Time Magazine Comments On Trump Video
In what appears to be a case of Trump Derangement Syndrome, TIME magazine has once again targeted former President Donald Trump for sharing a so-called “campaign ad” on his new social media platform Truth Social.
In an article titled “Trump posts bizarre solar eclipse campaign ad, with his head blocking out the sun,” the magazine mocked the video as a “new and bizarre campaign ad.” However, it seems that the magazine missed a critical detail – the video was actually a satirical meme.
The video, which had a watermark from the pro-Trump meme account “il Donaldo Trumpo,” showed an image of a glowing sun being blocked by Trump’s head as crowds watched the solar eclipse with protective eyewear. This is a common meme format where the subject’s face is superimposed onto a different image for comedic effect. The creator of the meme, il Donaldo Trumpo, describes his work as a place of “love, decency, and goodness” and aims to spread positivity and laughter on social media. It was clear that this was not a serious campaign ad, but rather a lighthearted joke.
However, TIME seemed to completely miss the mark and spent almost 400 words writing up the “campaign ad” as if it were real. The magazine even mentioned Trump’s recent “unusual statements” and tried to connect them to the video, further highlighting their misunderstanding of the meme. This blunder only serves to make the magazine look out of touch and out of tune with the internet culture.
H/t @PapiTrumpo for completely breaking the @TIME editors’ brains. https://t.co/D9tSx7n7vO pic.twitter.com/Cv4UHonSWq
— Joseph Vazquez (@JV3MRC) April 8, 2024
The lack of understanding displayed by TIME is quite concerning, especially for a renowned publication. The fact that they were not able to recognize a meme, a form of popular culture that has dominated social media for years, reflects poorly on their credibility. Perhaps the editors behind the article were too blinded by their own political bias to see the obvious parody.
The magazine’s mistake did not go unnoticed, as podcast host Benny Johnson pointed out in a tweet, “BREAKING: @Time does not know what a meme is.” This further adds to the embarrassment of the magazine, as their failure to recognize the video as a meme has been brought to attention by other news outlets and social media users.
In the age of the internet, where memes have become a ubiquitous form of communication and self-expression, it is baffling that TIME, a publication with such a vast reach, failed to recognize one. This just goes to show the growing generational and cultural divide between mainstream media and the younger audience who consume memes regularly.
This incident also raises questions about the credibility and integrity of mainstream media outlets. If they cannot even recognize a simple meme, how can they be trusted to accurately report on more complex issues? It is a prime example of how biased reporting can lead to glaring mistakes and misrepresentations of facts.