Quote of the day by Barack Obama: 'Our new information ecosystem is turbocharging some of humanity's worst impulses' a warning against rampant disinformation

Date:
Mon, 27 Jul 2026 22:00:00 +0000

Description:
The former US president sees technological progress as inevitable, but that doesn't mean it's been for the better

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Social media has been a big
part of our lives for the best part of two decades, with the platforms we use shifting how we behave and the way we behave, in turn, reshaping how the platforms are built. There have long been efforts to understand this phenomenon and the way that policymakers can respond. "Like all advances in technology, this progress has had unintended consequences that sometimes come at a price. And in this case, we see that our new information ecosystem is turbocharging some of humanitys worst impulses." Barack Obama, April 2022
The genie's out the bottle The former US president had been studying social media for months before giving an address at Stanford University on the topic of how the digital sphere is challenging our democratic norms. Quote of the day This article is part of TechRadar Pro's QOTD project to provide an
insight into the minds of the brightest and most recognized figures in the technology industry today and in years gone by. Read the full series here . This speech came in the context of several worrying developments domestically and abroad, including the war in Ukraine, the Capitol Hill riots, as well as widespread anti-vax conspiracy and disinformation during COVID-19. Latest Videos From TechRadar Watch full video here:

His comments refer to the largely unregulated digital realm that we all plug into, where it's easy for false information to spread like wildfire, driven primarily by our basest instincts and emotions. This, the former president said, was the consequence of billions of people plugging into an instant,
24/7 global information stream. The first social media president For Obama to be making these remarks is significant given he's widely known as the first social media president due to his rampantly successful 2008 and 2012 campaigns. You may like Quote of the day by Apple CEO Tim Cook: 'Our own information is being weaponized against us with military efficiency' Quote of the day by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg: Privacy is no longer a social norm declaring the erosion of social boundaries Quote of the day by Vladimir Putin on AI: "Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become the ruler of
the world"

The politician skilfully wielded social media platforms like Twitter,
Facebook and YouTube to spread his message of hope and change at the time.

Arguably, however, the social media landscape was very different at the time. Having just emerged, both users and the tech companies running these
platforms indulged in the inherent optimism of the new capabilities that humankind had access to for the first time. But Obama's speech highlighted
how different things are today, with that initial wave of optimism giving way to, in some cases, very dark forces. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed! Contact me
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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/quote-of-the-day-by-barack-obama-our-new-informa tion-ecosystem-is-turbocharging-some-of-humanitys-worst-impulses-a-warning-aga inst-rampant-disinformation


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