Rachel Levine Was Not Time's Woman of the Year
The Claim
Time magazine's "Woman of the Year" was U.S. assistant secretary for health Rachel Levine.
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Emerging story
A Facebook post from March 30th by The United Spot shows Rachel Levine, the United States’ assistant secretary for health, on the cover of Time magazine as “Woman of the Year.” Dr. Levine is a pediatrician and professor, and previously served as Pennsylvania’s resident physician. She is also the first transgender government official to hold an office that requires senate confirmation.
The post received thousands of likes and more than one thousand shares. Many people believed it to be real. One Facebook user called it the “Age of Insanity!” Another thought it was “Disgusting.”
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation found this claim to be fake. The United Spot is a parody/satire account. On the about section of their Facebook page, they say “All posts, memes and videos are fictional, fake and created only for comedy.”
Time magazine traditionally features a man, woman, or person(s) of the year on their December issue. The December 2020 edition featured both Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as Person of the Year.
In December 2019, Time featured Greta Thunberg as Person of the Year.
In March 2020, Time created 89 new magazine covers to spotlight 89 women as part of a project honoring 100 influential women in history. Previously, 11 women had been selected as Time magazine’s Person of the Year. These new 89 covers do not feature Rachel Levine.
