by Wai Chan
In this paper, I explore how British media portray immigration from the EU and how that relates to the
Brexit decision. I base my arguments from a range of empirical research that analyzed British media’s portrayal
of EU immigration prior to the Brexit vote. In the first part, I analyze how British media portrayed the facts of
immigration. In the second half, I analyze how British media interpreted implications of EU immigration. I found
that British media plays more than a passive role in presenting facts and viewpoints in the Brexit debate, but is
active in shaping facts, selectively reporting on the immigration issue and imposing its own analytical frames in
explaining the implications of immigration. British media highlighted the massive scale and negative
consequences of EU immigration. It most often presents EU immigrants as abusing British welfare system and
the EU as eroding British sovereignty. Understanding how the British media influenced public understanding
and opinion about EU immigration in relation to British people’s decision to leave the EU has can reveal how the
media interacts with public opinion and political reality more generally and will be insightful for future political
campaigns.
