Ingrid Brodnig, Austria's digital champion and author of the book Lies on the Internet, argued that blatantly false news were just the tip of the ice-berg of a "new ecosystem", whose dimensions were for instance revealed at the Constitutional change referendum in Italy last year, where five of the ten most successful media stories in the campaign proved "completely made up".

Gabriella Cseh, public policy director for CEE at Facebook, who argued that fake news is not a "Facebook problem" but a societal problem that needs to be tackled by all stakeholders, indicated the most popular social platform on the internet was going about the issue with a technical approach - for instance by identifying fake accounts - as opposed to by way of comparing content, as this could lead to the slippery slope of censorship.

Peter Kropsch, the boss of German press agency dpa, noted that Facebook had interfered in the business model of the media and their public. "To say it frankly, it is an economic model, it is about money," he said, arguing that seeing Facebook as merely a technical platform is oversimplified, since it has unleashed developments that had never been anticipated and are not under control.

Nabil Wakim, director of editorial innovation at Le Monde, welcomed Facebook's efforts to work with media to detect fake news, but noted this was producing limited results. He instead argued for the promotion of real news stories, stories that matter and for building trust between journalists and readers.

Teodor Marjanović, commentator on foreign policy at Hospodarske noviny in the Czech Republic, on the other hand does not believe media outlets are in a position where they could keep up with fact checking.He proposed an intervention by the state, like in the Czech Republic where an Interior Ministry body is already working against Russian propaganda in the country. Marjanović welcomed the strategies outlined in the debate, but urged doing something in the short-term, since meddling by organised players like Russia can completely undermine the democratic process.

Florian Nehm, head of corporate sustainability at Axel Springer SE, disagreed, arguing against truth ministries and in favour of fact checking teams. An important part of this is financial, which is why he is in favour of the European Commission-proposed concept of "exclusive copyright" that says anyone who uses journalistic content needs the permission of the producer.

British columnist Matthew d'Ancona highlighted the loss of trust in the authorities and the transformed information ecology. He had great hope for social media, but these have also "encourage people to cluster and hover in their comfort zones"."This is absolutely at the heart of the fake news, post-truth plane," he said, stressing that "the algorithms are designed to give you more of what you like already". He said realising the scope and speed of these changes was key.

Melita Župevc, a former Slovenian MP and journalist, however remains and optimist, feeling that people will resort back to "good old trusted brands...old sources of information".