ABSTRACT
The debate over Europe followed decades of anti-European rhetoric from politicians on all sides, as well media organisations. This chapter looks at the 2016 referendum through a populist and misinformation lens. Finally, this chapter focuses mainly on news media coverage of the Leave campaign. It was most plainly displayed on the bright red Vote Leave battle bus with the slogan the authors send the EU 350m each week. Out of 461 articles that mentioned Turkey, 109 had a negative portrayal of Turkey or its citizens, in terms of criminality or the pressure that would be put on UK public services if Turkey joined the EU. The Leave campaigns' use of populist rhetoric combined with misinformation managed to overcome the supposed advantage of Remain, which had the main three parties backing it, along with business leaders, but which failed to encapsulate its message in a way that connected to the electorate.
