These images do not show fake fingers manufactured to cast votes in the ongoing election of 2024

Viral images show prosthetic fingers made for former Yakuza gangsters in Japan to help them rehabilitate.

The first two phases of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections have ended. The first phase began on 19 April, followed by the second phase on 26 April. Moving forward, the third phase of the general elections is slated for 7 May. Several videos and images from different parts of the country are circulating on social media relating to election. Amidst this, a viral image of what appears to be fake or prosthetic fingers lying on a table has been going viral with the claim that they will be used to cast multiple votes in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Following a vote, the customary Election Commission process is to mark each voter’s forefinger with semi-permanent ink. According to the claim, using fake fingers allows someone to vote again by covering up the previous mark.

Let’s check the truth.

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Fact Check- 

We started our investigation by conducting a keyword and reverse image search on Google and the results led us to a This led us to an article by ABC News dated 6 June, 2013. It is captioned as “Prosthetic Fingers Help Reform Japan’s Feared Yakuza Gangsters.” The report reveals how Shintaro Hayashi, a Japanese prosthetics maker was designing artificial fingers for ex-gangsters in Japan to help rehabilitate them.

According to the article, “In Japan, a stunted pinkie signifies membership in the yakuza, or Japanese mafia. In a ritual known as yubitsume, yakuza members are required to chop off their own digits to atone for serious offenses. The left pinkie is usually the first to go, though repeated offenses call for further severing. As a result, those who get out, have a hard time finding work because of the stigma attached to those missing fingers.”

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We have also come across same story published on journalist Akiko Fujita’s personal website. The story was originally published on 16 December, 2013 and the image used in it was an exact match to one of the viral images. So, sharing the same image seen in the viral claims, which confirms that it is not related to the 2024 general elections in India.

Conclusion- 

Fact Crescendo found the claim made along with the viral image to be False. These images do not show fake fingers manufactured to cast votes in the ongoing election of 2024. Viral images show prosthetic fingers made for former Yakuza gangsters in Japan to help them rehabilitate.