Kim Jong Un will not be Time's Person of the Year

Despite a prank that placed the dictator at the top of the poll, the leader has not made the magazine's short list

Published December 18, 2012 5:32PM (EST)

4chan pranksters may have been able to hack the Time Magazine reader's poll to declare North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un the top candidate for "Person of the Year," but editors at Time have ignored the joke. Time released its short list today, which does not include the supreme leader. Instead, potential candidates include the likes of Marissa Mayer, CEO of Yahoo; Mohammed Morsi, president of Egypt; and Malala Yousafazi, the Pakistani teen activist who survived an attack by the Taliban (visit Time for the full list).

But as the WSJ notes, the news hasn't stopped the Korean Central News Agency  from reporting that Kim "was selected by Time subscribers, 'including politicians, businessmen, artistes, sportspersons and announcers' as the magazine’s 'man of this year.'" This would be Kim's second dubious honor in the past several weeks.

Time will release its Person of the Year on Dec. 19.

 

 


By Prachi Gupta

Prachi Gupta is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on pop culture. Follow her on Twitter at @prachigu or email her at pgupta@salon.com.

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Dictator Kim Jong Un North Korea Person Of The Year 2012 Time Magazine