In mid-October 2023, covers of the satirical publications Charlie Hebdo, LeMan and Titanic appeared on the Internet, ridiculing the attack on Israel, Western aid to Ukraine and Vladimir Zelensky. We decided to check if these are real covers.
French magazine Charlie Hebdo
On October 12, the cover of the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo appeared on the Internet. The drawing shows severed heads in a pool of blood, and the sign next to them reads: “Gaza Strip.” One of the heads says: “Cool! It’s much easier to keep Shabbat when you don’t have a body.” The inscription in large font under the picture reads: “Forgive us, Israel! (We thought that our weapons would remain in Ukraine).” This drawing appeared less than 24 hours after the IDF announcedthat many of the bodies of Kibbutz Be'eri residents killed by Hamas militants were beheaded. The caption refers to the Russian propaganda narrative about weapons that Ukraine allegedly supplied grouping. The new cover of Charlie Hebdo was allegedly reported, for example, by Telegram channels "Frivolous news"(21,000 views at the time of writing this analysis), "Urgent and accurate - news digest" (16,000) and "Vzwater"(6000).
In the upper right corner of the image being distributed it is stated that it is #1630 dated October 12, 2023; it is emphasized that this is a special edition of Charlie Hebdo. According to archive on the official website of the magazine, the most recent issue that had been published by that time is issue No. 1629 from October 11. Charlie Hebdo is traditionally released digitally on Wednesdays and in print on newsstands on Thursdays. That is, the new issue No. 1630 was supposed to appear on the site only on October 18, which is what happened. Cover, like No. 1629, was dedicated to the war between Israel and Hamas, or more precisely, its consequences in France: murder of a school teacher in the city of Arras on October 13.
Previously on the Internet spread several dozen fake covers different publications, but recently their authors have begun to avoid the gross technical mistakes that they made previously - for example, forgot to change the number not only above the barcode, but also on the left margin of the image. But they still fail to create a drawing without errors.
In the lower left corner of the viral image above the barcode is the price - €3.50. The regular price for a Charlie Hebdo room is €3.20. Perhaps the authors of the image wanted to show in this way that this is indeed a special issue, but at the same time they forgot to change the price on the left, where the cost of the magazine in different countries is indicated.
In addition, on the fake cover in the lower right corner there is the signature of the artist Pierrick Juin, as in many previous cases. But in gallery There are no such caricatures in the drawings of this regular Charlie Hebdo contributor, and in general his drawings are made in a different style.
The primary source of the fake cover, judging by TGStat data, was the Telegram channel “Vzwater", where the post with the image appeared on October 12 at 18:02 Moscow time.
Turkish LeMan magazine
On October 16, a cover of the Turkish satirical weekly LeMan began to circulate on social networks. The artist depicted missile strikes in Gaza: flying shells, ruins of buildings and a Palestinian flag. In the foreground, journalists from the world's media are filming what is happening, and behind them stands the disgruntled President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky. The caption reads: “What lengths he will go to to get attention.” This image was shared by Telegram channels such as “Putin on Telegram"(180,000 views at the time of writing this analysis), "Voblya" (164,000) and "Uncle Slava"(74,000).
The viral cover says it's #1647, dated October 16, 2023. LeMan magazine is published once a week on Wednesdays, with October 16 falling on a Monday. The archive of issues on the official website of the publication indicates that by that time came out No. 1646, on sale October 11th. No. 1647 appeared on schedule, October 18, and came out under a completely different cover.
On the same day the viral cover appeared, LeMan cartoonist Tuncay Akgün wrote on social network X (formerly Twitter): “They made a fake cover again. This insistence is annoying, even though we expose them every time.” This is already the seventh fake in 2022–2023 LeMan cover, which is parsed by “Checked”.
The earliest post with a fake cover that “Verified” was able to find was a publication in the Telegram channel “Military observer"(50,000 views), which appeared on October 16 at 14:56 Moscow time.
German magazine Titanic
On October 18, the cover of the German satirical magazine Titanic appeared on the Internet. It depicts a typical Halloween scene: children standing in front of an open door, waiting for candy. At the same time, only one child, dressed in traditional Jewish clothing, has a treat in the basket. The others have Zelensky masks on their faces, and their baskets are empty. The inscription under the picture reads: “This time there won’t be enough candy for everyone.” The point is that after the situation in the Middle East worsens, assistance from Western countries to Ukraine may decrease - so, in any case, think some Russian officials. This cover was published by such Telegram channels as “DPR INFO 🇷🇺"(41,000 views at the time of writing this analysis), "Denazification UA"(26,000), "Olesya Loseva» (12,000)
Titanic magazine is published once a month. The cover, which has been circulating on social media, states that it is an October 2023 issue. Meanwhile in online store on the official website of the magazine, where all issues for 2023 are presented, October The issue has a completely different cover.
This is not the first time that fake Titanic covers have appeared - in the summer of 2023 “Verified” already sorted it out similar case. The authors did not repeat some of the technical mistakes made then, but there is one discrepancy. The viral cover indicates not only the month, but also the serial number of the issue - No. 11, while October corresponds to No. 10.
The earliest publication of this fake cover that “Verified” was able to detect appeared on October 18 at 12:54 Moscow time in the Telegram channel “DPR Info 🇷🇺"(41,000 views).
Cover photo: collage “Checked”
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- Is it true that foreign magazines published these covers dedicated to Zelensky and Ukraine?
- Is it true that foreign magazines published these covers with cartoons dedicated to Zelensky, the Dalai Lama and Swiss banks?
- Is it true that a Spanish magazine published these covers with Zelensky and NATO leaders?
- Is it true that foreign satirical magazines published these covers dedicated to the words of the Pope about the Chechens and Buryats?
- Is it true that on three covers of Charlie Hebdo the President of Ukraine is depicted as a dog?
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