'Di crowd shout say we tiff pesin penis' - how deadly rumours spread on social media

More dan 80 pipobin kpai between October 2025 and July dis year following false accusations about wetin dem call "genital theft", di BBC Global Disinformation Unit don find afta dem gada data from forces across six African kontries.

Di killings dey linked to rumours say a simple tap on di shoulder fit cause a man genitals to shrink or disappear. Dis dey fuelled by widespread misinformation on social media.

"Dem shout say we tiff pesin genitals and we no get any way to escape becos na big crowd wey gada," Tanzanian mechanic Boniface Mgala tell di BBC about im ordeal for April wen im bin dey badly beaten by pipo wey bin dey convinced say im be genital tiff.

Im experience dey similar to dose for videos wey di BBC see: men wey claim say dia genital organs - penis and testicles - don vanish or shrink afta dem come in contact wit strangers and a mob go demand make di alleged perpetrators return wetin dem they supposedly tiff.

Such claims dey rooted in longstanding fears and superstitions - and e no dey new on di continent, particularly for communities wia belief in witchcraft dey widespread. Social media also don spread dis fears.

Di recent wave of rumours appear to start last year for di Democratic Republic of Congo, wia similar claims bin surface in 2008.

E progressively spread across di region to Burundi, Zambia and Tanzania as well as Mozambique, Angola, Malawi and Kenya.

For Zambia, di hearsay about disappearing genitalsfirst gain traction for March wen one woman bin dey lynched, wey come spread panic across di border for Tanzania.

For im home in Mpemba near Tunduma, a busy trading town for Tanzania by di border with Zambia, Mgala trace im fingers along di sickle-shaped scar wey run down di right side of im head as e remember im traumatic experience.

"If I bin know how close I bin come to kpai on dat day, I for no go into dat restaurant to eat. Only we no know how close death dey," di mechanic tok.

Im and im friend bin goTunduma on 1 April to meet a client about a car sale and decide to eat lunch first. E neva tay wen dem sidon for di restaurant wen one mob drag dem outside.

Two smaller scars for im chin and a missing tooth na di oda visible marks of im ordeal.

As dem dey beat am, e come lose consciousness. Mgala regain awareness for hospital two days later to news say im friend don kpai.

Back for im house wia e dey live with im wife and dia four children, e don dey waka with a limp and say e also dey suffer constant headaches.

E neva fit return to work for im mechanic shop eva since but say neighbours and friends dey help to cover di cost of some of di medicine e need.

On di same day wey Mgala and im friend bin dey attacked, commercial photographer and businessman Michael Silavwe say e witness anoda similar assault for Tunduma, wia e say anxiety don dey build afta videos about stolen genitalia begin circulate on TikTok.

Outside im shop e see pipo dey run upandan and say e learn say dem don accuse one man nearby and dey beat am - and later set am on fire.

"Afta dem set am on fire, di police arrive di scene and evribodi scatter and run away," di 23-year-old tell di BBC.

For a video of di attack wey di BBC Global Disinformation Unit don verify and view more dan 100,000 times across TikTok and Facebook, a group dey seen dey beat a man as dem demand make e return di victim allegedly stolen genitals.

"Dose incidents just dey escalate and pipo just dey chop beating," Silavwe tok, come add say at di time young pipo like am bin dey fear, but e understand now say no truth bin dey dose rumours.

Asha Steven Mwakilasa, a 50-year-old tailor and fashion designer for Tunduma, wey dey di Momba district, agree: "I come realise say e no be true."

But dis no stop her anxiety - especially if her husband or sons comot, but she say she dey grateful say di police now dey mount patrols.

But wetin Momba district commissioner Elias Daniel Mwandobo tell di BBC local investigations suggest say dia bin be a deliberate criminal intent behind some of di incidents: "Individuals conspire to commit a crime and incite public panic for dia own benefits."

Anoda video wey dem record for Tanzania main city of Dar es Salaam show as a crowd dey march a man down a dusty market street, some dey push, grab and hit am as dem insist make im return di genitalia, as di man dey beg say e dey innocent.

Di BBC Disinformation Unit verify similar videos of attacks for Mozambique and Kenya.

Dozens of dis recordings of mob violence, alleged first-pesin accounts, warnings about alleged incidents, commentary and videos wey dey framed as reports of events in particular areas dey circulate across TikTok and Facebook.

Many of dose wey di BBC analyse, including some wey show mob violence, remain online.

"We dey review di content shared with us and go take action on dose wey we find to violate our policies," a Meta tok-tok pesin tell di BBC.

TikTok neva respond to a BBC request for comment.

With some social media creators, wey dey warn viewers to dey vigilant, e often dey unclear weda dem believe di claims or dem just dey look for engagement.

Alongside dis posts, some users dey promote so-called charms wey dem claim say fit protect against genital theft, while comedians don tok about claims through comedy skits.

Smartphones and social media dey make rumours to spread faster, reach larger audiences and become more difficult to control once dem begin circulate, na so author Julien Bonhomme tok.

Im book, The Sex Thieves: The Anthropology of a Rumor, examine how hearsay about "sex thieves" dey spread and why pipo dey believe dem.

“Pipo no dey simply hear claims say pesin don lose im genitals - dem dey see distressed men say e don happun to dem, or watch crowds dey respond to accusations,” e tok.

Videos dem share on social media dey make unverified claims appear more believable, e tok, becos of dia immediacy, and e describe dis as "one of di most significant differences" between di current digital environment and earlier outbreaks.

Di worst-hit kontri na Mozambique, wia di police say for May dem kpai 55 pipo in six weeks, including a police officer, health workers and civil servants.

Mozambique President Daniel Chapo publicly condemn widespread rumours and deaths, say di claims dey false and di govment no find any medical evidence to suggest say anybodi don lose a part of dia body.

Di two healthcare workers bin dey attacked for dia home and workplace for April in Cabo Delgado province - a region wey dey border Tanzania wey also dey affected by an Islamist insurgency for nearly a decade.

Di health facilities for di areas of di attacks gatz close for weeks while di authorities launch public awareness campaigns to counter di claims.

As part of di health campaign, di govment say some of di fears fit dey linked to Koro syndrome, a mental illness odawise known as missing or genital retraction hysteria.

Di most recent incidents of violence don occur for Kenya, wia mobs kpai five pipo for di coastal counties of Kwale and Mombasa.

After di first incidents bin dey reported in July, Mombasa County Commissioner Mohamed Noor blame some content creators for spreading di claims to boost engagement "simply to attract views and attention".

"Such misinformation fit easily lead to loss of life," Noor tell di BBC.

E say police don since contain di violence and make several arrests, including a father and son wey bin dey sentenced to a year in prison afta pleading guilty to assaulting a woman dem accuse of causing men genitals to disappear.

Similar claims also fuel mob attacks for Malawi, leaving eight pipo dead.

Back in Tunduma, in neighbouring Tanzania, even as mechanic Mgala dey recover from di physical impact of di assault, di emotional pain still dey raw.

"E still dey pain me deeply wen I think back to di senseless manner wey my friend kpai becos I still no know wetin bin dey go on," e tok.

"To suddenly find say pipo dey stone you for no reason, and den end up losing your life?"