Digitally altered image circulated as Time magazine cover comparing Trudeau to Hitler

By: Rahul Adhikari
September 25 2023

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The viral post claiming to show a Time magazine comparing Justin Trudeau to Hitler. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

Context

A recent Ipsos poll has revealed that Justin Trudeau is no longer preferred as the country's Prime Minister. Instead, the Conservative leader of the opposition, Pierre Poilievre, has gained 40 percent of votes, a five-point increase from the previous year. Meanwhile, Canada's House of Commons on Friday, September 22, received criticism after it honored 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka, a member of the First Ukrainian Division under the command of the Nazis in the Second World War. Members of parliament from all parties rose to applaud Hunka at the parliamentary meeting. Since facing backlash for the decision to invite and give a standing ovation to Hunka, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office released a statement addressing the incident, saying the Speaker of the House, Anthony Rota, had apologized and accepted full responsibility. 

What's the claim?

Following this, a photo was shared on the platform X (formerly Twitter) claiming to show a Time magazine cover comparing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Nazi leader Hitler. The post, which criticized Trudeau for the gaffe over Hunke, carried a viral photo that features cropped parts of Trudeau's face with a portion of Hitler's on a Time magazine cover titled "THE RETURN OF HISTORY." The viral post has received over 48,000 views and 1,070 likes. An archived version of the viral post can be found here. 

Screenshot of the viral post. (Source: X/Altered by Logically Facts)

However, the claim is false. A digitally altered image was shared on social media, falsely claiming that a Time magazine cover compared Hitler and Trudeau. Time magazine did not publish any such edition.

What we found

The bottom-right corner of the viral image carries attribution to Patrick Mulder. A reverse image search revealed that a similar image claiming Time magazine compared Putin to Hitler was circulated on social media in 2022. Upon further research, we found that Mulder, a graphic designer, had created an image of a Time magazine cover comparing Putin to Hitler in February 2022. After the image went viral, he clarified that he made the image on the day Russia invaded Ukraine. In a statement, Mulder wrote, "I created the TIME cover artwork on the day Russia invaded Ukraine. The image is one out of a sequence of three. I wanted to create something that added to the conversation around the invasion of Ukraine and captured the public mood." 

He further stated, "It wasn't originally intended to be a TIME cover. The finished image was so powerful, I felt that it deserved to be framed in an equally powerful way. I feel as though the official cover by TIME was uninspired and lacked conviction given the unprecedented events unfolding before our eyes." 

Screengrab of the clarification tweet by the creator of an image similar to the viral image, Patrick Mulder. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

We conducted a thorough comparison between the viral image and the one created by Mulder, and we found that both pictures are identical, except that Putin's face has been swapped for Trudeau's. Putin and Trudeau's faces are attached to the same suit and tie in both images, further suggesting that both were digitally created. The edition's date, February 28/March 7, 2022, title "The Return of History," and issue details are identical in both images. The strap under the heading in capital letters has also been edited: Mulder's version read "How Putin Shattered Europe's Dreams," while the viral version now states "How Trudeau Shattered America's Dreams." The font in both subheadings is the same.

Comparison between the viral image and the image created by Patrick Mulder. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

Did Time magazine publish such a cover?

In 2022, Time magazine published 24 editions. The issue date on the viral image is February 28/March 7, 2022. However, the actual February 28/March 7, 2022, edition of Time magazine was titled "Kid of the Year" and bore no connection to Trudeau. No other issues match the viral image. 

The official cover of the Time magazine edition dated March 14/March 21, 2022, posted by the magazine to X on February 25, was titled "The Return of History - How Putin Shattered Europe's Dream." The cover featured military personnel inside a tank, not a comparison between Hitler and any present-day leader. 

Comparison between the viral image and the Time magazine March 2022 edition. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

Evidently, the viral image, similar to the 2022 image created by graphic designer Mulder, has been digitally altered. 

The verdict

The claim that Time magazine published a cover comparing Justin Trudeau to Adolf Hitler is false. The viral image in question is a digitally altered version of an image created by graphic designer Patrick Mulder, featuring a comparison between Vladimir Putin and Hitler. Time Magazine did not publish any such cover. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.