Fake Economist Cover Featuring Trump and Putin Debunked

A fabricated image falsely attributed to The Economist claims to depict Trump and Putin with apocalyptic warnings about Ukraine and Russia's conflict.

• The fake cover, circulating on social media, falsely shows Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin facing off with the word 'Apocalypse' and references to World War III.
• The Economist has confirmed the image is not genuine, pointing out it is not in their archives and contains spelling and formatting errors inconsistent with their publication.
• The fabricated cover appears to misuse elements from a March 2024 edition of The Economist and includes a non-existent article headline about President Biden leaving the White House.
• The image has been widely shared on platforms like Facebook, X, and Telegram, with some posts linked to pro-Kremlin disinformation networks mimicking The Economist's style.
• The fake cover emerged following heightened tensions in the Ukraine-Russia conflict, including U.S. approval of long-range missile strikes into Russia and Putin's lowering of the nuclear weapons use threshold.

3 Articles

USA TODAY Full Fact