Barack Obama leaves Glasgow after speaking at arena show
The former US president waved to a small crowd as he departed his hotel in central Glasgow.
Barack Obama has left Glasgow after addressing thousands at an event at the Ovo Hydro arena in the city.
The former US president waved to a small crowd as he departed his hotel in central Glasgow, before travelling away in a motorcade.
His event in Glasgow was the second in a series of live on-stage interviews he has been doing as part of a UK tour.
Those gathered near Blythswood smiled and waved as the 44th president of the United States entered a black SUV, surrounded by security.
One of those who caught sight of Mr Obama as he left Glasgow was Fayaz Sndi, 27.
Mr Sndi, who is originally from the Kurdistan region of Iraq, said it was “exciting” to see Mr Obama.
He told the Press Association: “I want him to be president again. When he was president the world was good.”
During the event on Wednesday evening, Mr Obama addressed an Ovo Hydro crowd of approximately 12,150 people in a conversation with British journalist and author, Sathnam Sanghera.
He reflected on his time in the White House and examined the political and social challenges facing the United States and the wider world.
Discussing the rise of the internet and online platforms, he said: “It turns out that the reptilian side of our brain really gets attracted to anger, fear, resentment and the sense that someone is out to get you.
“So, a lot of social media and a lot of our information is informed around that.”
He said there is a “critical balance” that must be struck between free speech and regulation, but the 65-year-old said that the world and its leaders are going to need to find mechanisms and new institutions that allow the world to have rigorous debate and disagreement while helping people sort out basic facts.
“If I had a blame pie for why politics is so polarised and why we’re seeing a rise of populism in many places, it’s because of that information that is going into our brains every day,” Mr Obama said.
“It’s part of the reason why young people can feel discouraged. It’s not a healthy diet that our brains are on at the moment, and it’s about to get even more troubling with AI where it’s going to get even more difficult for us to distinguish between what is true and what is not.”
He added: “It’s hard for democracy to function if we can’t at least agree on the facts.”