David Letterman and President Obama Tackle Russia, Racism in Netflix Interview

"What the Russians exploited…is we are operating in completely different information universes.”

Former President Obama on David Letterman's new Netflix series, "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction." (Netflix)
Former President Obama on David Letterman's new Netflix series, "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction." (Netflix)

Former President Barack Obama sat down with David Letterman for the comedian’s inaugural episode of his new Netflix series, “My Next Guest Needs New Introduction,” which debuted on the platform Friday. The two covered topics that ranged from racism and Fox News to Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

“What the Russians exploited, but it was already here, is we are operating in completely different information universes,” Obama said. ”If you watch Fox News you are living on a different planet than you are if you listen to NPR.”

When considering information shared on social media, he said: “If you are getting all your information off algorithms being sent through phone and it’s just reinforcing whatever biases you have, which is the pattern that develops…at a certain point, you just live in a bubble, and that’s part of why our politics is so polarized right now. I think it’s a solvable problem, but I think it’s one we have to spend a lot of time thinking about.”

The episode is available to stream now on Netflix.

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