Similar posts circulated on Facebook here and here and on X, formerly Twitter.
Baseless allegations that prosthetic fingers were used to commit voter fraud previously spread during India’s 2019 election.
Indian election commission spokesman Anuj Chandak said there was still no truth in the rumour.
“The claim is false and no such incident has come to our knowledge yet. The Election Commission is engaged in conducting voting with complete security,” he told AFP on May 3.
The election commission also posted a statement on X refuting the allegation (archived link).
Japanese gangsters
A reverse image search found one of the photos of prosthetic fingers shared in the posts on the website of Japanese-American journalist Akiko Fujita (archived link).
The article from December 16, 2013 is headlined: “Prosthetic fingers help reform former Yazuka members”.
In the Japanese mob, known as the yazuka, chopping off a little finger is a rite to atone for their betrayal or defeat in turf battles.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo falsely linked to India’s election (left) and on Fujita’s website (right):
According to Fujita’s article, the fingers were made by prosthetics specialist Shintaro Hayashi.
AFP reported on Hayashi’s work drawing unexpected customers in ex-yazuka who lost their fingers doing organised crime and vowed to integrate back into civilian life.
His silicone fingers are so delicate that he even implants individual hairs taken from his subjects’ hands and arms to give each finger a really lifelike look, AFP reported.
The second photo of prosthetic fingers shared in the posts was taken from a video report about Hayashi’s work by Australia’s ABC News from June 6, 2013 (archived link).
Below is a screenshot comparison of the photo shared in false posts (left) in ABC News’s report (right):
AFP has fact-checked more misinformation around India’s election here.
