US President Donald Trump, the man almost single-handedly responsible for propagating the phrase “fake news”, has been sprung flaunting a totally inauthentic TIME Magazine cover at no fewer than five of his clubs.
The cover, which features a glowering portrait of Trump with the headline “The “Apprentice” is a television smash!!” has been verified as totally fake by TIME Magazine itself. So dubious is the stuff-up that TIME has actually asked Trump’s businesses to take ’em off the walls.
That piece of befuddling content has been eyed at clubs across the States, including at Trump’s personal favourite Mar-A-Lago in Florida. Staff at two of his clubs in Ireland and Scotland have also reported seeing the dodgy image.
Fake Time Magazine, cover, right, hung on Mar-a-Lago wall near entrance. @TB_Times @realDonaldTrump @TIMEMagUSA pic.twitter.com/xwMs6kisYH
— Scott Keeler (@SKeelerTimes) 27 June 2017
It’s not yet clear who placed the covers up, or which genius created them, but we can think of one bloke who’s equally fond of thinking about himself and extraneous exclamation points.
FWIW, several stylistic differences help distinguish the cover from the real deal, as well as its apparent publication date: there was no TIME Magazine published on March 1, 2009.
The actual 2 March, 2009 cover. Via TIME Magazine.
Some legitimately great investigation from The Washington Post has unearthed some even wilder oddities about the cover. The exact barcode included in the image was ripped from a graphic design tutorial focussed on faking a TIME Magazine cover – and the barcode seems to be linked to karaoke software.
The Washington Post has enquired with the Trump camp as to whether they plan to strip the phony images from club walls. No doubt eagle-eyed punters will be ready to take some snaps if and when they do.
In any case, it’s not a good look for the noted egotist – and it detracts from his efforts to slam genuinely reputable news agency CNN, who’ve just accepted the resignation of three journos over their faulty story on Trump’s Russian dealings.
Source: The Washington Post.
Photo: Angel Valentin / The Washington Post / Getty.
