Toes-for-cash hoax reflects Zimbabwe fears of soaring prices

Street vendors take off their shoes to show their toes on the streets of Harare, Zimbabwe (Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP)

Battling rampant inflation, Zimbabweans are counting their toes as they struggle to buy food for their families.

An internet rumour blazed through the country that desperate people were selling their toes for cash. The false report became so widespread that the country’s Deputy Minister of Information Kindness Paradza visited street vendors in central Harare earlier this month to debunk it.