A video showing a very fine, thin and tiny worm emerging from inside a green bell pepper is going viral on the internet.
What are the users saying?: Users have claimed and cautioned that it is the "world's tiniest and poisonous snake" that was found inside green bell peppers.
(Warning: The video can be queasy for some viewers.)
An archive of the claim can be found here.
(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)
How did we find out?: We did a Google reverse image search and found out that this is an old video and has been circulating since 2019.
We reached out to the Head of the Botany Department at Delhi University, Dr Suman Lakhanpaul and Indian Agricultural Research Institute's Nematology Division's, Dr Vishal Somvanshi.
Both of them dismissed the claims it was a snake.
Dr Somvanshi said it could be "a Mermithid Nematode or a Horsehair Worm Nematomorpha", both of which are parasites, however, a confirmation would have been possible only after a closer inspection.
He further explained that these parasitises emerge from dead insect cadavers.
"Adult worms also climb up plants to lay eggs on plants and grass blades. These eggs are ingested by insects and worms hatch inside insects. Some insect might have entered this bell pepper and this worm might have emerged out from it," he said.
Lastly, he said that both "parasites are harmless to humans."
The same claim has been fact-checked earlier by AFP and Snopes who also found similar conclusions.
Conclusion: The video falsely claims that the parasite worm inside a bell pepper is a poisonous snake.
(Not convinced of a post or information you came across online and want it verified? Send us the details on WhatsApp at 9643651818, or e-mail it to us at webqoof@thequint.com and we'll fact-check it for you. You can also read all our fact-checked stories here.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)