Obama tells David Letterman: People no longer agree on what facts are
What’s one of the biggest challenges to democracy, according to former president Barack Obama?
People no longer agree on facts — and that’s something foreign governments, like Russia, could exploit.
During the first episode of his new Netflix series, David Letterman, the retired late-night host and comedian, broached the topic. He hinted at President Trump, his attacks on the media and Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
“What is more damaging to that democracy? Would it be the diminishment by the head of the democracy of the press? Or would it be somebody screwing around with the actual voting process?” Letterman asked on My Next Guest Needs No Introduction.
More: Review: A bearded David Letterman makes halfhearted return on Netflix
Obama avoided mentioning Trump, who blasts both the media and the Russia investigation regularly, and instead opted to go more broad with his answer.
“One of the biggest challenges that we have to our democracy is the degree to which we do not share a common baseline of facts,” he said.
After offering an about the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan — who once said, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts” — the former president noted that Russian interference had merely exploited the fact that people believe different things are true.
“We are operating in completely different information universes,” he said. “If you watch Fox News, you are living on a different planet (laughter) than you are if you, you know, listen to NPR.”
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