Claim: A video has been circulating on various social media platforms has fuelled claims that shops were selling apples injected with poison. In the clip, a person is seen exposing tiny holes on the fruits underneath the price tags. One of the clips is captioned, “Please share with family and friends. Maybe they want to decrease population of Africans”.
Is this true or false?
Verdict: False
The post has been flagged to be a conspiracy theory that has no basis of truth, ZimFact tracked the original video to an Indian X user who posted on 2 November 2024. The post has received more than 1.2 million views and 7,500 retweets.
Most social media users sharing the video have muted the original audio and claimed the apples are being sold locally which is misleading and spreads unnecessary fear since the apples in question have not been tested and there are no records of people dying from poisoned apples.
Where do the holes in the apples come from?
According to Homes and Gardens the tiny holes seen in the apples are caused by codling moth (Cydia pomonella) whose larvae burrows into developing fruits causing extensive damage.
Sources
https://www.homesandgardens.com/gardens/codling-moth
https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/biosecurity/pest-insects-and-mites/priority-pest-insects-and-mites/codling-moth
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