Deepfake advertisement falsely depicting physician and celebrities used to sell lipedema cream
A Facebook advertisement for a lipedema cream called "Svelta Venastra" used AI-generated deepfakes featuring real celebrities and a board-certified physician to mislead consumers into purchasing the product. The cream has no medical basis for treating lipedema, and the endorsements were fabricated using pirated footage digitally manipulated without consent.
What happened
A Facebook advertisement promoted a lipedema cream called "Svelta Venastra" using deepfake videos featuring real celebrities including Oprah Winfrey and Kelly Clarkson, as well as board-certified lipedema surgeon Dr. David Amron.
The deepfake footage was created by pirating video from the web and digitally manipulating it without consent. The ad claimed the cream had been tested on 11,532 women with 96% reporting improvements, and cost $300 for six bottles.
Beth Holland, a lipedema patient, purchased the product after seeing the ad, believing it was affiliated with her own physician Dr. Amron. Dr. Amron stated there is no cream that can treat lipedema and said he was "aghast" at the videos.
Reported impact
Beth Holland spent $300 purchasing six bottles of the cream based on the false endorsements and belief the product was affiliated with her physician.
Index analysis
The advertisement used deepfake technology to create convincing but false endorsements from real doctors and celebrities, exploiting the trust patients place in medical professionals and public figures to promote an ineffective treatment.
Governance controls
In response to investigation, Meta removed the lipedema cream ad featuring Oprah Winfrey from Facebook. Oprah stated she maintains a dedicated security team conducting daily takedowns of false ads found on social media.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.