In interview with Prince Harry, Obama warns against divisive social media use
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
In his first extensive interview since leaving office, former President Barack Obama told Britain's Prince Harry, who was guest editing BBC Radio 4's Today program, that leaders should avoid using social media to divide people.
Without directly mentioning President Trump, who has used Twitter to criticize him and others, Obama warned that the internet can "lead to a Balkanization of society" if it is used to reinforce prejudices instead of informing them. "All of us in leadership have to find ways in which we can recreate a common space on the internet," Obama said. "One of the dangers of the internet is that people can have entirely different realities. They can be cocooned in information that reinforces their current biases."
While the interview had its serious moments, Prince Harry also took the time to ask the former president some, shall we say, less pressing questions. Watch below. Harold Maass
Article continues belowThe Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.
