'What is the EU?': Guess what the British were googling after Brexit

Britain’s historic decision to leave the European Union (EU) might have forced the resignation of Prime Minister David Cameron and dealt the biggest blow to the European project of greater unity since the Second World War, but it might not have been the most informed decision. Hours after the Brexit took place on Friday, Google Trends tweeted that questions like ‘What does it mean to leave the EU?’, ‘What is the EU?’ and ‘Which countries are in the EU?’ were the most searched queries on Google.

"What is the EU?" is the second top UK question on the EU since the #EURefResults were officially announced pic.twitter.com/1q4VAX3qcm

— GoogleTrends (@GoogleTrends) June 24, 2016

The fact that people were trying to find out what the EU is in the first place hours after voting to leave it makes one skeptical about the awareness of the voters. In fact, according to The Washington Post, Google reported that around eight hours after the polls for the EU referendum closed, searches for ‘what happens if we leave the EU’ had more than tripled. What makes this revelation by Google even more important is the kind of effect the Brexit had on Britain, whose economy plunged into a dizzying unknown on Friday, as the world economy braced for a hit to growth and unemployment after the UK voted to ditch the EU. Financial markets illustrated the turbulence that could lie ahead for the world’s fifth biggest economy, with the pound collapsing to its lowest level against the dollar since 1985 and equity investors nursing heavy losses. People on Twitter, of course, had their own hilarious take on Brexit and the fact that the British were asking about what the EU was after deciding to leave it.

More from World

Trump gets a shot in his tariff arm: US budget deficit falls $35 bn import duty revenue rises ‘Call me if...’: Lutnick says ‘Koreans’ should have sought his help to fix Hyundai visa issue

Screw EU! ....Google, what's EU? #BrexitIn5Words

— Dr. Barbara Quimby (@natureB) June 24, 2016

Impact Shorts

More Shorts

French MPs call for social media ban for under-15s, digital curfew for teenagers

Nepal's Gen Z groups accept constitution to resolve crisis after talks with govt

More like The Divided Kingdom. #BrexitIn5Words @midnight

— comedycentral (@ComedyCentral) June 25, 2016

Don't EU Forget About Me...#BrexitIn5Words

— Clayton Summers (@komicsmaker) June 25, 2016

#BrexitIn5Words "Who can Brits blame now?" pic.twitter.com/Qf3qu6WHiP

— Will Black 🍓🍄 (@WillBlackWriter) June 25, 2016

#BrexitIn5Words Stay Stay Stay Stay Stay pic.twitter.com/j74jltkooi

— Bitch Kitty ❤️🇺🇲🙏 (@Ckirkusa) June 25, 2016

I've made a mistake guys #BrexitIn5Words @midnight pic.twitter.com/krj0i28aDC

— Patrick Brown (@ARGU5_4) June 25, 2016

Come to the dark side. #BrexitIn5Words pic.twitter.com/4B3wEOKMWi

— Punjikasthala (@Punjikasthala) June 24, 2016

007 Needs Visa for Europe #BrexitIn5Words @midnight

— Tommy Campbell (@MrTommyCampbell) June 24, 2016

#BrexitIn5Words Learn to google before voting.

— 🌺Yesse🌺 (@Jazzdragon) June 25, 2016

(With inputs from Reuters)