Is the Macron Titanic cover with frog throwing real?

The common claim

An image of a supposed Titanic cover showing French President Emmanuel Macron in military uniform throwing frogs out of the open door of a helicopter has been circulating online. The image, dated March 2024 and numbered 4352, suggests that Macron is sending reinforcements to the Ukrainian armed forces. The depiction caused controversy and was viewed by some as a real cover of the satirical magazine.

The fact check on the Macron cover

This cover is a fake. Julia Mateus, editor-in-chief of Titanic magazine, confirmed to Reuters by email that this cover was never published. A review of the magazine's homepage , archive editions , and Titanic Magazine's social media revealed no evidence of the cover in question.

the real cover of issue 4352 shows Adolf Hitler blowing out smoke next to a headline about the discovery of his personal "bong" - not a caricature of Macron. The spread of the fake cover followed a press conference by Macron in February in which he did not rule out the deployment of European troops in Ukraine.

Questions and answers on the topic

Question 1: Is the Titanic cover photo with Macron real?
Answer 1: No, the cover photo is fake.

Question 2: What does the real cover of issue 4352 show?
Answer 2: It shows Adolf Hitler blowing out smoke with a headline about his personal “bong.”

Question 3: Has Titanic magazine confirmed the cover?
Answer 3: No, the editor-in-chief of the magazine has confirmed that it is a fake.

Question 4: How did this forgery come about?
Answer 4: The fake cover photo was created after Macron's press conference in which he did not rule out the deployment of European troops in Ukraine.

Question 5: How can you recognize such counterfeits?
Answer 5: By checking official sources and critically questioning the context and origin.

Conclusion

The fact check shows how important critical media literacy and questioning viral content is. It is important to only obtain information from trustworthy sources and to verify them if in doubt. Especially in times of digital media, misinformation can spread quickly and be misleading.

Source: Reuters

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