Were Anthony Fauci and Loretta Lynch hanged in a "double-header execution" at GITMO? No, that's not true. A Pentagon spokesperson told Lead Stories the claim was a "fabrication." Real Raw News, the website that published the story, is a self-described satire site that routinely makes up false stories about arrests and executions of politicians, celebrities and world leaders. It tells readers the site is for "entertainment purposes."
The claim appeared as an article published by Real Raw News on April 25, 2022, titled "GITMO Double-Header Execution: Anthony Fauci & Loretta Lynch | Real Raw News" (archived here). It opened:
For reasons not given but easily imagined, the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps abruptly amended Anthony S. Fauci's scheduled date of execution from April 26 to April 25 and on Monday morning fulfilled its obligation to execute not only him, but also GITMO's other celebrity of the day, former Clinton advisor Loretta Lynch who was sentenced on 7 April.
Users on social media only saw this title, description and thumbnail:
GITMO Double-Header Execution: Anthony Fauci & Loretta Lynch | Real Raw News
The article claims:
The back-to-back hangings began at 8:00 a.m. sharp, two hours after GITMO security woke Fauci and asked whether he wanted a final meal. A bedraggled Fauci seemed dumbfounded, purportedly telling his jailors, 'Its' only Monday, you morons. Obama might still call.'
Lead Stories contacted the Pentagon regarding the claim. In a phone conversation on April 25, 2022, a duty officer described the story as a "fabrication."
Lead Stories earlier debunked claims in Real Raw News of Fauci being arrested and sentenced to hang at Guantanamo Bay, also known as GITMO.
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, made a public appearance on Fox News two days before Real Raw News claimed that he was executed.
Lead Stories similarly debunked the Real Raw News claim that Lynch, a former U.S. attorney general, was arrested, with a spokesperson for the U.S. Marine Corps saying on March 25, 2022, that the story was "fake."
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.
