AI Deepfakes Impersonate Health Experts on TikTok to Sell Unproven Products
ESET Latinamérica researchers discovered a campaign on TikTok using AI-generated avatars impersonating health professionals with purported decades of experience to promote unregulated supplements and other products as medical recommendations. The deepfake videos direct users to purchase items described differently on retail platforms than promised, including products marketed as more effective than medications like Ozempic.
What happened
ESET Latinamérica discovered a campaign on TikTok using AI-generated avatars to impersonate health professionals claiming over a decade of experience, who recommend purchasing supplements and other products framed as medical advice.
The videos use a consistent format with an avatar in a corner of the screen providing health and aesthetic recommendations that typically promote natural food tips designed to drive product purchases.
In some cases, deepfakes use the images of recognized health professionals to promote unapproved medications and provide false advice for serious health conditions, such as claiming a natural extract is more effective than the medication Ozempic.
Reported impact
Users clicking links in the videos are directed to retail platforms like Amazon, where the actual products are described differently than promised in the deepfake videos, such as products marketed as weight-loss solutions but listed as 'relaxation drops' and 'anti-bloating' products.
Index analysis
The campaign uses unfair marketing strategy by creating false validation through impersonation of purported specialists to make consumers believe recommendations come from qualified professionals.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.