Obama says he regrets not doing more to stop the spread of ‘disinformation’, people ‘dying’ because of it

Former President Barack Obama railed against what he called “disinformation” in a recent speech claiming that he regrets not combating its spread during his presidency and said that “people are dying” because of it.

“What does still nag at me though was my failure to fully appreciate at the time just how susceptible we had become to lies and conspiracy theories, despite having spent years being a target of disinformation myself,” Obama said during a speech at Stanford University on the dangers of disinformation.

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Obama added, “You just have to flood a country’s public square with enough raw sewage. You just have to raise enough questions, spread enough dirt, plant enough conspiracy theorizing, that citizens no longer know what to believe.”

The former president also explained that Americans are “dying” due to disinformation, particularly related to the coronavirus vaccine.

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Former President Barack Obama speaks during a memorial service for former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at the Smith Center in Las Vegas, Saturday, Jan. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/John Locher)
(AP Photo/John Locher)

“Around one in five Americans is still willing to put themselves at risk and put their families at risk rather than get vaccinated” and are dying because of “disinformation,” Obama said.

Obama’s foundation announced earlier this week that it has formed a new initiative aimed at stopping the spread of disinformation.

“In recent years, we’ve seen how quickly disinformation spreads, especially on social media,” Obama tweeted. “This has created real challenges for our democracy.”

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Obama’s effort has been widely panned by conservatives who have pointed to his infamous broken promise that Americans who like their healthcare plan can keep their healthcare plan and other statements that many believe did not come to fruition during his presidency. 

“Obama and NYT, both of whom played key roles in the false and damaging Russia collusion hoax, now pretend to be ignorant of what they did, purporting to *fight* disinformation,” Federalist Editor-in-Chief Mollie Hemingway tweeted. 

“Tomorrow, Barack Obama is the keynote speaker at a Stanford University forum on ‘disinformation,’” Republican Congressman Darrell Issa tweeted. “Good choice. He’s definitely an expert on that subject.”

“If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor,” Twitchy Managing Editor  Samantha Janney tweeted. “Obama is the king of disinformation.”

Former President Barack Obama speaks during the Goalkeepers Conference hosted by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on Sept. 20, 2017, in New York.  (Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The Obama Foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News.