AI deepfakes of real doctors spreading health misinformation on social media | Hundreds of videos on TikTok and elsewhere impersonate experts to sell supplements with unproven effects

“The factchecking organisation Full Fact has uncovered hundreds of such videos featuring impersonated versions of doctors and influencers directing viewers to Wellness Nest, a US-based supplements firm.

The creators of deepfake health videos deploy AI so that “someone well-respected or with a big audience appears to be endorsing these supplements to treat a range of ailments”.

Prof David Taylor-Robinson, an expert in health inequalities at Liverpool University, is among those whose image has been manipulated. In August, he was shocked to find that TikTok was hosting 14 doctored videos purporting to show him recommending products with unproven benefits.

Though Taylor-Robinson is a specialist in children’s health, in one video the cloned version of him was talking about an alleged menopause side-effect called “thermometer leg”.

The fake Taylor-Robinson recommended that women in menopause should visit a website called Wellness Nest and buy what it called a natural probiotic featuring “10 science-backed plant extracts, including turmeric, black cohosh, Dim [diindolylmethane] and moringa, specifically chosen to tackle menopausal symptoms”.

Remember when the FTC could legally force manufacturers to include the actual content of a product on the label? And, if someone sold a product with misleading/false information, their product could be pulled from the market?

Why is anyone allowed to spread ~~misinformation~~ ***LIES*** about products/services on social media sites?

I guess the imagined market of unreal things will persist in ever greater magnitude.

If you take seriously ANY kind of medical advice you got from social media, you are an idiot.