Fact Check

Were 19,000 Doctors Indicted for 'COVID-19 Crimes'?

Real Raw News isn't a stranger to us.

Published July 20, 2023

 (Real Raw News)
Image courtesy of Real Raw News
Claim:
19,000 doctors have been indicted for COVID-19 crimes.

On July 16, 2023, Real Raw News published an article claiming that 19,000 doctors had been indicted for crimes related to COVID-19:

19,000 Doctors Indicted for Covid Crimes

The next time you need an annual physical, you may have to schedule an appointment with the receptionist at Guantanamo Bay. There are approximately one million practicing physicians in the United States, and the United States Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps is holding sealed indictments on about 19,000 of them—general physicians, specialists, surgeons, emergency room, and urgent care staff.

We found posts about the claims on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Reddit.

The story wasn't real. Real Raw News is a website that describes its output as being humorous or satirical in nature. The website's About page includes the following disclaimer:

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.

We've previously fact-checked other satirical claims from Real Raw News, including whether the U.S. military had sentenced former U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney to hang to death. 

For background, here is why we sometimes write about satire/humor.

Sources

About Us | Real Raw News. https://realrawnews.com/about-us/. Accessed 20 July 2023.

Emery, David. "No, the US Military Did Not Sentence Liz Cheney To Hang to Death." Snopes, 24 Apr. 2023, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/military-sentence-liz-cheney-hang/.

Izz Scott LaMagdeleine is a fact-checker for Snopes.

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