Vogue magazine covers featuring Olympic gold medalist Imane Khelif are fabricated
Images are are fabrications created by a self-described artist who describes them as “montage art.”
CLAIM
A number of photos purporting to be covers of Vogue magazine featuring Algerian boxer and 2024 Olympic gold medalist Imane Khelif began circulating on various social media platforms
BACKGROUND
Imane Khelif’s participation in the 2024 Olympics became mired in controversy as she was scrutinised and faced questions about her sex. The controversy began after Khelif’s fight against Italian boxer Angela Carini who gave up shortly into the bout after being hit by powerful blows.
The questions about Khelif’s sex stemmed from her being disqualified from the International Boxing Association’s 2023 World championships for failing “to meet the required necessary eligibility criteria and were found to have competitive advantages over other female competitors.” A decision based on testing that was since dismissed by the International Olympic Committee as “flawed.”
The IBA itself has been subject to scrutiny and was banned from having anything to do with the Olympic Games because of the Russian-dominated organisation’s many years of troubled governance and lack of transparency.
Khelif’s dominant win over Carini sparked an outcry from athletes, politicians and other prominent public figures who subjected Khelif to dimissive or hateful comments questioning her gender identity and calling for her disqualification. The IOC threw their support Khelif who subsequently went on to win the final of women’s welterweight division beating her opponent 5-0.
The purported covers of Vogue began circulating on a number of social media platforms including Reddit in late August.
The posts were shared by numerous users on other platforms, too, with one calling the photos “incredible and powerful,” and another simply leaving a comment saying “Queen.”
METHOD
Common for the three photos is that they all bear the iconic magazine’s name with “Algeria” visible in the “o” of the name.
However, a look at Vogues website reveals that no such publication is found when accessing the search function at the bottom right-hand corner of the page. In other words, Vogue Algeria does not exist.
The magazine does have an “Arabia” edition, but a search for all issues of that edition shows that Imane Khelif was not featured on the cover of any of the 2023 publications.
Likewise, Khelif did not feature on any of the latest English language editions of the magazine.
A reverse image search of the alleged covers eventually took us to the Instagram profile of Cheikh Boumsersseb who describes himself as a visual and art director.
Boumsersseb’s page features numerous images of Imane Khelif, including the ones featured on the alleged Vogue covers.
In the caption to one image, Boumsersseb says that the image is, in fact collage artwork which reflect his artistic vision.
Two of the three images featured on the purported Vogue covers also carry text reading “By Cheikh Boumsersseb.”
RATING
The images of Imane Khelif on the cover of Vogue magazine are fabrications created by a self-described artist who describes them as “montage art.”
SOURCES
Reddit. (2024). https://i.redd.it/jdtntdtthzjd1.jpeg. [online] Available at: https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fjdtntdtthzjd1.jpeg [Accessed 4 Sep. 2024].
X (formerly Twitter). (2024). Available at: https://x.com/SylnaZhinka/status/1829891491705049537 [Accessed 4 Sep. 2024].
Threads. (2024). Tiffany Hughes (@epiphany724) on Threads. [online] Available at: https://www.threads.net/@epiphany724/post/C_A3sOCp9S8 [Accessed 4 Sep. 2024].
Nast, C. (2024). Vogue: Fashion, Beauty, Celebrity, Fashion Shows. [online] Vogue. Available at: https://www.vogue.com/ [Accessed 4 Sep. 2024].
Vogue Arabia. (2024). Vogue Arabia. [online] Available at: https://en.vogue.me/ [Accessed 4 Sep. 2024].
Vogue Arabia. (2024). Vogue Arabia – All Issues. [online] Available at: https://en.vogue.me/vogue-arabia-all-issues/ [Accessed 4 Sep. 2024].
Instagram.com. (2020). Cheikh Boumsersseb♾️ (@cheikh_boumsersseb) • Instagram profile. [online] Available at: https://www.instagram.com/cheikh_boumsersseb/?g=5 [Accessed 4 Sep. 2024].
Instagram. (2020). Cheikh Boumsersseb♾️ on Instagram: ‘Queen @imane_khelif_10 As Picasso famously said, “Everything you can imagine is real.” This Collage Artwork is crafted to celebrate Imane’s exceptional talent and cultural significance, reflecting my artistic vision. #imanekhelif #art #collageart #collageartwork #algeria’. [online] Available at: [Accessed 4 Sep. 2024].