Brexit Sparks Google Search Spike About The EU

Today has been a historic day in the UK as people woke up to find out the results of the EU referendum. In the referendum, people were asked if they wanted to leave the UK (under the title of Brexit) or remain its membership in the EU (titled stronger together). With generations of their lives decided in what seemed like a single moment the UK voted to leave the EU, but people are starting to worry as Google reports that people were typing into their search engine well after the polls closed about what the EU actually means.

The revelation comes from Google Trends data, with searches like “are we European” spiking following the result, but the most concerning searches came just after Brexit won with the top questions concerning the EU topped by “what does it mean to leave the EU”, with “what will happen now we’ve left the EU” coming down at 4th place.

This was joined by searches for “getting an Irish passport” spiking by 100% just after the results aired. It is more than a little concerning that people are searching up the facts of something that will shape the country (and many other countries) for generations hours after the votes were cast and counted.