No, a TIME magazine cover with Vladimir Putin’s face superimposed on Adolf Hitler is not real

On Feb. 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an attack on Ukraine. On March 1, Russian forces continued to attack two of Ukraine’s largest cities, Kyiv and Kharkiv. The Associated Press reported the current ground war in Ukraine is the biggest in Europe since World War II. 

A photo claiming to show the latest cover of TIME magazine shows Putin’s face superimposed over the face of German dictator Adolf Hitler. 

THE QUESTION

Is the TIME magazine cover real?

THE SOURCES

• TIME: The Vault 
• TIME spokesperson
• Twitter account of Patrick Mulder 

THE ANSWER

No, the viral image is not a TIME magazine cover; it was created by artist Patrick Mulder as a commentary on Russia’s attack on Ukraine. 

WHAT WE FOUND

The viral image appears to be the cover of the Feb. 28 / March 7 edition of TIME magazine. 

TIME magazine archives its current and historical covers in The Vault. The official cover for the  Feb. 28 / March 7 issue is in that archive and features a young boy for the Kid of the Year edition – not Putin.

A TIME spokesperson confirmed, in a statement to VERIFY, that the "image is not an authentic TIME cover."

Using a reverse image search tool, VERIFY was able to track the viral image to a tweet posted by Patrick Mulder on Feb. 26. 

In a statement to VERIFY, Mulder said he created the now-viral image, as well as two others. On Twitter, Mulder wrote, “The image is one out of a sequence of three I created on the day Russia invaded Ukraine...I wanted to create something that added to the conversation around the invasion of Ukraine and captured the public mood.” 

TIME confirmed all three images are not authentic covers for their magazine.

More from VERIFY: No, a viral video doesn't show a Russian paratrooper crashing in Ukraine. The video was taken in Brazil in 2021.