diff --git src/wp-includes/general-template.php src/wp-includes/general-template.php
index cb61c58..ef29fef 100644
--- src/wp-includes/general-template.php
+++ src/wp-includes/general-template.php
@@ -1428,7 +1428,7 @@ function the_date( $d = '', $before = '', $after = '', $echo = true ) {
  * @since 3.0.0
  *
  * @param string $d Optional. PHP date format defaults to the date_format option if not specified.
- * @return string|null Null if displaying, string if retrieving.
+ * @return string Date the current $post was written.
  */
 function get_the_date( $d = '' ) {
 	$post = get_post();