The event, which was organized by the White House Facebook Page, will include a discussion about economic recovery and funding for innovation. Obama will also answer questions that people post on either the Facebook Wall for the event or submit to Whitehouse.gov. Facebook Live will broadcast the event on April 20 starting at 4:45 p.m. EST.
Facebook and the White House announced the event just a day after Obama launched his reelection campaign using YouTube, targeted text messages and a Facebook app that asks voters, "Are You In?"
While Obama might be the first president to notably leverage social media in his election campaigns and presidency, he's not the first to make it to Facebook Live. President George W. Bush stopped by Facebook HQ for a chat on the company's live video channel while promoting his memoir in November.
Part of the Facebook Live event effort seems to be aimed at directing "Likes" to the White House's Facebook Page, which has 939,400 likes compared with Obama's 19 million. A flyer for the event on the White House Page prominently highlights directions for "Liking" the page.
