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

TikTok and other social media platforms are posting fake AI-generated videos of doctors whose words are manipulated to sell nutritional supplements and spread health misinformation.

Fact-checking organization Full Fact has found hundreds of such videos. featuring fictional versions of doctors and influencers directing viewers to Wellness Nest, an American nutritional supplement company.

All deepfakes include real footage of a health expert taken from the Internet. However, the images and audio have been redesigned so that speakers encourage women going through menopause to buy products such as probiotics and Himalayan shilajit from the company's website.

The revelations have prompted social media giants to be more careful when posting AI-generated content and to quickly remove content that misrepresents the views of famous people.

“This is certainly a sinister and disturbing new tactic,” said Leo Benedictus, a fact checker who conducted the investigation, which Full Fact published on Friday.

He added that creators of deepfake health videos are using artificial intelligence to get “someone reputable or with a large audience to endorse these supplements for a range of diseases.”

Professor David Taylor-Robinson, an expert on health inequalities at the University of Liverpool, is among those whose image is being manipulated. In August, he was shocked to discover that TikTok had posted 14 doctored videos purporting to recommend products with unproven benefits.

Although Taylor-Robinson is a child health expert, in one video a cloned version of him talked about a supposed side effect of menopause called “thermometer foot.”

The fake Taylor-Robinson recommended that menopausal women visit a website called Wellness Nest and buy a so-called natural probiotic containing “10 science-backed plant extracts including turmeric, black cohosh, dim [diindolylmethane] and moringa, specifically selected to combat menopausal symptoms.”

Female colleagues “often report deeper sleep, fewer hot flashes and brighter mornings within weeks,” the fake doctor added.

The real Taylor-Robinson only discovered that his image was being used when a colleague alerted him. “It was really disconcerting at first – it was completely surreal,” he said. “My kids thought it was fun.

“I didn’t feel desperately offended, but I became increasingly irritated by the idea of ​​people selling products at the expense of my work, and the health misinformation that came with it.”

The footage of Taylor-Robinson used to create the deepfake videos comes from a speech he gave at a public event about vaccination. Health conference for England (PHE) in 2017 and a parliamentary hearing on child poverty at which he gave evidence in May this year.

One misleading video showed him swearing and making misogynistic comments while discussing menopause.

TikTok removed the video six weeks after Taylor-Robinson complained. “Initially they said some videos violated their rules, but some were fine. It was absurd and weird because I was in all of them and they were all deepfakes. It was a mistake to remove them,” he said.

Full Fact found that TikTok also posted eight deepfakes with fake claims from Duncan Selby, the former chief executive of PHE. Like Taylor-Robinson, he was falsely shown speaking about menopause using video taken from the same 2017 event where Taylor-Robinson spoke.

One video, also about the “thermometer leg,” was an “amazing imitation,” Selby said. “It's completely fake from start to finish. It wasn't funny in the sense that people pay attention to these things.”

Full Fact also found similar deepfakes on X, Facebook and YouTube, all linked to Wellness Nest or a related UK store called Wellness Nest UK. He posted obvious fakes of famous doctors such as Professor Tim Spector and another diet expert, the late Dr Michael Mosley.

Wellness Nest told Full Fact that the fake videos encouraging people to visit the company's website are “100% unrelated” to its business. The company said it has “never used AI-generated content” but “cannot control or monitor affiliates around the world.”

Helen Morgan, the Liberal Democrats' health spokeswoman, said: “From fake doctors to bots that encourage suicide, AI is being used to prey on innocent people and exploit the widening cracks in our health system.

“The Liberal Democrats are calling for a crackdown on AI deepfakes impersonating healthcare professionals, while actively promoting clinically approved tools so we can fill the vacuum.

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

“If someone seeks medical help from an AI bot, they should be automatically referred to an NHS helpline so they can get the diagnosis and treatment they truly need, with criminal penalties for those who profit from medical misinformation.”

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

“Harmfully misleading AI-generated content is a problem across the industry, and we continue to invest in new ways to detect and remove content that violates our community guidelines.”

The Department of Health and Social Care has been contacted for comment.