Tom Hanks' Ankle Monitor: Fact Or Fiction?

In 2020, a conspiracy theory spread on social media that Tom Hanks had been arrested in Australia for paedophilia and was wearing an ankle monitor. The claim was that his announcement that he had contracted COVID-19 was a cover-up. There is no evidence to support this accusation, and it has been debunked by fact-checking organisations. This theory appears to be related to the QAnon conspiracy theory, which has targeted other celebrities such as Ellen DeGeneres and Oprah Winfrey with similar false claims.

Tom Hanks was not arrested in Australia

In 2020, a misleading social media post claimed that Hollywood actor Tom Hanks was arrested in Australia for paedophilia. The story of him being Covid-positive and in quarantine was alleged to be a cover-up for his time in custody. The post also claimed that he was wearing an ankle bracelet to monitor his location.

However, this claim is false and has been debunked by several fact-checking sources, including Reuters, India Today, and The Dispatch Fact Check. There is no evidence to support the accusation, and it is considered a conspiracy theory. The photos in the claim were taken in Los Angeles in May 2020, and while Hanks' pants appear ruffled, there is no ankle monitor visible. Subsequent photographs of Hanks wearing shorts also show no ankle monitor.

Furthermore, any arrest of a high-profile individual like Tom Hanks would have been widely reported by news organizations. The actor did announce in March 2020 that he and his wife, Rita Wilson, had tested positive for COVID-19 while filming in Australia. They returned to Los Angeles on March 27 and were photographed upon their arrival, showing no signs of an ankle monitor.

Therefore, it is clear that Tom Hanks was not arrested in Australia, and the claims of him wearing an ankle monitor are unfounded and based on conspiracy theories.

There is no evidence of Tom Hanks being a paedophile

There is no evidence to support the claim that Tom Hanks is a paedophile. This allegation is false and stems from conspiracy theories.

In 2020, a meme was shared thousands of times on Facebook that falsely alleged that Hanks was wearing an ankle monitor after being arrested in Australia for paedophilia. The meme also claimed that Hanks' announcement that he had contracted COVID-19 was a cover-up, and that he was actually in custody.

However, there is no evidence to support these accusations. Photographs of Hanks taken after the alleged incident show no ankle monitor on his legs. Furthermore, any arrest of a celebrity as well-known as Hanks would have been widely reported by news organisations.

Tom Hanks has been the target of various other conspiracy theories, including false claims that he was arrested for paedophilia in 2018. These accusations are baseless and have been debunked by fact-checking organisations.

It is important to fact-check and verify information before believing or spreading it, as false accusations can have serious consequences for those involved.

The QAnon conspiracy theory

Followers of QAnon believe that the Trump administration secretly fought the cabal of paedophiles and that Trump was recruited by military generals to quash it. They also believe that Trump stimulated the conspiracy of Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election to enlist Robert Mueller to join him in exposing the sex-trafficking ring and to prevent a coup d'état by Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and George Soros. QAnon has been described as antisemitic or rooted in antisemitic tropes due to its focus on Jewish figures such as Soros and the Rothschild family.

QAnon has been promoted and spread by online communities and influencers, and its cryptic posts became known as "drops", which were collected by aggregator apps and websites. QAnon became a viral phenomenon beyond the internet and turned into a political movement, with followers appearing at Trump campaign rallies in 2018. Trump amplified QAnon accounts on Twitter, and the conspiracy theory has also been relayed by Russian and Chinese state-backed media, social media troll accounts, and the far-right Falun Gong-associated Epoch Media Group.

QAnon has resulted in legal protests as well as several violent criminal incidents. For example, in June 2018, Matthew Wright staged a standoff with law enforcement on a bridge near the Hoover Dam while armed with assault rifles and handguns. He stated that he was on a mission for QAnon and demanded access to an "official" report on the FBI agents who had investigated Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server. In another instance, in March 2019, Anthony Comello shot and killed Gambino crime family boss Francesco Cali, reportedly because he believed that Cali was a member of the deep state.

QAnon has gained believers around the world, with large groups in Germany and Brazil. In the 2020 US elections, dozens of Republican congressional candidates voiced their support for QAnon, and two—Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Lauren Boebert of Colorado—were elected to the US House of Representatives.

Photos of Tom Hanks disprove the claim

However, photos taken in May 2020 show Hanks in Los Angeles, wearing a green bandana face covering. While his pants appear ruffled, there is no ankle monitor visible. Photographs of Hanks wearing shorts in June and July 2020 also show no ankle monitor. If Hanks had been arrested, it would have been widely reported by news organisations.

The conspiracy theory, which has been debunked by Reuters, is related to the QAnon claim that powerful celebrities are part of a child sex trafficking ring. Similar false claims have been made about Oprah Winfrey and Ellen DeGeneres.

Other celebrities targeted by QAnon

The QAnon conspiracy theory centres on fabricated claims made by an anonymous individual or individuals known as "Q", who allege that a cabal of Satanic, cannibalistic child molesters is operating a global child sex trafficking ring. QAnon followers have named Democratic politicians, Hollywood actors, high-ranking government officials, business tycoons, and medical experts as members of the cabal.

In addition to Tom Hanks, here are some other celebrities who have been targeted by QAnon:

• Ellen DeGeneres: QAnon supporters falsely accused her of being under house arrest for child sex trafficking.
• Oprah Winfrey: Similarly to DeGeneres, Winfrey was accused of being under house arrest for child sex trafficking.
• Hillary Clinton: Articles and posts shared on social media claimed that Clinton had been arrested and flown to Guantanamo Bay detention camp. More recently, in March 2021, Clinton was at the centre of another conspiracy that incorrectly claimed she had been arrested by Navy SEALs.
• Pope Francis: In January 2021, an article circulated on social media alleging that Pope Francis had been arrested. In April of the same year, QAnon spread false videos saying that the Pope was dead.
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Following her death in September 2020, a quote falsely attributed to Ginsburg, "Pedophilia is good for children", began circulating on social media.
• Queen Elizabeth II: A doctored image of the Queen wearing a Trump "Make America Great Again" hat and a QAnon brooch was displayed on a pro-Trump bus.

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