As an Amazon employee who has been RTO'ing 3 days a week like a good corporate drone, I can absolutely attest that this is not true. It does seem like the query used didn't take things like time-off or holidays though either.
My anecdote - there are MANY director level managers who are against RTO and thought they could just turn a blind eye and message to their org "I am not keeping track of this so don't worry."
I pointed out to MY director that I didn't think it was going to be in their power to turn a blind eye. They would get some sort of report with tough questions attached, directly from their manager or higher. Turns out I am still Right A Lot.
I'm guessing your friend has a director with a similar mindset who is finding out the harsh reality of the situation themself now. They have no control over this. Every manager (L6 - L8) I've talked with about this was both unaware this was happening and pissed off because they were removed from the communication chain with their team.