A wave of manipulated media is turning trusted medical experts into unwitting puppets for supplement scams, sparking calls for urgent regulation.
- The Scale of Deception: A massive investigation by Full Fact has uncovered hundreds of AI-generated videos across TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube that impersonate real doctors to sell unproven supplements.
- Hijacked Credibility: Footage of respected experts, including professors and public health officials, is being manipulated to make them appear to endorse products for menopause and other conditions they never discussed.
- A Call for Action: Victims of the deepfakes and political leaders are demanding stricter liability for social media giants and criminal prosecution for those profiting from digital medical disinformation.
The boundary between medical expertise and digital fiction is eroding at an alarming rate. A new investigation has revealed a “sinister and worrying” trend on social media: the widespread use of AI deepfakes to hijack the faces and voices of trusted doctors. These digital puppets are being used to peddle supplements with unproven effects to millions of unsuspecting viewers.
The investigation, conducted by the fact-checking organization Full Fact, discovered hundreds of manipulated videos hosted on platforms like TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and YouTube. In these clips, real footage of health experts—often taken from serious academic conferences or parliamentary hearings—is reworked using artificial intelligence. The goal? To make it appear as though these experts are endorsing products for a US-based firm called Wellness Nest.
The Anatomy of the Scam
The sophistication of these deepfakes lies in their ability to borrow authority. The videos target vulnerable demographics, particularly women experiencing menopause. According to Leo Benedictus, the fact-checker behind the investigation, the creators deploy AI so that “someone well-respected or with a big audience appears to be endorsing these supplements to treat a range of ailments.”
The manipulated audio is often absurd yet persuasive to the untrained ear. In several instances, the “cloned” voices discuss a fictitious menopause side-effect dubbed “thermometer leg.” The solution offered is invariably a purchase from Wellness Nest, specifically probiotics featuring ingredients like Himalayan shilajit, turmeric, and black cohosh. The fake doctors claim these products result in “deeper sleep, fewer hot flushes, and brighter mornings,” exploiting the desperation of patients seeking relief.
When Experts Become Puppets
For the professionals whose identities have been stolen, the experience is surreal and frustrating. Prof David Taylor-Robinson, an expert in health inequalities at Liverpool University, found himself at the center of this storm. Despite being a specialist in children’s health, AI-doctored videos showed him passionately recommending menopause supplements.
The source material for these deepfakes was mundane footage from a 2017 Public Health England conference and a recent parliamentary hearing on child poverty. Yet, in the manipulated clips, the AI version of Taylor-Robinson was depicted not only selling pills but occasionally swearing and making misogynistic comments.
“It was really confusing to begin with – all quite surreal,” Taylor-Robinson said. “I didn’t feel desperately violated, but I did become more and more irritated at the idea of people selling products off the back of my work and the health misinformation involved.”
He is not alone. Duncan Selbie, the former chief executive of Public Health England, was also targeted using footage from the same 2017 event. He described one video as an “amazing imitation” but emphasized that it was “a complete fake from beginning to end.” Even high-profile figures like Prof Tim Spector and the late Dr. Michael Mosley have been impersonated in similar campaigns linked to Wellness Nest or its UK affiliate.
The Platform Problem and Political Backlash
The response from social media platforms has been criticized as sluggish and inconsistent. Taylor-Robinson noted that it took six weeks for TikTok to remove the offending videos after he complained. Initially, the platform claimed some of the deepfakes did not violate their guidelines—a stance Taylor-Robinson called “absurd,” given that he never made the statements in the videos.
“Harmfully misleading AI-generated content is an industry-wide challenge,” a TikTok spokesperson stated, confirming they eventually removed the content for violating rules against misinformation and impersonation.
However, the “whack-a-mole” nature of content moderation has prompted calls for legislative change. Helen Morgan, the Liberal Democrat health spokesperson, argues that the current system tolerates a digital equivalent of fraud that would face criminal prosecution in the physical world.
“From fake doctors to bots that encourage suicide, AI is being used to prey on innocent people,” Morgan said. She is calling for automatic referrals to NHS support when users encounter these bots and criminal liability for those profiting from medical disinformation.
The “Affiliate” Loophole
When confronted by Full Fact, Wellness Nest denied direct involvement. The company stated that the deepfake videos were “100% unaffiliated” with their business and that they have “never used AI-generated content.” However, they admitted they “cannot control or monitor affiliates around the world.”
This defense highlights a significant regulatory gap: companies can profit from aggressive, deceptive marketing tactics used by third-party affiliates while maintaining plausible deniability. As AI tools become more accessible, the ability to generate convincing medical hoaxes is scaling faster than the mechanisms designed to stop them.