It is a politician's modus operandi/job to mislead in order to achieve political goals. It would have been the job of the press to point out the problems and the job of the public to form a qualified opinion.
Only the politicians did their jobs, unfortunately...
The press pushing an agenda for either side and not remaining an impartial observer is a huge part of the problem, not only with Brexit.
I'm not sure if in former times the press was just as opinionated and noone noticed. But now, people notice that the press isn't impartial and therefore just do not trust even the rare instances of impartial facts being presented.
> I'm not sure if in former times the press was just as opinionated and noone noticed.
Everyone noticed. It's one of the most frequently discussed things about the British (though not uniquely theirs) press for centuries, both in terms of explicit comment and implicit cultural reference (e.g., such as it being a recurring background element of fiction.)
That's nothing. In 1939, The New York Times did an article about Hitler and his mountain retreat at Berchtesgaden, about how he goes there to unwind and be amongst nature.
This whole thing is an embarrassing own goal