AI deepfakes are using real doctors' identities to promote bogus health treatments

AI deepfakes are impersonating doctors to promote bogus health treatments, raising concerns scams and misleading medical advice.

Artificial intelligence deepfakes are increasingly being used to make real doctors appear to endorse health treatments and products they have never supported. The fabricated videos can combine a physician’s face and voice with a scripted message, making it difficult for viewers to distinguish genuine medical advice from a scam.

How scammers create fake medical endorsements

Deepfake technology also makes traditional methods of checking a video less reliable. A viewer may recognise the doctor, hear a familiar voice and see what appears to be a professional medical setting. At the same time, every spoken recommendation has actually been generated or manipulated using AI.

The consequences can extend beyond financial losses. Misleading medical information can influence decisions symptoms, treatments and medications. When wrong advice appears to come from a recognised physician, viewers may be more inclined to trust it without checking the claim with another reliable source.

Fake AI doctors are reaching large audiences online

The scale of the issue has also drawn attention from researchers examining health-related content on social media. A Science Feedback investigation identified 18 TikTok accounts distributing videos featuring AI-generated doctors, including content that impersonated real physicians. Some of the videos received millions of views.

Not every account identified in the investigation was directly selling a product. Some appeared to focus on building audiences around questionable medical information. Such accounts can build large followings first and later find ways to monetise that audience.

The widespread distribution of this type of material creates another challenge. A fraudulent video does not necessarily need to convince a viewer to purchase something immediately to cause harm. Repeated exposure to inaccurate claims can make unsupported treatments or medical theories appear more credible over time.

Another concern is transparency. The investigation found that the videos generally lacked labels identifying them as AI-generated. Without a clear indication that a video has been digitally created or altered, viewers may have little reason to question whether the person on screen actually made the statements being presented.

TikTok has said it removed accounts that were found to violate its policies. However, removing individual accounts does not necessarily prevent similar material from appearing elsewhere. Deepfake tools are widely accessible, and fraudulent content can be recreated and uploaded under new accounts.

This creates a continuing challenge for social media companies. Detection systems must identify manipulated content while platforms also have to accommodate legitimate uses of AI-generated material. The distinction matters especially in healthcare, where misleading information can have consequences beyond ordinary online fraud.

Platforms are developing new ways to detect impersonation

Medical organisations are calling for further safeguards. The American Medical Association has urged stronger protections for physicians whose identities are used in AI-generated deepfakes, including quicker removal of fraudulent material and clearer labelling of AI-generated medical content.

However, such measures cannot guarantee that every fake video will be identified before viewers see it. Deepfake technology continues to evolve, while fraudulent campaigns can spread across multiple platforms and accounts.

The growing availability of convincing synthetic video also means that viewers can no longer rely solely on appearance or voice when assessing a medical endorsement. Seeing a familiar doctor on screen is not, by itself, proof that the physician actually made the recommendation.

Consumers can instead verify medical claims through a doctor, hospital, medical association or other trusted healthcare organisation. Products through social media should also be investigated independently rather than being judged solely on the appearance of the person presenting them.

Tools such as Bitdefender RealCheck may help users identify potentially suspicious content, but detection tools should not be considered definitive proof that a video is genuine. As AI-generated medical content becomes more convincing, independent verification remains an important part of assessing online health claims.