Fact Check: Did the BBC report that Tom Hanks was arrested? Pedophilia claims explored

A BBC report claiming Tom Hanks was arrested for child p*rnography has been making the rounds on Twitter again. The Twitter post shared on May 9, 2023, shows a collage of images including what seems to be a screenshot of a BBC report. The alleged report states, "Tom Hanks arrested on 135 counts of child p*rn possession."

The report also had photographs of Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson, and one of these shows Hanks wearing an ankle bracelet and talking to law enforcement officials.

The supposed report from the BBC is from 2021 and displayed a real headline that stated that the Forrest Gump actor had been arrested on 135 counts of child p*rn possession.

However, the claim is false and has been confirmed by Reuters. The alleged BBC screenshot has been fabricated via digital editing and is untrue. Additionally, the BBC has also previously spoken about the claim and said that it hadn't published the story.

The news headline has been circulating on websites and social media since June 2021.

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The screenshot of the BBC's claim that Tom Hanks is arrested is false

As mentioned earlier, the BBC confirmed that it hadn't published the story about Tom Hanks. Additionally, there is no evidence tying the Cast Away actor to child abuse theories. It is just a rumor that is said that have stemmed from AQnon conspiracy theories.

Meanwhile, people have also claimed that some of the BBC stories that popped up in the collage showed residual signs of digitally altered images. Reuters found an archived BBC page from June 2021 with some elements that were an exact match for those found on the tampered screenshot.

The three bullet points, for example, under the Hanks piece appeared to be related to vaccines.

Reuters said that the points were:

"The bullet points 'How can I get my second jab sooner?' 'What are the lockdown rules[?]' and "Your Covid questions answered' can be made out under the headline and photograph of Tom Hanks and his wife."

The photograph of Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson was taken when they were in Australia in 2021 for a film shoot. The couple got Covid-19 at the time and were hospitalized in Australia for a while before they were allowed to travel.

A Facebook post with this BBC screenshot was shared more than 2,300 times in July 2021. The Facebook post claimed that Hanks had become a citizen of Greece and that it was a "place that recognizes pedophilia as a disability."

The user who posted on Facebook said that she found the Green citizenship news through a BBC article but didn't comment on the pedophilia claim. However, upon opening the post, a Facebook pop-up shows up and says that the post has "partly false information," meaning that the facts posted weren't verified.

The post and the recent tweet are part of a larger trend that makes its way on the internet every once in a while.

However, a search for "Tom Hanks" on California's s*x offender registry and the United States Department of Justice's national s*x offender registry resulted in no records, according to USA TODAY's fact check.

QAnon conspiracy theorists believe that Hanks, and numerous other celebrities, and leaders of the world, such as the Clintons, are part of a bigger scheme. They are all allegedly involved with Jeffrey Epstein in an alleged child s*x trafficking ring.

However, as mentioned earlier, there is no authenticity to the claims about Hanks.

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