AI deepfakes of real doctors spreading health misinformation on social media | Health

TikTok and other social media platforms host AI-generated deepfake videos of doctors whose words have been manipulated to help sell supplements and spread health misinformation.

Fact-checking organization Full Fact has uncovered hundreds of such videos It features spoofed versions of doctors and influencers directing viewers to Wellness Nest, a US-based supplement company.

All deepfakes contain real images of a healthcare professional taken from the internet. But the images and audio were remixed so that the speakers encouraged menopausal women to purchase products such as probiotics and Himalayan shilajit from the company’s website.

These revelations have led to calls for social media giants to be much more careful about hosting AI-generated content and to more quickly remove content that distorts the views of prominent people.

“This is an absolutely malicious and worrying new tactic,” said Leo Benedictus, the fact-checker who led the investigation, published by Full Fact on Friday.

He added that creators of deepfake health videos use artificial intelligence to make “someone who is respected or has a large audience appear to be endorsing these supplements to treat a range of ailments.”

Prof., an expert on health inequalities at the University of Liverpool. David Taylor-Robinson is also among those whose image was manipulated. In August, she was shocked to learn that TikTok had hosted 14 doctored videos showing her recommending products with proven benefits.

Although Taylor-Robinson is an expert on children’s health, her cloned version appeared in a video talking about a supposed side effect of menopause called “thermometer foot.”

Fake Taylor-Robinson suggested that menopausal women visit a website called Wellness Nest and purchase something called a natural probiotic, which contains “10 science-backed plant extracts including turmeric, black cohosh, Dim.” [diindolylmethane] and moringa,” specially selected to combat menopausal symptoms.

The deepfake doctor added that his female colleagues “often report deeper sleep, fewer hot flashes and brighter mornings within weeks.”

The real Taylor-Robinson discovered that her likeness was only used when a colleague alerted her. “It was really confusing at first; it’s all pretty surreal,” he said. “My kids thought it was hilarious.

“I didn’t feel hopelessly violated, but I became increasingly uncomfortable with the idea of ​​people selling products and spreading health misinformation outside of my business.”

The footage Taylor-Robinson used to make the deepfake videos came from a vaccine speech she gave at a Public Health England (PHE) conference in 2017 and a parliamentary hearing into child poverty in May this year. A misleading video showed her swearing and making misogynistic comments while talking about menopause.

TikTok removed the videos six weeks after Taylor-Robinson’s complaint. “Initially, they said some videos violated the guidelines but some were fine. It was ridiculous and weird because I was in them all and they were all deepfakes. It was ridiculous that they were removed,” he said.

Full Fact revealed that TikTok also carried eight deepfakes containing doctored statements from PHE’s former chief executive Duncan Selbie. Like Taylor-Robinson, she was mistakenly shown talking about menopause, using video from the 2017 event at which Taylor-Robinson spoke.

Selbie said the one, also about the “thermometer stand”, was “an incredible imitation”. “It’s completely fake from start to finish. It wasn’t funny in the sense that people pay attention to this stuff.”

Full Fact also found similar deepfakes on X, Facebook and YouTube; all of which were linked to an affiliated English channel called Wellness Nest or Wellness Nest UK. He published apparent deepfakes of high-profile doctors such as Prof Tim Spector and another dietitian, the late Dr Michael Mosley.

Wellness Nest told Full Fact that the deepfake videos encouraging people to visit the firm’s website were “100% unrelated” to the company’s business. It said it “never uses AI-generated content” but “cannot control or monitor affiliates around the world.”

Liberal Democrat health spokeswoman Helen Morgan said: “From fake doctors to suicide-inducing robots, artificial intelligence is being used to prey on innocent people and exploit widening cracks in our healthcare system.

“Liberal Democrats are calling for the elimination of AI deepfakes posing as medical professionals, with the strong promotion of clinically validated tools so we can fill the gap.

“If these were people fraudulently posing as doctors, they would face criminal prosecution. Why is the digital equivalent tolerated?”

“When someone asks an AI robot for health advice, they should be automatically directed to NHS support so they can get the diagnosis and treatment they really need, and there should be criminal liability for those who profit from medical disinformation.”

A TikTok spokesperson said: “We removed this content [relating to Taylor-Robinson and Selbie] For violating our rules against harmful misinformation and behavior intended to mislead our community, such as impersonation.

“Harmfully misleading AI-generated content is an industry-wide problem, and we continue to invest in new methods to detect and remove content that violates our community guidelines.”

The Ministry of Health and Social Services was contacted for opinion.