Berlin – As soon as millions of court documents linked to child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were released, social media filled with viral screenshots and explosive claims. With disinformation abounding. In late January 2026, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) released more than 3.5 million documents related to convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Among the most prominent names mentioned in viral posts is Academy Award-winning actor Tom Hanks.
The release allowed the public to examine Epstein’s connections to celebrities, business leaders and other influential figures. But it also opened a Pandora’s box of rumors, misinterpretations and outright disinformation — leaving many struggling to distinguish verifiable facts from viral fiction.
DW Fact check explains why it is so difficult to sort rumors from reality in such cases.
“Just having the documents doesn’t mean you can search them immediately,” said Gianna Grün, head of data journalism at DW. “You have to make them machine-readable first,“ said Grün.
“Even though these are now public records, it does not mean they are verified, true or accurate,” noted Steve Eder, an investigative reporter for the New York Times. The outlet has described the undertaking as “one of the largest and most complex reporting projects in recent New York Times history.”
Dozens of newsrooms are currently combing through the material. Some collaborate across organizations, while others rely on AI tools to structure and process the data.
“With the help of AI, I wrote a tool that leveraged the DOJ’s own search functionality to allow reporters to quickly extract every page of search results and put them in a spreadsheet,” explained the New York Times AI project editor Dylan Freedman in an in-houseinterview.
Claims of revoked citizenship
A widely shared report recently alleged that Tom Hanks was refused entry into Greece and that his honorary Greek citizenship was revoked. The posts cited a „Greek Foreign Minister“ named „Jostaki Barronopolous“ as the source of this decision, claiming the move was a direct reaction to Hanks’ name appearing in the newly unsealed Epstein files.
However, an investigation by Deutsche Welle (DW) and other international news outlets has classified this story as entirely fabricated. According to their reports, no such minister as „Jostaki Barronopolous“ exists within the Greek government; the current Foreign Minister of Greece is George Gerapetritis. Furthermore, there have been no official announcements from the Greek state regarding any change in the citizenship status of Hanks or his wife, Rita Wilson, both of whom received honorary passports in 2020.
Appearance in the official documents
Regarding the presence of his name in the actual legal documents, fact-checkers from AAP FactCheck and PolitiFact have analyzed the released tranches, including flight logs and deposition transcripts. Their findings indicate that while thousands of names appear across the millions of pages, Tom Hanks is not listed as a visitor to Epstein’s private island nor as a passenger on the „Lolita Express“ private jet.
Analysts noted that in the few instances where the name „Tom Hanks“ may appear in the massive archive, it is within the context of passing references or general conversations about Hollywood, with no indication of wrongdoing or personal connection to Epstein’s criminal activities. Reporters from The New York Times, who have been part of an extensive project to index the files, emphasize that a name appearing in a document does not, by itself, establish involvement in any illegal acts.
Viral „leaked lists“
Digital forensic experts have also addressed the „leaked lists“ circulating on platforms like X and Facebook. Many of these images, which show Hanks‘ name highlighted in red, have been identified as manipulated screenshots. Organizations such as Lead Stories have pointed out that these viral lists often conflate the actual court documents with older, debunked conspiracy theories.
As the review of the remaining millions of pages continues, independent investigators and journalists maintain that, based on all currently verified data, there is no evidence linking Tom Hanks to the crimes associated with the Epstein case.
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