Over 40 Dutch celebs, doctors in deepfake videos promoting supplements
Over 40 Dutch doctors and celebrities have appeared in deepfake videos promoting supplements on TikTok, specifically for the brand Wellness Nest, investigative journalists at Pointer Checkt discovered. The Dutch Medical Association (KNMG) told Pointer Checkt it is “very concerned about the increasing misuse of deepfakes for misleading health claims.”
The deepfake videos use real footage of doctors and celebrities like doctor Diederik Gommers, gym owner Arie Boomsma, influencer Monica Geuze, and neuropsychologist Erik Scherder. But the sound of the videos has been changed to make it appear as if they are promoting Wellness Nest supplements, claiming that they help with fatigue or symptoms of menopause, among other things.
The videos are effective, according to Pointer Checkt. The comments include countless questions about where to buy the supplements. Doctors Sherder and Gommers both told Pointer that they regularly receive emails from people with inquiries about the supplements they seem to be promoting.
The KNMG is deeply concerned. According to the medical association, the increasing misuse of doctors’ faces and voices to make health claims that are not scientifically substantiated is harmful to the profession and misleading to the public. “Moreover, the dissemination of this misleading content can lead citizens to make incorrect health decisions and thus pose a risk to public health.”
Pointer Checkt also looked into Wellness Nest and found, based on company records in the United States and Vietnam and public company information shared on Facebook, that the company is run by Vietnamese e-commerce entrepreneurs from the Pati group. The Vietnamese entrepreneurs also run an affiliate program for the brand, encouraging others ot sell supplements via TikTok for a commission.
Pointer Checkt said it made numerous attempts to contact the Pati Group, and an employee finally denied the allegation of using deepfakes. “Repeated requests for a written response have gone unanswered.”
Several victims of the deepfakes told Pointer Checkt that they have asked TikTok to remove the Wellness Nest videos. According to Pointer Checkt, the platform only did so after its journalists asked about it.
