Zimbabweans are not cutting off and selling their toes, contrary to online allegations in Nigeria!
What began as an internet joke about Zimbabwe’s exorbitant cost of living has developed into a widely circulated false news item.
According to the narrative, inhabitants of Zimbabwe have resorted to selling their toes in order to keep hunger and poverty at bay.
The assertions, however, are incorrect, and the joke was clearly off the point. Is it possible that a single publication put their foot in their mouth?
The article created such a sensation online that it was picked up by the BBC and deemed fake news.
People are reportedly paying thousands of dollars for toes supplied by traditional healers in Harare, according to the web hoax.
Unseen WhatsApp chats between sangomas, or traditional healers, who are willing to pay up to $40 000 for a toe are quoted in the online newspaper.
Of course, depending on which toe it is, the toe market appears to be quite lucrative.
This is why sources must be vetted before news is published, not to make light of the black market trafficking in human body parts.
Here’s an excerpt from the internet article:
“A man was bragging that he just bought a Toyota vehicle after selling his toe.”
There was a short video clip of a man limping with bandages and cotton wool covering part of his foot. Pictures of a set of pliers that were made to look like they were chopping off a man’s toe were also circulated.
The man’s foot is wrapped in bandages in the next photo.