Politics

FACT CHECK: Did Time Magazine Publish A Cover Calling Barack Obama The ‘Kingpin Of The Biggest Political Scandal In Modern History’?

No featured image available

An image shared on Facebook purportedly shows a Time Magazine cover calling former President Barack Obama “the kingpin of the biggest political scandal in modern history.”

Verdict: False

There is no record of Time Magazine publishing such a cover.

Fact Check:

The alleged magazine cover features a picture of Obama grimacing, with text that reads, “My TIME is up.” In the bottom left side of the image is the word “TREASON,” followed by text that reads, “How former president Barack Obama was the kingpin of the biggest political scandal in modern history.” The entire image is surrounded by Time Magazine’s signature red border.

“As Social Media is distracted by the Media and folks are scared of Covid-19 and white cop’s there is a developing real story that’s actually going on!” the image’s caption reads. “A story called Declassification. Fake News Media aren’t wanting too cover it but it’s Real News!”

The cover, however, is not genuine. The image lacks some of the traditional markings of a Time Magazine cover, calling into question its authenticity. For instance, Time Magazine covers typically include the publication date in the top right corner and “time.com” in the bottom right-hand corner, both of which are absent from the image.

While Obama has been featured on the cover of Time Magazine numerous times, none of those covers have suggested he is guilty of treason. The Daily Caller News Foundation searched all the Time Magazine covers published since 2008, when Obama was first elected, but found nothing resembling the image shared on Facebook.

“I can confirm that this is not an authentic TIME cover image,” Kristin Matzen, communications director for Time Magazine, told the DCNF in an email.

This is not the first time a fake Time Magazine cover has spread on social media. Check Your Fact previously debunked a fake cover that showed a picture of President Donald Trump above the words “Worst. President. Ever.”