FACT CHECK: Has Navy JAG Arrested 97 ‘Media Criminals’ In The Last Two Months?
A post shared on Facebook claims the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG) and Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) have purportedly arrested 97 “media criminals” in the last two months.
Verdict: False
The claim is false and stems from a Jan. 21 article published on the satire site, “Real Raw News.” A Navy JAG spokesperson denied the claim’s validity in an email to Check Your Fact.
Fact Check:
Special trial counsel offices under each branch of the military will decide if cases involving murder or sexual assault should go to court-martial, according to USNI News. The special trial counsels are part of the Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps, the outlet reported.
“JAG claims 97 ‘media’ arrests in the last two months,” the Facebook post purports. The post includes the phrase “RRNews” after the claim.
The claim is false and stems from a Jan. 21 article published on the satire site, “Real Raw News.” A “Disclaimer” included on the site’s “About Us” page indicates its content is not meant to be taken literally. “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,” the disclaimer reads.
According to the article, employees at a variety of outlets, including CBS, ABC, MSNBC, Telemundo and The New York Times, were purportedly arrested in December and January. The article further claims that “acts of financial impropriety” were “discovered by JAG in each case.”
Likewise, Check Your Fact found no credible news reports supporting the claim. In fact, the opposite is true. Lead Stories published an article on Jan. 24, also labeling the claim as false. (RELATED: Did The Government Of Yemen Declare U.S. And U.K. As Terror Groups?)
Additionally, the claim does not appear on Navy JAG’s website or on its verified social media accounts. The Army CID has not publicly commented on the claim, either.
Patricia Babb, a Navy JAG spokesperson, denied the claim’s validity in an email to Check Your Fact.
“This is not true,” Babb said of the claim.