#60629 reported the error message earlier.
A directory search lists some of the plugins that might filter the 'get_the_time' information.
I removed the PHP 8.3 keyword and PHP compatibility focus.
- I did not receive errors or warnings when the filtered date was a numeric string or boolean
false.
- A non-numeric string resulted in a fatal error with PHP 8.0.30, and 7.4.33 gave a warning for the same.
Testing
I added var_dump($time); immediately after $time = get_the_time( 'U' ); in wp_dashboard_recent_posts() to show the output type in my local trunk installation. Also, my time zone is UTC-6, which likely explains why the numeric string value is 6 hours different than the integer.
With no plugins, the Activity widget used integers and displayed the relative post dates.
int 1768214078 Today, 10:34 am
int 1762863730 Nov 11th 2025, 12:22 pm
Simple Location changed get_the_date output to a numeric string, but it still gave the same post dates.
string '1768235678' Today, 10:34 am
string '1762885330' Nov 11th 2025, 12:22 pm
Hide/Remove Metadata, set to Hide By PHP and Hide published date, returned false in the filter. Then the Activity widget showed today's date without the time, still including the comma and space.
boolean false Jan 12th 2026,
boolean false Jan 12th 2026,
WP Last Modified Info also can return false with its 'get_the_time' filter, but that specifically does not run in the admin area.
I reproduced the fatal error by returning a string in a custom must-use plugin.
add_filter( 'get_the_time', function ( $the_time ) { return 'gotcha'; } );
string 'gotcha'
( ! ) Fatal error: Uncaught TypeError: gmdate(): Argument #2 ($timestamp) must be of type ?int, string given in ...\wp-admin\includes\dashboard.php on line 1017
( ! ) TypeError: gmdate(): Argument #2 ($timestamp) must be of type ?int, string given in ...\wp-admin\includes\dashboard.php on line 1017
Correcting
Plugin filters could need to avoid changing the 'get_the_time' output when is_admin or when the $format is 'U'.
If Core should update the Activity widget, I think it could change the list item <span> contents if the timestamp is not an integer. Casting to an integer might work with the Simple Location plugin, but other non-integer values are likely inappropriate (for comparison or display).