Fake TIME Magazine Cover of Donald Trump as 'Man of the Ear' Goes Viral as Real

This is not a real TIME Magazine cover depicting Donald Trump after his recent assassination attempt!

An image purportedly showing former US President Donald Trump with an bandaged ear on a cover of TIME Magazine is going viral online.

(Archives of similar claims can be viewed here and here.)

What's the truth?: This cover is not real but edited.

• TIME Magazine did not release any issue declaring Trump as 'Man of the Ear'.

• The magazine will be using his picture on the cover for issue of August 2024 but it does not match with this picture or text.

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How did we find out the truth?: We noticed that the viral TIME cover did not mention a publication date.

• We checked TIME's website for the latest covers but it did not feature the one shown in the viral claim.

• An assassination attempt on Trump happened on 13 July 2024 and the latest cover from 15 July shows Melinda French Gates, an American philanthropist.

• An issue from 27 May 2024 did carry Trump's image on the cover but it did not match the one in the viral claim. Moreover, this issue predates the assassination attempt.

• TIME released a checklist in November 2019 about how to spot a fake cover.

• Taking notes from here, we noticed that the viral cover (edited) does not carry a white border alongside the cover image and just carries the red border.

• We also didn't notice any date or 'time.com' written on the viral image.

Moreover, on 14 July 2024, TIME from their official X (formerly Twitter) handle posted a cover for their 5 August 2024, edition featuring a photograph of Trump's ear injury with the title "Attack on Trump".

TIME's new cover: Donald Trump survives shooting with nation on edge https://t.co/eQxgKW1ezt pic.twitter.com/SwfZcm3V2z

— TIME (@TIME) July 14, 2024

We also found out about Kapwing, an online editing tool, where you can create a similar fake cover template.

Conclusion: An edited cover of TIME magazine is going viral to claim that it shared Trump's photo with 'Man of the ear' headline.

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