Tom Hanks converts to Judaism and flees to Israel following the release of the Epstein documents
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Video claiming Tom Hanks fled to Israel after the release of the Epstein documents is altered
If Your Time is short
• A video featuring Tom Hanks dancing in a yarmulke was from a 2014 wedding in Canada.
• Hanks was not mentioned in unsealed court documents from a Jeffrey Epstein-related lawsuit.
An edited video posted on TikTok shows actor Tom Hanks dancing at a wedding with a Jewish yarmulke.The video is accompanied by a CNN banner that reads, "Breaking News: Tom Hanks converts to Judaism and flees to Israel".
TikTok identified this video as part of its efforts to counter inauthentic, misleading or false content. (Read more about PolitiFact’s partnership with TikTok.)
The video was shared on singer Justin Bieber’s Instagram account in 2014. Multiple news reports said that Hanks was attending Bieber manager Scooter Braun’s wedding in Whistler, Canada.
Featured Fact-check
The video is not an authentic CNN video. We searched for the video on CNN’s website and in the Nexis news database and found no evidence of a video that mentions Hanks fleeing to Israel. PolitiFact contacted CNN and didn’t immediately hear back. But a CNN spokesperson told USA Today that the news banner was fabricated.
The video refers to court documents linked to Jeffrey Epstein, a disgraced financier and registered sex offender, that were unsealed by a federal judge. Hanks’s name was not mentioned in the newly unsealed court documents.
Celebrity news site Page 6 reported that Hanks was photographed on Jan. 10 in Los Angeles for the "Masters of the Air" premier, which he produced.
We rate the claim that Hanks fled to Israel after the release of the Epstein client list False.
Our Sources
TikTok post (archived), Jan. 3, 2024.
Instagram post (archived), July 7, 2014.
CBS News, Justin Bieber posts video of Tom Hanks dancing at wedding, July 8, 2014.
USA Today, No, Tom Hanks didn’t flee US in wake of Epstein documents; video a fabrication, Jan. 4, 2024.
Court Listener, Giuffre v. Maxwell, Jan. 10, 2024.
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Video claiming Tom Hanks fled to Israel after the release of the Epstein documents is altered
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