By: Praveen Kumar
November 17 2022
False: Tom Hanks' son Chet acknowledged that his family has ties to the Illuminati.
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Fact-Check
The Verdict False
Chet Hanks trolled people who associated his family with Illuminati conspiracy theories by satirizing the rumors in an Instagram video in 2019.
Claim ID 58059ba2
Context
A video of Hollywood actor Tom Hanks' son, Chet Hanks, is circulating on Facebook, in which he discusses his and his family's connection to the Illuminati. In the video, he says that “A lot of Trump supporters have been figuring out the truth," and then points to the Eye of Providence tattoo on his chest - a symbol often used in reference to the Illuminati. He continues by saying he does not know what to do now that "reliable websites" like 4chan and 8chan have been exposing the truth. The video ends abruptly after that. However, he employed heavy sarcasm throughout the full video.
In Fact
Through searching relevant keywords, we found that this is a short clip of a longer video Hanks posted to Instagram in 2020, which is no longer available. However, it can be found on TikTok, YouTube, and other platforms. In the complete version of the video, Chet sarcastically refers to several other conspiracy theories about his family, like being involved in "new world agenda,” “human sacrifices,” eating pineal glands, and surveillance.
According to the article published by the entertainment news website E! Online in March 2020, Hanks categorically denied the rumors angrily in another Instagram video, which was reportedly posted on March 24. He added that he got the Eye of Providence tattoo because he was "extremely spiritual" and believed that "God oversees everything, has a plan for everything." This particular video is no longer available on his Instagram profile. The article adds that he clarified he was "trolling" in the video because he was "pissed off" at the "ridiculous" conspiracy theories about his family.
Chet has also made several remarks about his opposition to COVID-19 vaccination in the past despite his father, Tom Hanks, being one of the first well-known celebrities to announce their COVID-19 diagnosis in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a research article published by Pennsylvania State University in February 2021, the veteran actor's announcement on March 11, 2020, considerably helped cement the public's understanding of the severity of the virus. But it also led to several conspiracy theories connecting his diagnosis to unsubstantiated theories about the Illuminati and a Plandemic that was orchestrated by the global elites to control the masses.
TheJournal.ie, an Irish news website, debunked one such conspiracy theory in July 2020. The theory claimed that celebrities and the liberal elite had a secret child trafficking ring to extract a drug called "adrenochrome" from children, leading to many Hollywood celebrities catching COVID-19. At the time, some conspiracy theorists falsely claimed that Tom Hanks contracted the virus from a tainted batch of adrenochrome. Logically has previously debunked claims about adrenochrome deriving from child sacrifice. It is a myth and part of an anti-semitic conspiracy theory, which has no basis in fact.
The Verdict
Chet Hanks satirized being discovered as an Illuminati member in a 2020 Instagram video. A shortened version of it is being recirculated again. Later he denied the rumors and acknowledged that he was trolling people for their baseless conspiracy theories. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.