Overview

• Fact-checkers reported that the purported cover does not exist in Vanity Fair’s archives and AI-detection tools flagged the image as almost certainly generated.
• Conservative figures including Laura Ingraham and Charlie Kirk shared the mock cover on X, with some later acknowledging it was not real.
• Vanity Fair has not posted any Melania Trump cover on its official channels, and the magazine’s announced September cover features Jennifer Aniston.
• Semafor previously reported that new editorial director Mark Guiducci had considered a Melania cover, while the Daily Mail cited unnamed staff threatening to quit, a claim not confirmed by the magazine.
• Page Six reported that Melania Trump declined the idea and “laughed” at the offer, as partisan media seized on the episode to claim a cultural win.