After serving as the American edition of Vogue’s Editor-in-Chief for nearly four decades, the legendary Anna Wintour has announced that she will be stepping down. She will remain Condé Nast’s Chief Content Officer and Vogue’s international editorial director, but a new Editor-in-Chief will be taking over. 

The timing, however, fueled speculation. Just days earlier, Vogue unveiled Lauren Sánchez in her wedding dress during her high-profile Venice wedding to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos as its digital cover. Rumors about connections between the two events spread quickly. Radar Online showed social media commenting, “no wonder Anna stepped down” and “I can now see why Anna decided to get out before this cover dropped.” An article in Style Caster also pushed the narrative that Bezos might buy Condé Nast as a wedding gift.

Reputable outlets, however, emphasize that Wintour’s decision was long in the works, not triggered by one controversial cover. For SHP readers, this highlights the importance of media literacy: unconfirmed news gone viral can quickly overshadow facts, so understanding who controls the narrative and how easily it shifts is part of becoming a responsible consumer of news.