FACT CHECK: Did Tom Hanks, Hollywood actor, endorse Peter Obi?

A viral post on social media claims that Tom Hanks, a Hollywood actor, has endorsed Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, ahead of the 2023 elections.

“If Peter Obi was an American or even African American, Americans would have given him a one-way presidential ticket without him contesting. America and the world at large have not gotten the chance Nigerians have right now to correct their mistakes,” the post partly reads.

“Americans saw Peter’s speech on one of their local televisions, after his speech, there was a standing ovation for him all over America, ” the post concluded.

Mr. Lekki, a Facebook user, shared a screenshot of Obi and Hanks’ photo alongside a video of himself asking Nigerians to heed the actor’s advice.

“Tom Hanks tweets about PETER OBI.. Dear Nigerians, na our hand ✋✋e dey to make am right oh.. The world is watching and we can’t afford to disappoint ourselves,” the video caption reads.

Currently, the post has garnered over 3,800 views, 268 likes, and 28 comments all in approval of the alleged endorsement.

Daily mail gist, another Facebook page, posted the viral claim accruing over 1000 shares.

Verification

A search through Tom Hanks’ verified social media handles revealed no affiliations with Peter Obi.

Another look at his Twitter profile, the medium where the endorsement allegedly came from, revealed an inactive account since May 2020.

Verdict

The tweet alleging that Tom Hanks endorsed Peter Obi was doctored.