No, Mel Gibson didn’t accuse Oprah Winfrey of selling children

A persistent misinformation trope: Actor Mel Gibson regularly lobs child sex trafficking allegations against high-profile A-listers. 

An Aug. 14 Facebook post purportedly reveals a new salvo in this supposed battle of good against evil with a claim that Gibson has accused media magnate Oprah Winfrey of selling children.

"You sell children!" reads a quote over what appears to be an image of Gibson generated by artificial intelligence. 

"You have no proof," reads another quote over a similar image of Winfrey. 

"This lady is evil!" reads a third quote alongside images of Gibson and Winfrey. 

"VIDΕO: Mel Gɪbson Gears Up Tᴏ Confront Oprah Winfrey By Unveiling Her Hidᴅen Misᴅeeds in Hollywood!," the post’s caption says. "Full VIDEO below."

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Threads posts

stated on October 26, 2024 in a Threads post

Four Florida counties had “zero results” Oct. 26, and “something underhanded might be happening.”

This post was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads.)

The link to the promised "full video" in the post’s comments leads to a blog with a URL including "breakingnews" and gamemarvel" with fractured, unfinished sentences such as, "Gibson claims that Winfrey is involved in unethical practices in Hollywood. Specific details are yet to be revealed, but Gibson hint"

The video itself is more than 10 minutes, but it includes no evidence that Gibson accused Winfrey of selling children, or of "unethical practices in Hollywood."

Rather, it rehashes old false claims about "Hollywood" blocking his efforts to raise awareness about child sex trafficking. 

Gibson’s representatives didn’t respond to PolitiFact’s questions about the post. But Alan Nierob, Gibson’s publicist, told Lead Stories that "none of this is true." 

We found no credible news coverage or other reliable sources, such as public statements from Gibson, to contradict that. 

We rate this post Pants on Fire!