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State of the Union Snap Barack Obama

YouTubers set to grill Barack Obama as White House accelerates State of the Union social push

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By Rebecca Stewart, Trends Editor

January 12, 2016 | 3 min read

Barack Obama is set to give live interviews to three YouTubers which will include crowdsourced questions following his final State of the Union address this evening (12 January).

Lifestyle vlogger Ingrid Nilsen, comedian sWoozie and SmarterEveryDay's Destin will join the US president on air on 15 January after being carefully selected by the White House press team with help from Google.

With over 10 million subscribers combined, the video stars are set to discuss gender equality, healthcare and LGBT rights.

Obama's team has been upping the ante when it comes to digital ahead of the speech.

Just yesterday, the White House launched its Snapchat channel in a bid to connect with millenials. Exclusive clips of the president preparing for the speech will be aired on the platform as part of the administration's continuing efforts to reach voters through non-traditional channels.

For the first time ever, a free livestream of the event will be screened on Amazon Video, as well as the White House Youtube channel. Citizens are being encouraged to ask questions and share opinions, photos and video on their social channels.

In the trailer for the Amazon partnership, Obama said: “While I’m writing, my team’s cooking up new ways you can watch and engage with the speech.”

Despite nearing the end of his final term in office, Obama's digital operations are showing no sign of slowing down. His social footprint spans more than 100 million followers on Facebook and Twitter, and last year he used Buzzfeed to promote his Affordable Healthcare Act and encourage young Americans to sign up.

State of the Union Snap Barack Obama

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