Deepfake doctors take on TikTok influencers spreading fake health advice

ReAGJIR flips influencer “wellness” on its head with a campaign that lets doctors take over their faces – and their lies.

You’re probably aware of the health myths that have been rippling through TikTok and Instagram over the last few years – influencers suggesting you do things as ludicrous as rubbing onions in your eyes to prevent aging or using turpentine to combat diseases.

Luckily, French advocacy and support network ReAGJIR – the French Union of Young General Practitioners – has used deepfake technology to help dispel some of this ridiculous health-myth brokering.

The campaign's key objective, dubbed #HEALTHBUSTER, is to protect Gen-Z subscribers, who are largely vulnerable, from fake health tips by influencers without any health qualifications.

The campaign uses deepfake technology to address the growing issue of misleading health advice by twisting the original content back in on itself, as doctors do a 180-degree 180 over the influencers' faces via voiceover.

Their slogan, a bold statement of “when fake medical advice on TikTok turns against those who share it” is a disruptive remedy to a growing epidemic of false information across social media platforms.

Meds meet memes

In one example, an influencer who previously recommended ingesting a drop of methylene blue, which allegedly helps you raise dopamine and serotonin levels, is shown going back on his original fake advice.

The pimped-out version has the deepfaked influencer verifying that the harmful concoction actually poisons your blood, causing seizures and cardiac arrhythmias, and then revealing that he is indeed an imposter.

After showing the deepfaked influencer making amends for his claptrap, Dr. Raphael Dachicourt, a GP based in Lille, France, intervenes and advises, “When seeking medical advice online, trust healthcare professionals rather than random people on social media.”

As has been the case in the past, when influencers brashly advise us to take our health into our own hands, even social media’s starting to show symptoms.

Thanks to ReAGJIR, someone has given it a proper diagnosis – and a dose of reality.