New Delhi: Amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, a fake cover of Time magazine that compares Russian President Vladimir Putin with German dictator Adolf Hitler has gone viral. The image on the cover showcases Putin with a picture of Hitler’s mustache overlayed on his face. Several mainstream media handles as well as verified Twitter handles have since posted this ‘cover’ on their pages, believing it to be the actual magazine cover.
However the truth is, this is not the real cover but only an imitation of the same by a UK based graphic designer called, Patrick Mulder. The Welsh designer has gone viral after fooling many into believing his mock TIME cover is the real thing. The image, is one out of the sequence of three that Mulder created on the day Russia invaded Ukraine, as he felt the official cover by TIME was ‘uninspired and lacked conviction’. Mulder took to Twitter and said, “I wanted to create something that added to the conversation around the invasion of Ukraine and captured the public mood.” He added, “It wasn’t originally intended to be a TIME cover…finished image was so powerful, I felt that it deserved to be framed in an equally powerful way.”
Once people found out the cover was not real, Mulder received a range of different responses for his work — from people who took it in good humor to those who slammed him for creating something that was not true. They accused him of being on the ‘wrong side of history’. Some asked him to take responsibility for those who died in the war-ravaged country of Ukraine.
I think @TIME magazine should employ @MrPatrickMulder as their new designer. https://t.co/hxsMBHsgQ9
— David Owens (@asoundreaction) February 28, 2022
Tell me you’re insane without telling me you’re insane… https://t.co/ZIem4Fho2g
— Patrick Mulder ??????? (@MrPatrickMulder) March 1, 2022
However, the graphic artist has not taken his critics to heart and said the images were created as a three-part series of his illustrations and was only meant as artistic representation.
Mulder requested people to keep his mentions respectful and said regardless of the differences in views and opinions, people can be kind to one another.
Please keep my mentions respectful. I am respectful to everyone regardless of their opinion and deserve the same in return. We can still be kind to one another even though our views differ.
— Patrick Mulder ??????? (@MrPatrickMulder) February 28, 2022
In face of the outrage, Mulder tweeted that art is in fact “subjective” and “everyone is entitled to their opinion”. The artist clarified he never intended for people to share the image without any affiliation, fact-checking or “noting that it was a piece of art”. The situation which has arisen was something Mulder had never planned on and is one that he personally cannot control, especially in the digital age where fast exchanges take place over social media platforms such as Twitter. The creator of the now famous and controversial piece apologised for the misinformation it has created, though he stood by his artwork.
(In collaboration with SM Hoaxslayer)
Also read: Langar truck run by Sikhs offering free meals not from Ukraine, viral image dates back to 2016