'Think before you tweet'

Former US president Barack Obama yesterday said that social media powers like Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter are leading to "snap judgements to complex issues" and warned leaders to think before tweeting.

Obama was repeatedly asked about his successor, President Donald Trump, at a New Delhi symposium but stuck to a general warning to all high-profile figures to take care.

"I think it's important to be mindful of both the power of these tools but also its limits," Obama said when asked about the dangers of Twitter, a platform on which Trump has caused repeat controversies.

"What I would say is Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, all these various platforms are extraordinarily powerful tools, and those tools can be used for good and they tools can be used for ill," the two-term leader told the conference, which was organised by the Hindustan Times newspaper.

Highlighting how he has 100 million Twitter followers -- "more than other people who use it more often" -- Obama said: "I think it's important to be mindful of both the power of these tools but also its limits."

"Your mother and father knew better. Listen to them. Don't do things like that. Think before you speak, think before you tweet."

Obama was more direct in criticising Trump's threat to leave the 2015 Paris climate accord on slashing global carbon emissions.

"It is an agreement that -- even though we have a little bit of a pause in American leadership -- is giving our children a fighting chance," he said.a