Did the U.S. Judge Advocate General's Corps arrest 97 media personnel in November and December 2023? No, that's not true: A Pentagon duty officer told Lead Stories that this claim is false. Also, the website where this claim was made declares it publishes fabricated content.
The claim appeared in an article published by Real Raw News on January 21, 2024, titled "JAG Claims 97 'Media' Arrests in Last Two Months" (archived here). It began:
On Thursday a Judge Advocate General's Corps source in Pensacola told Real Raw News that JAG and Army CID investigators have arrested nearly one hundred media criminals in the last two months. However, the incarcerated are not the glamorized, limelight-hogging faces and figures that each day fulfill a collective thirst for (dis)information; they are not all Rachel Maddows, Anderson Coopers, or Robert Costas. Instead, they make up an equally dangerous ilk--the behind-the-scenes curators and custodians who decide what's shown on air and published on internet white space.
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JAG Claims 97 "Media" Arrests in Last Two Months
On Thursday a Judge Advocate General's Corps source in Pensacola told Real Raw News that JAG and Army CID investigators have arrested nearly one hundred media criminals in the last two months. However, the incarcerated are not the glamorized, limelight-hogging faces and figures that each day fulfill a collective thirst for (dis)information; they are not all Rachel Maddows, Anderson Coopers, or Robert Costas. Instead, they make up an equally dangerous ilk--the behind-the-scenes curators and custodians who decide what's shown on air and published on internet white space.
(Source: Real Raw News screenshot taken on Wed Jan 21 13:45:37 2024 UTC)
Lead Stories reached out to the Office of the Secretary of Defense about this claim. In a January 24, 2024, email, a Pentagon duty officer responded:
This is false.
Under the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, the military does not have the authority to arrest civilians. This act can be voided under certain circumstances explicitly authorized by the U.S. Constitution or Act of Congress. Congress.gov does not show legislation making such authorization.
Additional Lead Stories fact checks that mention the U.S. Judge Advocate General's Corps can be read here.
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.
