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.

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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