Was former presidential adviser Anita Dunn sentenced to death at Guantanamo Bay? No, that's not true: A duty officer at the Pentagon told Lead Stories that this information is "false." A spokesperson for Anita Dunn tells Lead Stories, "no such events have occurred." The claim was made on a self-described satirical website that publishes articles for "entertainment purposes."
The claim originated in an article (archived here) published by Real Raw News on January 27, 2022, titled "It's Death for Dunn!" It opened:
"Please don't intimidate the witness," Rear Adm. Crandall barked at Anita Dunn during the opening minutes of Tuesday's military tribunal against her, after she admonished her husband Bob Bauer for appearing on the witness stand and swearing to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
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It's Death for Dunn! - Real Raw News
"Please don't intimidate the witness," Rear Adm. Crandall barked at Anita Dunn during the opening minutes of Tuesday's military tribunal against her, after she admonished her husband Bob Bauer for appearing on the witness stand and swearing to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Appearing without council--ostensibly she felt she [...]
In an email to Lead Stories on January 27, 2022, a spokesperson for Dunn, who was a senior adviser to President Joe Biden until she resigned last year, cited our previous fact check titled, "Anita Dunn Was NOT Arrested By U.S. Marine Corps On November 20, 2021" and said:
As was true in November, this series of stories is completely false, and no such events have occurred.
A Google search using the keywords "Former Biden Adviser Anita Dunn sentenced to death" produced no results otherwise.
On January 24, 2022, Real Raw News also reported "Gavin Newsom Hanged at GITMO" referring to California Gov. Gavin Newsom. That claim also is untrue, as Lead Stories documented in a January 4, 2022, article, titled, "Fact Check: Gavin Newsom Was NOT Sentenced To Death At Guantanamo Bay."
In a January 27, 2022 email, a Pentagon duty officer told Lead Stories regarding both claims:
This information is false.
Recent tweets made by Newsom and his office, seen here and here, also establish that he is alive and well at the time of writing.
Real Raw News has a long history of publishing false claims in mock news stories, many of them about convictions and executions of various public figures at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. For example, the site reported former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was hanged (she wasn't); former White House Chief of Staff John Podesta was executed (he wasn't); and that "the military" convicted former Attorney General William Barr on charges of treason (it didn't).
The website for Real Raw News includes a disclaimer that warns readers not to take its content too seriously. Specifically, it says:
Information on this website is for informational and educational and entertainment purposes. This website contains humor, parody, and satire. We have included this disclaimer for our protection, on the advice on legal counsel.
(Source: RealRawNews.com screenshot taken Tue Aug 3 16:39:48 UTC 2021)
Lead Stories has covered claims published by Real Raw News in the past. Previous Lead Stories debunks of Real Raw News items is collected here.
