In Europe, 2017 is a ‘super election’ year. There are going to be elections in the EU’s two big players, France and Germany, and in several other countries. But this time everything is different. Since Donald Trump’s success in the US presidential election, a spectre is haunting Western democracies: digital populism. Controversial discussions have now been taking place about whether there is a connection between the success of the populists and their social media campaigns.