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TikTok and various online networks are featuring artificially created manipulated clips of doctors whose words have been manipulated to help sell dietary products and circulate false medical claims.

Uncovering the Scheme

A factchecking organisation has discovered numerous of these types of clips featuring digital copies of doctors and influencers directing viewers to a US-based wellness company.

Each of the deepfakes involve authentic video of a medical authority taken from the internet. Nevertheless, the pictures and audio have been reworked so that the individuals are encouraging women going through a life stage to buy products such as probiotics from the company’s website.

“This represents a sinister and worrying emerging strategy,” stated the investigator who undertook the research.

Professionals Impersonated

Prof David Taylor-Robinson is among those whose likeness has been manipulated. He was surprised to discover that doctored videos claiming to depict him recommending products with unverified claims were being shared online.

Although he is a expert in children’s health, in a particular clip the digital impersonation of him was talking about an supposed symptom. The fabricated version recommended that individuals go to a site and buy a natural probiotic containing herbal ingredients selected for menopausal symptoms.

“It was really confusing to start with – all quite surreal,” the real professional commented. “I did not feel intensely wronged, but I did become increasingly frustrated at the notion of people selling products based on my work and the false medical advice involved.”

Social Media Action

The platform removed the videos a period of time after complaints were made. “At first, they indicated some of the videos broke their rules but some were fine. That was illogical – and weird,” he noted.

Investigators also found similar deepfakes on other major platforms, all connected with the aforementioned supplements company.

Company Statement

The company in question told investigators that synthetic content encouraging people to access its website were “completely unrelated” with its operations. It claimed it had “never used AI-generated content”, but “cannot control affiliates globally”.

Demands for Action

Lawmakers have argued that “From fraudulent physicians to bots that encourage suicide, artificial intelligence is being used to exploit innocent people.”

“If these were people deceptively posing to be medical doctors they would face criminal prosecution. How is the online version being allowed?” they questioned.

There are demands for synthetic impersonations posing as medical professionals to be “stamped out”, with clinically approved tools strongly promoted.

A Shared Problem

A spokesperson for the video-sharing app said: “Harmfully misleading synthetic media is an problem across the tech sector, and we are investing in novel methods to detect and remove content that violates our platform rules.”