TikTok and other social media platforms are hosting 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 videos impersonating doctors and influencers and directing viewers to U.S.-based supplement company Wellness Nest.
All deepfakes contain real footage of medical professionals taken from the internet. However, the images and audio have been altered to show the speaker encouraging menopausal women to purchase products such as probiotics and Himalayan shilajit from the company's website.
The revelations have prompted calls for social media giants to be more cautious about hosting AI-generated content and to quickly remove content that distorts the views of celebrities.
“This is certainly a sinister and worrying new tactic,” said fact checker Leo Benedictus, who undertook the investigation.
He added that the creators of deepfake health videos are deploying AI to “make it appear that someone who is well-respected or has a large audience is endorsing these supplements to treat various illnesses.”
Professor David Taylor-Robinson, an expert on health inequalities at the University of Liverpool, is among those whose image has been manipulated. In August, we were shocked to learn that TikTok had published 14 videos purporting to endorse unproven products.
Taylor Robinson is a child health expert, and in one video a cloned version of him talks about an alleged menopausal side effect called “thermometer feet.”
Fake Taylor Robinson advised menopausal women to visit a website called Wellness Nest and purchase what they called a “natural probiotic containing 10 science-backed plant extracts, including turmeric, black cohosh, and dim.” [diindolylmethane] and Moringa, chosen specifically to address the symptoms of menopause. ”
Dr. Deepfake added that female colleagues “often report deeper sleep, fewer hot flashes, and brighter mornings within a few weeks.”
The real Taylor Robinson only discovered her likeness was being used after a colleague alerted her. “It was really confusing at first. Everything was so real,” he said. “My kids thought it was funny.
“While I didn't feel grossly violated, I became increasingly irritated by the idea of people using misinformation about my work and health to sell products.”
The footage of Taylor Robinson used to create the deepfake video was from a speech he gave on vaccinations at a Public Health England (PHE) conference in 2017, and a parliamentary hearing on child poverty in which he gave evidence in May this year.
One misleading video showed a woman swearing and making misogynistic comments while discussing menopause.
TikTok removed the video six weeks after Taylor-Robinson's complaint. “Initially, they said some videos were against their guidelines, but some were OK. That was ridiculous and weird because I was in all the videos and they were all deepfakes. It was outrageous that they would take the videos down,” he said.
Full Fact found that TikTok also posted eight deepfakes featuring fabricated statements by PHE's former chief executive Duncan Selby. Like Taylor Robinson, he too was falsely shown talking about menopause using a video taken from the same 2017 event where Taylor Robinson spoke.
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Mr Selby said a similar video about 'thermometer feet' was an 'astonishing imitation'. “It's completely fake from beginning to end. It wasn't interesting in the sense that people would pay attention to these things.”
Full Fact found similar deepfakes on X, Facebook and YouTube, all linked to Wellness Nest or a related British outlet called Wellness Nest UK. It has posted obvious deepfakes of prominent doctors such as Professor Tim Spector and the late Dr. Michael Mosley, another diet expert.
WellnessNest told Full Fact that the deepfake videos encouraging people to visit its website are “100% unrelated” to its business. The company said it has “never used AI-generated content” but “has no control or oversight over its affiliates around the world.”
Liberal Democrat health spokeswoman Helen Morgan said: “From fake doctors to suicide bots, AI is being used to prey on innocent people and exploit the widening cracks in our health system.”
“Liberal Democrats are calling for an end to AI deepfakes masquerading as medical professionals and are strongly promoting clinically approved tools to fill the void.
“If these were individuals fraudulently posing as doctors, they would face criminal prosecution. Why would a digital equivalent be acceptable?”
“If someone asks an AI bot for health advice, they should be automatically referred to NHS support to get the diagnosis and treatment they actually need, and those who profit from medical misinformation should be held criminally liable.”
A TikTok spokesperson said: “This content has been removed [relating to Taylor-Robinson and Selbie] For breaking our rules against impersonation and other harmful misinformation and attempts to mislead the community.
“Harmful and misleading AI-generated content is an industry-wide challenge, and we continue to invest in new ways to detect and remove content that violates our community guidelines.”
The Department of Health and Human Services has been contacted for comment.
