Was Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs hanged at Guantanamo Bay on December 22, 2023? No, that's not true: A Pentagon duty officer told Lead Stories that this claim is false. The website where this claim was made has a disclaimer that states it publishes "humor, parody, and satire" content.
The claim appeared in an article (archived here) published by Real Raw News on December 25, 2023, under the title "Katie Hobbs Was NOT Hanged At GITMO." It opened:
Convicted felon and former Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs received an early Christmas gift Friday morning: She was hanged before a coterie of officers who had arrived at GITMO to witness her final breath.
This is how the article looked on Real Raw News at the time of writing:
(Source: Real Raw News screenshot taken on Thur Dec 28 14:44:03 2023 UTC)
Lead Stories reached out to the Office of the Secretary of Defense to substantiate the validity of this claim. In a December 28, 2023 email, a Pentagon duty officer responded:
This is false.
Hobbs published a December 24, 2023, post (archived here) on her verified X, formerly known as Twitter, account. The post was made two days after her supposed December 22, 2023, execution. In the post, she is seen alive and well, posing for photos with senior citizens at Beatitudes Senior Living Community for the holiday season:
Additional Lead Stories fact checks that mention Katie Hobbs can be read here.
Lead Stories has reached out to Hobbs' office and will update this fact check if a response is received.
Real Raw News
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 "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 declares the site does not stand by the contents of the stories, calling them entertainment. Specifically, it says:
Information on this website is for informational and educational and entertainment purposes. ... 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 are collected here.
