When setting the "creation_date" in "news -> edit/create" to 08/11/1940, in all views it is shown as 02/00/0. 02/00/0 is the "uh-oh there is no valid date." mysql database value is "opac_news.timestamp = 0000-00-00 00:00:00"
I assume the bug affects any date before 1970-01-01. I also assume the issue is moot in practical terms because no system would have posted news before 1970.
Hence the trivial importance :) Thanks for commenting anyway!
That's not a bug, the creation date is stored into opac_news.timestamp