Hugh Grant would kill social media if he had the option

Hollywood star Hugh Grant says the triumph of technology over democracy is "terrifying" and if he had the option, he would just pull the plug on social media.

Grant has been active in UK's press reform initiative with his Hacked Off campaign after it came to light that he was among the celebrities whose phones were hacked by a prominent British tabloid for gossip.

The "Four Weddings and a Funeral" star has now widened the scope of his campaign to include the impact of online propaganda.

"It's particularly terrifying, the triumph of technology over democracy," Grant told Variety's "My Favorite Episode" podcast.

"You realize, Trump couldn't have happened without Facebook manipulation, and Brexit couldn't have happened without it. It's all the ability now, people with enough money and resources, to manipulate swing voters through very highly tailored Facebook ads," the actor said.

The actor he would prefer if the social media did not exist but at the very least, take away the anonymity from posts.

"I would just pull the plug on social media. I look at the pluses and minuses, and to me the minuses way outweigh the pluses. We had perfectly decent lives before social media. At the very minimum, I would take away anonymity from social media posts," he said.