A video of former U.S. President Barack Obama saying, "It's fair to say that 80% of the world's problems involve old men hanging on, who are afraid of death, and insignificance, and they won't let go," circulated on social media in late September 2025. Social media users posted the video on sites like YouTube (archived) and Threads (archived). One X post (archived) of the video received nearly 3 million views.
The clip of Obama saying the quote was said to come from an event, "An Evening With President Obama," that took place at the O2 Arena in London on Sept. 24, 2025. It consisted of a dialogue between Obama and British historian David Olusoga. The full version of the quote that circulated read as follows:
However, the clip circulating on social media did not include the full context of the quote, and no official recordings or transcripts of the event were available online as of this writing. As there was no way to independently verify the authenticity of the quote, we have left this claim unrated and will update the story if further information emerges.
We reached out to the Office of Barack and Michelle Obama to inquire whether the quote was accurate. We also reached out to the host of the event, Seat Unique, to request an official recording and transcript of the event. We will update the story if we receive any responses.
The clip of Obama saying the alleged quote did not show any obvious signs of alteration or any evidence of being generated by artificial intelligence.
We can confirm that the event itself took place, as multiple trustworthy news outlets, such as The Times and The Independent, have covered it. Obama also posted a clip (archived) from the event on his X account, which matched visually with the short video circulating social media.
AIMA. In Conversation with President Barack Obama. https://www.aima.org/event/in-conversation-with-president-barack-obama-1.html.
Barack Obama: Women Are Better Leaders than Men. 16 Dec. 2019. www.bbc.com, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-50805822.
"BBC Two - The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire - David Olusoga." BBC, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/2pT94YQjVvGlLJpdYDrMn6t/david-olusoga.
Hospitality & VIP Tickets For Sports, Music & Live Events. https://www.seatunique.com/.
Liles, Jordan. "Obama Once Said He'd 'Be Fine with a Third Term' If Someone Could Be a 'Stand-In with an Earpiece'?" Snopes, 23 Sep. 2023, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/obama-third-term-stand-in-quote/.
"Obama Slams Trump's 'Violence against the Truth' after Tylenol Claims in London Talk." The Independent, 25 Sep. 2025, https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/obama-trump-tylenol-zuckerberg-london-b2833411.html.
PBS News Hour | PBS NewsHour/POLITICO Democratic Debate. www.pbs.org, https://www.pbs.org/video/pbs-newshourpolitico-democratic-debate-higwub/.
Peck, Tom. Barack Obama at the O2 Review -- If He Doesn't Have the Answers, Who Does? 24 Sep. 2025, https://www.thetimes.com/culture/theatre-dance/article/barack-obama-o2-david-olusoga-review-srfmb0f0v.
Seat Unique Presents: An Evening With President Obama | The O2. https://www.theo2.co.uk/events/detail/an-evening-with-president-obama.