In a 2019 article on Hitler’s legacy, Time noted that even the portrait of the 1939 issue was not the typical cover. It said Hitler’s actions “left civilized men and women aghast” and called Hitler “the man most responsible for this world tragedy is a moody, brooding, unprepossessing, 49-year old Austrian-born ascetic with a Charlie Chaplin mustache.”
Time’s 1939 issue describes Hitler as “the greatest threatening force that the democratic, freedom-loving world faces today.” Like the prior claims, the present post misunderstands the nature of Time’s selection, making the attempt to draw conclusions about the legitimacy of Time in particular or the media in general nonsensical. Time’s selection of the people with the biggest impact on the news is not always an honor. The Australian Associated Press found this claim has been circulating online since at least 2016. Time selection was a condemnation, not an honor USA TODAY reached out to the user for comment. “Arguably you could do a bad guy every year and be justified.” The magazine’s criteria for the selection is “the person or persons who most affected the news and our lives, for good or ill,” Time wrote in 2014. While it is true that Hitler was selected Time’s “Man of the Year” for 1938, it was not an expression of commendation. 16 post. “Moral of the story: Mainstream media is NOT your friend.”įact check: Chet Hanks video makes false claim about vaccine safety and UFOs “Never forget the fact Adolf Hitler was TIME magazine’s ‘Man of the Year’ in 1938,” reads the text with an image of Hitler in an Aug. The magazine named the Nazi leader “Man of the Year” for 1938.Ĭontroversy followed – and continues to this day. Time magazine’s Person of the Year franchise began in 1927, then known as “ Man of the Year.” The first person to appear on the cover was Charles Lindbergh in 1928, following his historic solo flight across the Atlantic.Ī decade later, it was Adolf Hitler’s turn. The claim: Hitler’s selection as Time ‘Man of the Year’ shows why the media ‘is not your friend’