Tom Hanks is regarded as one of the nicest people in Hollywood.
Maturing from Forrest Gump to Saving Private Ryan, to Cast Away, Captain Phillips, and the Toy Story film series, with many more in between, Hanks has only grown ever more comfortable in the role of "American Dad."
Having portrayed Robert Langdon in The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons, and Inferno, Hanks is one of those people who appear to be the least likely man to ever stir controversy.
But the internet has always been a cruel place to be.
On social media, where things can be unforgiving, Hanks is regarded as a pedophile.
And due to the nature of the internet, when netizens came into one conclusion, it's extremely difficult to stir them away from that opinion.
This happened when Hanks once shouted "sexy baby" at a child who was walking down a stage.
In one of the videos that went viral, has a caption that says "Tom Hanks Not Even Trying To Hide It," and that it includes several hashtags, such as #epstein and #ghislanemaxwell.
This refers to Jeffrey Epstein, a financier who died while in prison in 2019 before being tried on sexual abuse and sex trafficking charges, and Ghislaine Maxwell, a friend of Epstein who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for conspiring with Epstein to sexually abuse minors.
The post on Instagram was flagged, which happened as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat fake news and misinformation on its News Feed.
What happened here is that, the videos were taking Hanks' footage out of context.
The clipped video came from a sketch the actor did in 2011 for the late-night talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” satirizing the reality television series “Toddlers & Tiaras," which aired from 2009 to 2016.
The show was criticized for sexualizing young children competing in beauty pageants, wearing costumes and performing routines that were considered overly adult in tone.
At the time, Hanks was featured as a father who is obsessed with a fictional daughter named Sophie, who wins a nonexistent child beauty pageant called “Miss Ultimate Sexy Baby Nevada.”
And here, Hanks was mocking the show, not endorsing pedophilia.
But the internet thinks otherwise.
The videos that claim Hanks a pedophile have led to a series of conspiracy theories.
For example, QAnon conspiracy theorists have claimed, without evidence, that Hanks is a pedophile, and that he and some prominent politicians and celebrities are involved in a satanic child sex trafficking ring.
Making things worse for the esteemed Oscar-winner, his tendency to make bizarre Instagram posts, usually involving random objects he has found on his walks, further raised contentions.
Some conspiracists alleged that the posts exhibit Hanks' flagrant admission of various sex crimes, with suggestions that the objects he finds are "mementos" of said crimes.
The objects he frequently photographed and uploaded to his social media accounts, mostly include gloves of various kinds, as well as shoes.
While Tom Hanks has been one of the most vocal critics against Harvey Weinstein, many people, especially his fans, dismissed the notion that he's a child predator.
But the internet's opinion cannot be influenced that easy.
When someone so famous is allegedly involved in something sinister, a conclusion may forever remain a conclusion, even for years to come.
The constant barrage of hate in the comments flooding his Instagram posts, forced Tom Hanks to disabled all his Instagram comments.
He also had to disable tagging due to constantly being tagged in disturbing posts.
This continues to 2020, when a viral Facebook post claims that actor was arrested for pedophilia in Australia and pretended he tested positive for COVID-19 as a coverup for his arrest.
"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," the viral post said.
In the photo, conspiracy theorists said that Hanks is seen wearing an ankle monitor, which is an electronic device typically used for individuals convicted of sexual offenses, including pedophilia, to provide an added layer of supervision and protection for the community.
Then, there was also this post that claims Hanks applied for a Greek citizenship because conspiracy theorists claim that Greece has declared pedophilia a disability, when in fact, it never did.
Not to mention, there is also a photo, allegedly published by a respectable media agency, which says that Tom Hanks is arrested on 135 counts of child porn possession.
Following the many baseless accusations, fellow celebrities have come forward.
Coming to his defense, also includes his son, who took aim at right-wing conspiracy theorists with an Instagram video.