FACT CHECK: Was Jeff Bezos Arrested And Sent To Guantanamo Bay?
A post shared on Facebook over 330 times claims Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has been arrested, taken to the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and had his assets seized.
Verdict: False
There is no evidence Bezos has been arrested or sent to Guantanamo Bay.
Fact Check:
Amazon announced in February Bezos would be stepping down as its CEO, and taking on the role of executive chair, according to CNN. His last day holding the position was July 5, the outlet reported. Now a post on Facebook claims Bezos has been arrested.
“Breaking News! Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon arrested & is at Gitmo now, all assets seized!” the July 1 Facebook post reads. The post cites the information as coming from someone named Scott Brunswick. (RELATED: Does Amazon Accept Dogecoin As Payment?)
There is, however, no evidence of Bezos being arrested or sent to Guantanamo Bay. Check Your Fact searched press releases published by the Justice Department and the Defense Department, but found no mention of Bezos’ alleged arrest or seizure of assets.
In addition, Bezos is one of the richest men in the world, and as of July 5, has a net worth of over $200 billion, according to Forbes. Had he been arrested, taken to Guantanamo Bay and had his assets seized, media outlets likely would have reported on it, yet none have. Such an incident also likely would have prompted a statement from Amazon since Bezos, according to Forbes, held an approximately 10 percent ownership stake in the company as of June 10.
Bezos is scheduled to travel to space on July 20 aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard spacecraft as part of its first flight with a crew, according to CNN. He posted on Instagram on July 1, the day the Facebook post says he was in Guantanamo Bay, welcoming “Mercury 13” Woman in Space Program participant Wally Funk as part of the crew for the flight.
This is not the first time a prominent figure has been baselessly alleged to have been arrested. In June, Check Your Fact debunked the false claims that the military arrested Anthony Fauci and Democratic California Rep. Adam Schiff.
