By now, most people know not to trust everything they see on TikTok. But scams on the platform are becoming increasingly sophisticated, thanks to deepfake technology.
A new report from Media Matters for America, published this week, identified multiple TikTok accounts using deepfake influencers and fake storytimes to promote wellness products to unsuspecting users. These accounts appear to be part of an affiliated network, using the same content format and often promoting exactly the same products with little to no scientific backing.
One now-deleted TikTok account, which had over 245,000 followers, amassed more than 4.1 million likes promoting its “secret to perfect hair.” Hawking a batana oil to increase hair growth (link in bio), the account featured a number of videos of an influencer claiming to be the wife of Korea’s highest paid plastic surgeon, a former Victoria’s Secret model, and a gynecologist. She claimed this batana oil was the secret to her long luscious hair, despite there being no research to back this up.
The secret, in fact, is deepfake technology. A reverse image search by Media Matters strongly suggests that the women in these videos were AI-generated. The same influencer—posed identically, in the same outfit—appeared in multiple videos promoting different brands and products.
Fake influencers are not the only trick scammers are adopting. Wellness trends travel fast on TikTok, often gaining momentum through word of mouth and personal anecdotes. Scammers have caught on to this and are now exploiting popular formats like the #storytime trend, which has 36.9 million posts on TikTok, to market their products.
“My wife and I have spent three years trying to conceive after getting married without success,” reads a slide from one account that was spotlighted in the Media Matters report. “I felt guilty, helpless and ashamed for not giving her the family we dreamed of.” The slides that follow detail the couples struggle and eventual polycystic ovary syndrome diagnosis. These videos likely resonated with many viewers. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the leading causes of infertility, affecting approximately one in 10 women of childbearing age, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
“Determined to help her I found this supplement on Amazon that thousands swear by,” the final slide reads. “She started taking it, and for the first time in years, her cycle became regular—we’re finally hopeful again.” Of course, the supplement in question is conveniently linked in bio.
Women with PCOS are often the prey of scams promising miracle cures via dubious supplements. But they are not the only ones. “Whoever or whatever created these accounts is trying to capitalize on the internet’s obsession with wellness,” writes Media Matters’s senior investigative researcher Olivia Little. “Nearly every username contains some combination of wellness buzzwords, and the accounts exclusively hawk health and beauty products.”
As deepfake technology becomes ever more sophisticated, consumers must remain ever more skeptical of what is being sold to them online.
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