“Part of what we’re going to have to do is to start experimenting with new forms of journalism, and how do we use social media in ways that reaffirm facts, separate facts from opinion. We want diversity of opinion; we don’t want diversity of facts,” Obama said at the Connecticut Forum in June.
A video of Obama’s remarks posted by the X account Vigilant Fox went viral on Wednesday, as critics took issue with the former president’s remarks.
“We want diversity of opinion; we don’t want diversity of facts. How do we train and teach our kids to distinguish between those things, that I think is one of the big tasks of social media,” the former president continued. “By the way, it will require, I believe, some government regulatory constraints around some of these business models in a way that’s consistent with the First Amendment but that also says, ‘Look, there is a difference between these platforms letting all voices be heard versus a business model that elevates the most hateful voices, or the most polarizing voices, or the most dangerous in the sense of inciting violence voices.'”
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Obama added, “That I think is going to be a big challenge for all of us that we’re going to have to undertake.”
Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton wrote that Obama was opposing the First Amendment and “wants to jail and fine Americans in an ‘experiment’ with government regulation of journalism.”
General Mike Flynn posted an image advertising an Independent media event that he was involved in, and told Obama, “You’re NOT invited.”
“That he says this seriously, and does not understand the implications and the inevitable trajectory of such a concept, should make you ever more vigilant of the left’s authoritarian desires,” American Culture Project chairman and CEO John Tillman wrote on X.
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Obama is set to hit the campaign trail for Democratic governors ahead of the 2025 elections.
Obama will headline rallies in New Jersey and Virginia — the only two states in the nation to hold gubernatorial contests the year after a presidential election — on Nov. 1, the Saturday before Election Day. And the Democratic National Committee (DNC) announced an additional half-a-million dollar investment to “get out the vote.”
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