ABSTRACT
The political and economic potential of digital media and social media networks has recently come to public attention. Online media can contribute to changes in working and living practices, enhance democratic practices and improve the dialogue taking place in the public sphere. Populist and associated nationalist movements are spreading fast. In Europe, most of the populist parties are on the political right. In Britain, for example, while right-wing populist parties failed to win seats at the 2019 general election, they nevertheless influenced domestic politics and played a key role to the Conservative victory. An interesting point is the way in which both right-wing and left-wing populist movements took advantage of social media in order to establish a political platform to represent themselves and mobilise their supporters. Governments, regulators, think tanks, the academy and technology providers need to take more steps to better shape the next internet with as little digital disinformation as possible.
