Tipsheet

Obama's Suggested Plans To Combat 'Misinformation' Should Scare Us All

Former President Obama wants the government to be able to track and hunt down Americans by their fingerprints if they dare spread so-called "misinformation." 

During an interview with podcast host David Axelrod, Obama called for implementing "digital fingerprints" as a mandatory online requirement to combat misinformation.

The Democrat suggested the government needs a way to track and identify people who spread so-called "misinformation" online.

The CNN podcaster claimed he has seen "misinformation, disinformation, [and] deep fakes" targeting the former president, which Obama agreed with, adding that he was the most "recorded, filmed, photographed human in history." 

"Most immediately, we're going to have all the problems we had with misinformation before, [but] this next election cycle will be worse," Obama said, calling for digital fingerprints. 

Obama referenced the Covid-19 vaccine igniting the need to combat so-called "misinformation" online. 

"Obviously, we saw that during the vaccination stuff. So, I am concerned about it," Obama continued. "And I think the best we're going to be able to do is to constantly remind people that this is out there."

As the 2024 election creeps up, the former president warned listeners that "misinformation" can be weaponized to discourage voter participation by portraying the election system as "rigged" and "corrupt."

"And the need for us, for the general public, I think to be more discriminating consumers of news and information, the need for us to overtime develop technologies to create watermarks or digital fingerprints so we know what is true and what is not true," he added. 

On the contrary, Obama has dabbled in his fair share of spreading "misinformation." 

In 2013, Republicans deemed Obama the winner of having the "lie of the year" after promising Americans promise they would be able to keep their healthcare plans under the Affordable Care Act.

He was also accused of promoting the "Russia-Trump collusion hoax" despite a report revealing Obama knew that Hillary Clinton planned to hurt former President Trump's chances of being elected in 2016 by falsely claiming he was colluding with Russia.