Time‘s New Cover Is Really Calling Out the Trump/Russia Investigation

Whoa there, Time magazine; shots fired!

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The latest cover of Time really goes there with all the new information connecting the Trump administration to Russia, as well as the federal investigation looking into those ties, and people are kind of losing their minds over it.

The cover shows the White House slowly merging with St. Basil’s Cathedral, a building in Moscow’s Red Square. It has no text other than the magazine’s name, letting the image do all the talking. It’s a very not-subtle statement, and Twitter sat up and took note when the cover dropped today.

Our new cover this morning, it's been a decade since @TIME did not have a cover line https://t.co/7iWyl0gOuY pic.twitter.com/YHfbLSQ8Lw

— Matt Vella (@mattvella) May 18, 2017

Time really dug into the idea, even producing an animated version of the cover image for its website.

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A post shared by TIME (@time)

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Granted, the image wasn’t quite original. Mad magazine had the same idea back in December and called Time out for it on Twitter.

Once More, With Stealing Dept.
TIME MAGAZINE RIPS OFF MAD MAGAZINE?https://t.co/dWYykrr4tJ pic.twitter.com/bfYrj2DpUb

— MAD Magazine (@MADmagazine) May 18, 2017

And there was other criticism, saying the comparison between the White House and St. Basil’s was a stretch as a political statement.

about that TIME cover…

St Basil’s Cathedral isn’t really “red.”

St Basil’s isn’t “The Kremlin.”

Are we seriously doing this?

— Turkey🦃 Jerkin' Bitch Li'l 🌳 (@karengeier) May 18, 2017

But for the most part, reactions were a healthy mix of shock and “did they really just go there?” sentiments.

https://twitter.com/mustaphahitani/status/865216715659063296

Oh boy. The new cover of @TIME went there. pic.twitter.com/NDWyQEahk0

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) May 18, 2017

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Also make sure you check out Time‘s accompanying story, a fascinating look at some of the ways Russia has been manipulating social media in the U.S.

What did you think of Time‘s cover? Let us know down in the comments.