Social media has been covered with different photos and video clips showing people in Zimbabwe chopping off their toes and selling them for $20k each, here we unravel the whole truth behind all this.
The claims, sparked by a video circulating online, were that some people were buying toes in Zimbabwe to be used by magicians in neighbouring South Africa. The person in the video said he had sold his baby toe and bought a pick-up from the proceeds.
The model seemed exciting: you go to a dealer, he or she cuts off your toe, pays you, and you limp all the way to the bank. You lose a digit; you earn multiple-digits in cash. Quite a toe-curling trade but the figures floated around made the story spread faster than an athlete’s foot fungus.
But, as the saying goes, blood will out. Fact-checkers have debunked the news of the trade as a hoax. Among them is the BBC’s Disinformation Unit.
In Zimbabwe, people have started selling their toes for thousands of dollars. This is due to the high cost of living and failure for the government to create jobs. The toes is being bought at $40,000 dollars (N16m) While the smaller ones at $20,000 dollars (N8m) pic.twitter.com/WfyphuYred
— The 9 (@InnocentZikky) May 30, 2022
