A screenshot appearing as a New York Times headline about Russian President Vladimir Putin having “conquered” Ukraine is fake. The headline image has been altered from an authentic Times opinion piece published in late December on Ukraine not needing “all its territory to defeat Putin”.
The screenshot is dated Dec. 27, with The New York Times logo printed across the top of the image. The headline reads: “Putin May Have ‘Conquered’ Ukraine But All Its Women And Children Have Gone. Without The Financial Backing Of Prostitution And Child Porn Production, The Country Is Doomed, And Therefore His ‘Victory’ Meaningless. And That’s A Good Thing. Here’s Why.”
One user shared the image on X with a caption that reads: “ Sooo………Ukraines economy was built on prostitution and child pornography ? That’s what Biden has been funding to protect? Make it make sense !!!!!”
Another said: “American press admitting Ukraines child porn production!! And these are the good guys??”
The headline in the image is not authentic, however. A spokesperson for The New York Times said in an email that the “headline is fabricated” and sent Reuters the authentic article published by the same author on Dec. 27.
The real headline reads: “Ukraine Doesn’t Need All Its Territory to Defeat Putin.”
There is no record of the inauthentic headline in archives of the New York Times’ homepage or opinion page saved on Dec. 27, nor is there a record of it published on the outlet’s social media channels.
The earliest iteration Reuters found of the fabricated headline image was posted by an X account titled “Tired Meme Clown”.
False. The image is altered from a real New York Times headline published by the same author on Dec. 27, titled “Ukraine Doesn’t Need All Its Territory to Defeat Putin”.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our fact-checking work.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.