Fake TIME Magazine Covers Hang at Trump Golf Courses


    28 June, 2017

    This is What's Trending Today.

    Washington Post reporter David Fahrenthold followed Donald Trump throughout the 2016 presidential election campaign.

    He wrote about then-candidate Trump's promises to give money to charity. He reported that Trump's own organization donated very little money over the years.

    Tweet from David Fahrenthold showing a fake Time Magazine cover with photo of Trump.
    Tweet from David Fahrenthold showing a fake Time Magazine cover with photo of Trump.

    He also reported on an old recording in which Trump is heard talking about touching women without their permission.

    Fahrenthold won a Pulitzer Prize this year for his reporting on Trump. The yearly prize honors journalists who do great work.

    This week, Fahrenthold reported on another Trump-related issue for the Post. He wrote about a framed TIME magazine cover that hangs on the walls at some of Trump's golf courses in the United States, Ireland and Scotland. The cover features a photo of Donald Trump himself. It is dated March 1, 2009. The cover says Trump's television show, "The Apprentice," is a big success.

    But, there is one problem. TIME was not published on that date.

    The real TIME magazine cover closest to that date came out on March 2, 2009. It has a picture of British actress Kate Winslet.

    Traditionally, TIME magazine covers have a red border with a thin white line surrounding the cover photo.

    The version hanging at Trump's golf courses is different.

    Staff members who work for the president at the White House and those who run the golf courses did not respond to the Washington Post's questions about the fake magazine cover.

    TIME said it has asked Trump's business, known as the Trump Organization, to take down the fake magazine covers.

    TIME named Trump its 2016 Person of the Year. He was on the magazine's cover at the end of last year.

    Many people on social media reacted to the story. They used photo-editing software and made their own versions of magazine covers featuring themselves -- and even their cats. One politician made up his own TIME cover.

    Some also remembered a scene from the 1998 movie, "The Big Lebowski." In the film, the main character looks into a mirror that looks like a TIME magazine cover.

    Trump tweeted about the Washington Post's story on Wednesday, calling the newspaper "fake news."

    And that's What's Trending Today.

    I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.

    Dan Friedell wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.

    Do you think President Trump should take down the magazine covers? We want to know. Write to us in the Comments Section or on 51VOA.COM.

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    Words in This Story

    charity – n. an organization that helps people who are poor, sick, etc.

    frame – v. to put (something) inside an open structure that holds it

    feature – v. to have or include (someone or something) as an important part

    border – n. a decorative design along the edge of something (such as a rug or wallpaper)

    edit – v. to change, move, or remove parts of (a film, recording, photo, etc.)

    software – n. the programs that run on a computer and perform certain functions

    character– n. a person who appears in a story, book, play, movie, or television show