Oprah Winfey has suddenly become a topic of conversation recently after she was accused of being arrested at her home for human trafficking. Since then, she has come out to address those rumors claiming that they are untrue and that she is staying at home “sanitizing and self distancing” since the coronavirus breakout.
Just got a phone call that my name is trending. And being trolled for some awful FAKE thing. It’s NOT TRUE. Haven’t been raided, or arrested. Just sanitizing and self distancing with the rest of the world. Stay safe everybody.🙏🏾
— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) March 18, 2020
The rumors claimed that the TV host’s Florida estate had been raided by police and that she had been arrested for sex trafficking but she addressed her 42.8 million followers to say that those claims just aren’t true. According to Page Six, the rumors appear to have started from an online message forum for teenagers and adults.
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According to CNN, Winfrey is just one of several big names to have been questioned on motives. Allegedly, there are fake posts of a large-scale conspiracy that are attaching names like hers and President Donald Trumps to it.
As of earlier today, there is still an active Facebook post, with more than 1,000 shares, that elude to the rumor of Winfrey being true. It’s also on a YouTube livestream video that has more than 48,000 views on it.
Tom Hanks, who was recently fell victim to COVID-19, was also trending on Twitter after a post that was retweeted 2,100 times, claiming he was arrested for pedophilia, also claiming that other A-list celebrities will be arrested.
The conspiracies have now been labeled as “Pizzagate.” The name originates from a incident back in 2017 involving a man who opened fire in a Washington pizzeria who claimed he was trying to rescue child sex slaves that had been taken in. He believed they were being held at that specific pizza restaurant. He allegedly believed this to be true after reading a false story online involving Hilary Clinton’s campaign adviser having ties to that specific place.
Thankfully, no one was hurt in the process and the man is now serving a four-year prison sentence.
According to the Washington Post, the allegations stemmed from the those who believe in QAnon, a conspiracy theory that “centers on the idea that an anonymous government official, or ‘Q’ has been secretly sharing messages and symbols that serve as evidence of a hidden plot to overthrow Trump.” Those part of this group are believed to think that certain politicians and celebrities are apart of an international group of pedophiles that will soon be arrested.
