A Polish farmer was shocked to see this year’s harvest of potatoes disappear overnight after a viral social media post claimed that he was giving them away because he couldn’t sell them.
A farmer from Dąbrowica, in Poland’s Podkarpacie region, lost 150 tons because of a fake social media post that encouraged people to go to his field and help themselves to his potatoes because he couldn’t sell them and had decided to give them away. Many came to his plot of land to fill their bags with potatoes, but some took tens of tonnes of tubers, essentially stealing the man’s hard work for profit, whether they knew it or not. When the farmer came to check on his potatoes lat Monday, he was shocked that most of the harvested piles were gone.
“I was shocked. I’m 68 years old and I’ve never experienced anything like this in my life,” Mr. Piotr said. “It’s like a nightmare straight out of a Bareja movie. I hope those who were there will contact me, explain the situation, and we can resolve the matter amicably. If not, the matter may be referred to the prosecutor’s office. Someone stole these potatoes from me!”
No one knows who started the rumor that Piotr was giving away his potatoes because he couldn’t sell them, but it had been circulating on Polish social media the weekend his 150 tonnes of legumes disappeared, and in one video posted by the Nowiny24 portal, a person filming from Piotr’s land can be heard saying “A farmer dumped out 150 tons of potatoes that he couldn’t sell. He dumped them and told anyone to take them. For free!”
Piotr said that all kinds of people, including farmers from nearby villages, showed up at the field. He said some loaded up to six trailers, approximately 60 tons of potatoes. So why didn’t he stop them? Well, apparently, he doesn’t live in Dąbrowica, and that weekend he was having a family party. He had no idea that on Monday he would go back to an empty field.
“One man came and said he took two bags because he ‘went crazy’ when he saw the crowd. He apologized, explained himself, and everything was fine. But there are also those who took dozens of tons,” the farmer said. “I don’t know yet how this matter will end. I’m in a mess right now. I’ve already received about 70 calls, including 15 from journalists.”
According to a local news outlet, Mr. Piotr has been cultivating his land in Dąbrowica for 25 years. He has yet to file a police complaint, as he still hopes people will bring back what they took when they learn his potato giveaway was fake.
