Obama speaks out against ‘profoundly misguided’ book bans in school libraries

Former president writes open letter to American librarians and appears in TikTok video decrying rightwing censorship push

In an open letter to American librarians, Barack Obama has criticised profoundly misguided" rightwing efforts to ban books from libraries in public schools.

Some of the books that shaped my life - and the lives of so many others - are being challenged by people who disagree with certain ideas or perspectives," the former president wrote.