Photo of Tom Hanks in a ‘Keep America Trumpless’ shirt is fake

A 2020 photo of Tom Hanks was edited to appear like he’s wearing a “Keep America Trumpless” shirt. In the original, he’s wearing a plain navy blue shirt.

On July 29, several accounts on Twitter, now called X, shared an image of actor Tom Hanks wearing a shirt that said “KEEP AMERICA TRUMPLESS.” The image went viral, trending on the social media site, with some commenters questioning whether the image was real or manipulated.

The photo spread to other platforms, racking up hundreds of thousands of views across  social media and photo sharing websites.

THE QUESTION

Is the photo of Tom Hanks wearing a “Keep America Trumpless” shirt real?

THE SOURCES

THE ANSWER

This is false.

No, the photo of Tom Hanks in a ‘Keep America Trumpless’ shirt is fake.

Sign up for the VERIFY Fast Facts daily Newsletter!

WHAT WE FOUND

The photo of Tom Hanks in an anti-Trump shirt was edited. It was created using a photo taken in 2020 when Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson were in Sydney, Australia. 

VERIFY was able to find the original photo using RevEye, a reverse image search engine. 

Photos posted on British tabloid The Sun’s website show Hanks walking down a Sydney sidewalk with Wilson ahead of their son, Truman. 

Comparing the doctored image to the original image, you can see Truman wearing the same shirt behind Hanks, with the same watch and rolled-up sleeves. You can also see Hanks is wearing the same hat, sunglasses and has the same facial expression. 

The only difference is the shirt. In the original, Hanks is wearing a solid navy shirt – not a “KEEP AMERICA TRUMPLESS” shirt. 

Credit: VERIFY

This is not the first time a photo of a celebrity was doctored to make it appear like he was wearing a shirt that said “KEEP AMERICA TRUMPLESS.”

In June 2022, a doctored photo of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson went viral claiming to show the wrestler-turned-actor wearing a shirt with the same slogan. That photo was fake, too.

RELATED: No, Hank Williams Jr. didn’t resign from the CMT board in support of Jason Aldean

The VERIFY team works to separate fact from fiction so that you can understand what is true and false. Please consider subscribing to our daily newsletter, text alerts and our YouTube channel. You can also follow us on Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Learn More »

Follow Us

Want something VERIFIED?

Text: 202-410-8808

Related Stories