Fact Check: Did a Rolling Stone cover label Trump the 'most corrupt president ever'?

WASHINGTON, DC: Amid allegations of corruption over the $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization fund", an image has been circulating on social media platforms claiming to show a cover of the Rolling Stone magazine featuring President Donald Trump with the caption "the most corrupt president ever." Let us analyze the image and fact-check its authenticity.

Claim: Rolling Stone magazine labelled Donald Trump 'corrupt'

The viral image shows Trump being featured on the cover of the popular Rolling Stone magazine in June 2024, with a quote stating, “The most corrupt president ever. Ever.” 

It was accompanied by a subtitle below which states, “From self-dealing to abuse of power, no president in history has put personal greed ahead of the country like Donald Trump.”

The image has spread on various social media platforms such as X, Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit, garnering hundreds of thousands of views, with many believing the cover image to be authentic.

Fact Check: Rolling Stone carried no such cover

The image, however, is fake, as the popular magazine has not published any such edition featuring the president and calling him corrupt. 

A search on Google and on the magazine’s website for relevant keywords yielded no results. A reverse image search for the cover showed no credible matches except for the social media posts sharing the image.

A fact check by Grok stated, “No June 2024 (or any 2024) Rolling Stone magazine cover with the headline 'THE MOST CORRUPT PRESIDENT EVER. EVER.' exists."

"Rolling Stone has been harshly critical of Trump and has run pieces calling his actions corrupt, but they never published that particular cover. It's a digitally altered or entirely fabricated image that's been circulating as political meme/attack art.”

Democrats call Trump administration the 'most corrupt regime'

The purported Rolling Stone cover surfaced after Democratic lawmakers criticized Trump over reports that his administration plans to create a taxpayer-funded “anti-weaponization fund,” which is meant for individuals and groups who say they were unfairly targeted by the Biden administration, including some individuals charged in relation to the January 6 Capitol riot. 

The Justice Department stated that the fund was set up as part of a deal in which Trump would drop his $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Critics labeled the proposal an unusual use of taxpayer money and accused Trump of rewarding his political allies.   

“First, Donald Trump sues his own IRS to enrich himself,” Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif) wrote on X. “Now he wants to use billions in taxpayer funds to compensate his allies, including thousands charged for the January 6 insurrection. This is easily the most corrupt regime in US history.”