What is the conspiracy theory about Tom Hanks being arrested in Australia?
A CONSPIRACY theory that Tom Hanks was arrested in Australia is making its rounds on social media.
Hanks has not been arrested and the rumors are unfounded.
Social media buzzed about his "arrest" after a meme emerged of Hanks walking around with what looked like an ankle bracelet.
Why do people think Tom Hanks was arrested in Australia?
Facebook users speculated that Hanks had been arrested in Australia after a meme surfaced of the actor walking around with a face covering and an "ankle monitor".
Conspiracy theorists alleged that Hanks was arrested as a part of wider elite-run child sex trafficking ring.
The claim appears to be related to the QAnon conspiracy theorist group who have also accused Ellen DeGeneres and Oprah Winfrey of the same thing.
What is the meme of Tom Hanks allegedly wearing an ankle monitor?
A meme circulating on Facebook started the unfounded accusations against the actor.
The photos in the claim show Hanks in Los Angeles wearing a green bandana face covering on May 20, 2020.
The photo caption reads: “Look who has a new ankle bracelet! Tom Hanks. Some of you don’t know it but Mr. Hanks was arrested in Australia for pedophilia.
"He went on national TV to say he had COVID-19 and he was quarantine himself. Not true. He was in custody for a time then house arrest is in his hotel. Now, he’s a flight risk.”
While his pants appear to be ruffled, there is no ankle monitor visible.
"This is fake! Stop spreading lies before fact checking!" one user commented on the picture.
"Throwing around extreme accusations like is with no evidence is profoundly immoral. Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence," another agreed.
"100% been hearing about this for months. Finally," one instigator commented.
Numerous independent fact-checkers have debunked these claims.
Why was Tom Hanks in Australia?
Hanks was in Australia working on Baz Lurhmann's new Elvis Presley biopic.
How long did him and his wife have coronavirus for?
Tom and Rita both contracted coronavirus in early March.
The couple was hospitalized for several days in Australia before continuing their recovery in quarantine.
They returned home to LA after recovering and continued to self-isolate.
Tom and Rita were the first celebrities to confirm they tested positive for the virus amid the global pandemic crisis.
Speaking to The National Defense Radio Show he explained: "Rita went through a tougher time than I did. She had a much-higher fever and she had some other symptoms.
"She lost her sense of taste and smell. She got absolutely no joy from food for a better part of three weeks."
He added: "She was so nauseous, she had to crawl on the floor from the bed to the facilities. It lasted a while."
Tom, who "had some body aches and was very fatigued", revealed he was "wiped" after trying to do a 30-minute exercise routine.
He said: "Whoever it was, doctor, nurse, would come into our air pressurized room, our isolation rooms. She said, 'How are you feeling?' and I said, 'I just had the weirdest thing. I just tried to do basic stretches and exercises on the floor and I couldn’t even get halfway through."
"And she looked at me through her glasses like she was talking to the dumbest human being and she said, 'You have COVID-19.'"
Upon recovering and arriving back in the US, Tom, 63, and Rita, 63, immediately enrolled in a medical study to determine if their antibodies would be useful for scientists working on developing a vaccine.
Hanks has now revealed that they have now been approved to donate blood because they carry antibodies.
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