Mina Chang sports a subtle smile on the cover of a Time magazine "Special Edition," with a swaggering headline that reads, "We change the world: Modern humanitarian in the digital age."
The cover shot was among the photographs Chang brought to a January 2017 interview ostensibly about countering violent extremism. At the time, the current State Department senior official was the chief executive at a small nonprofit, and she appeared on the public affairs show to discuss efforts to curb the influence of groups like the Islamic State and Boko Haram.
But five minutes into the interview, the show's host suggests that they "take a look at some pictures you brought with you of your work around the world."
The Time Magazine cover flashed onscreen.
"Here you are on Time magazine, congratulations," the host, Mary Sit, said to Chang. "Tell me about this cover and how this came to be."
Chang explained that her organization used "drone technology in disaster response" and "I suppose I brought some attention to that."
What she did not say, however, is that the cover was fake.
The fabricated Time cover is just one in a string of Chang's listed accomplishments and resume line data-x-items that has come into question after an NBC News investigation found that the 35-year-old Trump appointee embellished her work history and made misleading claims about her professional background. It has been a persistent problem for President Donald Trump's administration: an apparent failure to recognize red flags when vetting potential hires and appointees.
Last year, The Washington Post reported the story of a 24-year-old former Trump campaign worker who was quickly promoted to a leading role in the White House's drug policy office. Taylor Weyeneth was quietly fired after The Post story cast doubt on his qualifications
In August, Trump withdrew his nominee for director of national intelligence, Rep. John Ratcliffe, R-Texas, saying the embattled pick had been treated "very unfairly" by the media. Ratcliffe had bragged that as a federal prosecutor he "arrested over 300 illegal immigrants on a single day." But, The Post reported then, that wasn't true.
