No, Oprah Winfrey was not executed by the military | Fact check

Gabrielle Settles, USA TODAY
·3 min read
6
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

The claim: Oprah Winfrey was executed by the military

A Feb. 23 article from Real Raw News claims the media mogul Oprah Winfrey was charged, convicted and punished for a serious crime by the military's Judge Advocate General Corps.

“The case of JAG vs. Oprah Winfrey reached a theatrical conclusion Monday morning when Winfrey was executed at Guantanamo Bay for having aided and abetted the enemy, FEMA, in depriving Hawaii residents and tourists of life and property during last summer’s Maui inferno,” the article reads.

The story was shared on Facebook more than 100 times in five days.

More from the Fact-Check Team: How we pick and research claims | Email newsletter | Facebook page

Our rating: False

The claim is nonsense. Winfrey has appeared on television and social media since her purported execution. The claim originated with a website that regularly publishes fabricated stories.

Winfrey has been seen in person, active on social media

Real Raw News claims that Winfrey was executed on Feb. 19, but she has been seen in public since then. On Feb. 24, Winfrey attended the 2024 Screen Actors Guild Awards and was shown on the broadcast of the event reacting to actor Idris Elba’s opening monologue.

Three days before that, she surprised audience members at the Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara, California, where she was photographed introducing the author of “Covenant of Water,” Abraham Verghese.

Winfrey has also been active on social media. She has posted on Instagram since Feb. 19, including a post about an upcoming broadcast with filmmaker Tyler Perry, a picture of her gown for the SAG Awards and a video of herself discussing the latest book selection for Oprah’s Book Club.

There are no credible news reports about Winfrey being arrested, tried or executed.

Real Raw News is a website that regularly publishes fabricated stories, many of which USA TODAY has debunked. A disclaimer on the site’s “About Us” page states it “contains humor, parody, and satire.” The notice, however, is not included in the website’s articles.

Fact check: Israel allowed to play in global ice hockey competition; viral claim is outdated

The fabricated story draws from previously debunked conspiracy theories about Winfrey and her purported response to the Maui fires in August 2023, including that Winfrey hired a private firefighting team to protect her residence on the island, hired security to turn away people who sought shelter at her home and even started the fires herself.

Real Raw News could not be reached for comment.

Our fact-check sources:

Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here.

USA TODAY is a verified signatory of the International Fact-Checking Network, which requires a demonstrated commitment to nonpartisanship, fairness and transparency. Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Meta.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No, Oprah was not killed by the US military | Fact check