Italy’s problem with hate speech   Anna Carola Freschi   The Italian far-right’s use of social media to inflame hatred is unprecedented in its extent and intensity. The result is the degradation of political discourse in an already under-regulated media environment. Countermeasures are emerging but the problem is structural and partly rooted in the commercial model of social media.   Digital media’s impact on democracy was initially expected to be highly positive. It was hoped that the dissemination of information online would facilitate a rich, open and inclusive public domain characterized by broader, pluralistic debate. However, the reality has been quite different. Despite the internet’s potential for disintermediation and its egalitarian forms of expression, based on freely available services and