It's hard to understand anything about a conspiracy theory from the outside.
For instance, due to a Twitter glitch this past weekend, several years of tweets from beloved actor Tom Hanks disappeared from the internet.
Though the tweets reappeared a day after their disappearance, many far-right QAnon conspiracy theorists online believed the entertainer had deleted his posts on purpose.
BREAKING: Tom Hanks just deleted 3 years worth of tweets within the last 24 hours.— America First - Official Account America-First.Org (@America First - Official Account America-First.Org) 1600016079.0
Tom Hanks just deleted 3 years worth of tweets in the last hour. 😏— Jenna Jameson (@Jenna Jameson) 1599968482.0
Last Tom Hanks tweet available... deleted 3 years of tweets for what reason?? https://t.co/VrXrlDqXrZ— Zachary Thompson (@Zachary Thompson) 1599946576.0
And why was Tom Hanks deleting all of his tweets, according to Twitter's conspiracy believers?
Because he's part of a secret cult of cannibalistic pedophiles of course.
New: An apparent glitch made it appear to some users that Tom Hanks had deleted years' worth of tweets when he in f… https://t.co/nxry0GPoy7— Mikael Thalen (@Mikael Thalen) 1600100336.0
It hardly even needs to be stated that there is absolutely no evidence in support of the QAnon conspiracy theory.
Hanks's tweets also reappeared the next day.
To all the Grads of 2020, you Chosen Ones! Print this up on a sheepskin! Hanx https://t.co/4llw7fPtxB— Tom Hanks (@Tom Hanks) 1590155725.0
Has @tomhanks really not tweeted since 2017 or has he deleted a lot? I'm sure I seen a few tweets from the beginning of this year— Scott Spalding 🎶 (@Scott Spalding 🎶) 1599824054.0
Of course, no amount of facts could stop the internet's misguided believers from suggesting Hanks had deleted his tweets to hide some nefarious scheme.
Tom Hanks deleted 3 years worth of tweets yesterday. Hollywood is going down, [they] are not who you think [they]… https://t.co/ajGuaFLbIS— Craig (@Craig) 1600004158.0
Tom Hanks just deleted his last 3 years of tweets. Wonder why. #Panic— Ren Black (@Ren Black) 1600009757.0
Tom Hanks has recently taken citizenship in Greece, didn’t tweet once since Maxwell was arrested & is on Epstein’s… https://t.co/Kg65IDkTH7— Brownie (@Brownie) 1600022190.0
Also, Tom Hanks should be allowed to delete tweets without being accused of cannibalism.
Apparently, Tom Hanks just deleted >3k tweets 🤔— 𝐆𝔯𝐞𝔤🏳️🌈 (@𝐆𝔯𝐞𝔤🏳️🌈) 1600021892.0
Tom Hanks deleted 3 years of tweets.........why? don't worry unless he knows someone in NSA to wipe the server, the… https://t.co/PaeSTadFWi— The Girl With No Name (@The Girl With No Name) 1600033970.0
So Tom Hanks has deleted his tweets from the past 3 years. Hummmm? I wonder if his IG will suffer the same fate. He… https://t.co/odyhFRprhp— JAGUAR SKILLS 2.0 (@JAGUAR SKILLS 2.0) 1600003095.0
QAnon seemed genuinely excited about the disappearance of Hanks's tweets.
One can only imagine their disappointment once they popped back onto the actor's feed.
Tom Hanks just deleted 3 years of Tweets, he has Greek citizenship and he's selling his corona typewriter collectio… https://t.co/DICEfnT3pR— Mitch chesbro (@Mitch chesbro) 1600049846.0
Tom hanks deleted 3 years worth of tweets 😳 and the first tweet about a lil girl, hmmmm 🤔— this user no longer exist (@this user no longer exist) 1599971244.0
Tonight on unsolved mysteries —— Why Tom Hanks deleted thousands of tweets out of nowhere 😂🤔🤔— PinkAboutIt ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ (@PinkAboutIt ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️) 1600026259.0
This incident serves as a gentle reminder that conspiracy theories are almost always nonsense and can, in the case of extreme ones like QAnon, cross the line into dangerous at a moment's notice.
We must always be checking our facts and confirming the truth from veritable sources.