Fake CNN headline says Tom Hanks fled to Israel after Diddy arrest

The context

A video (archived here) featuring actor Tom Hanks dancing has gone viral on X (formerly Twitter). It is accompanied by a CNN headline that claims, "Tom Hanks converts to Judaism and flees to Israel following the arrest of Diddy." The post has attracted more than two million views.

However, the headline is fake.

What we found

Searching relevant keywords across CNN's archives produced no results matching the alleged headline. Additionally, a reverse image search of the video failed to link it to any CNN article or broadcast. Logically Facts contacted CNN about the headline and was told by a spokesperson that "this post is completely fabricated."

A reverse image search also led us to news coverage of the original video of Tom Hanks, which was taken at the 2014 wedding of entrepreneur and record executive Scooter Braun in Whistler, Canada. 

It was initially posted by Justin Bieber on Instagram (archived here) with the caption, "Haha Tom Hanks singing 'This Is How We Do It' dressed like a Rabbi, lol #thatdancetho." In the footage, Hanks is dancing to Montell Jordan's song "This Is How We Do It," not the Jewish song "The Happy Nigun," as the version spreading online misleadingly suggests.

The recent arrest of rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs on charges of sexual abuse and racketeering has fueled a surge in misinformation, with many false claims attempting to link Combs to various public figures. In addition to this Tom Hanks hoax, other fabricated stories have included a viral fake image of Vice President and U.S. presidential candidate Kamala Harris alongside the rapper, which was fact-checked by Logically Facts.

The video of Tom Hanks has been repeatedly repurposed to spread false narratives. A similar fake claim surfaced in January 2024 from the same X account, which falsely asserted: "Tom Hanks converts to Judaism and flees to Israel following the release of the Epstein client list." That post also included a fake CNN logo and garnered more than two million views. Multiple fact-checking agencies debunked it.

This fabricated CNN headline is just one of many misleading claims that have gone viral on social media, falsely attributed to the news outlet. Recently, Logically Facts fact-checked a similarly fake CNN headline, "Trump survived 'mostly peaceful' assassination attempt."

The verdict

The CNN headline attached to the video is fake. The video of Tom Hanks dancing has been repurposed before to create misleading social media posts, falsely attributing fabricated headlines to CNN. 

(Update: This fact-check was updated on September 26, 2024, to include a comment from CNN).