Investigation reveals AI deepfake doctors spreading misinformation and endorsing supplements
Fake AI videos of doctors and academics are being used to push fake health claims and promote supplement products, an investigation has found.
British charity Full Fact has uncovered a number of social media accounts using AI-generated videos of health experts to promote health products, directing viewers to US supplement company Wellness Nest.
Among those impersonated was Professor David Taylor-Robinson, a pediatric public health doctor at the University of Liverpool.
Dr Taylor-Robinson had been warned about images showing him making a real appearance at the Public Health England (PHE) conference; this image had been altered to show her talking about “thermometer leg”, a supposed menopause symptom in which women who get too hot at night extend one leg beyond the blanket.
“One of my friends said his wife saw it and almost fell for it, until their daughter pointed out that it was clearly fake,” he told Full Fact.
“So people who know me may have been caught up in this. That’s concerning.”
The video was made to show Dr Taylor-Robinson encouraging viewers to purchase a natural probiotic; this probiotic “contains ten science-backed plant extracts, including turmeric, black cohosh, DIM, and moringa, specifically selected to combat menopause symptoms.”
“The women I work with often report sleeping deeper, having fewer hot flashes, and having brighter mornings within weeks,” she said in the video.
The university’s communications team reported the videos to TikTok, but the social media giant said no violations were found. Dr Taylor-Robinson and her children later reported the content to TikTok; This determined that the content violated community guidelines and its visibility would be restricted but not removed.
TikTok later apologized for a moderation error and said it made a mistake in not deleting posts that were now removed along with the account itself.
Dr Taylor-Robinson’s video reached more than 365,000 views, 7,691 likes, 459 comments and 2,878 bookmarks before it was removed.
It was revealed that the account that shared the videos of Dr Taylor-Robinson @better_healthy_life also published fake videos of Russian economist Natalia Zubarevich, British cardiologist Dr Aseem Malhotra and former director general of PHE Duncan Selbie.
Mr Selbie, who appeared to be talking about menopause symptoms and treatments, said he was amazed by the videos. “It wasn’t funny in the sense that people were paying attention to this stuff,” he told Full Fact.
The videos often result in viewers being tempted to purchase remedies from Wellness Nest that include probiotics and Himalayan shilajit, which are not listed on the company’s website.
Earlier this year, deepfake videos of the late Dr Michael Mosley and Dr Idrees Mughal promoting the US-based company’s products were also found.
Wellness Nest told Full Fact that it never uses AI-generated content and that the videos are “100% unrelated” to its business.
