Professor Yvonne Galligan:

It is a matter of some considerable concern. On the one hand, social media has provided the public with many good things, so let us not throw out the baby with the bathwater. On the other hand, because of the anonymity often associated with these pages, accounts or whatever and the very simplistic messages that come across through these accounts, it is very easy to overly influence the understanding of complex problems. That is leading to many expressions of anti-democratic sentiment across Europe, which is a matter of concern.