From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcover storyˈcover ˌstory noun [countable] 1 TCNthe main story that appears with a picture on the front cover of a newspaper or magazine2 false information that you give people about who you are, what you are doing somewhere etc
Examples from the Corpus
cover story• The national news magazines have never granted her a cover story or a frill appreciation.• When time magazine made her the subject of a cover story, she encouraged them to include a profile of me.• All the press had to do was to interview any one of the islanders to blow the government cover story wide open.• All his private papers were merely his cover story.• In 1984, she was the subject of a Time magazine cover story.• MI5 was then advised that Crabb had presumably drowned and was asked to help provide a suitable cover story. 