Source link : https://tech365.info/fb-scammers-need-you-to-suppose-elon-musk-can-remedy-diabetes/
Elon Musk found a easy 30-second “fridge trick” that may reverse diabetes, however the discovery has spooked pharmaceutical firms a lot they put a $78 million bounty on his head, forcing the Tesla CEO to flee the nation. At the very least, that’s what a group of AI-generated Fb adverts declare.
Utilizing social media to hawk sketchy dietary supplements isn’t precisely new. AFP Reality Verify detailed an analogous ring of scammy Fb adverts selling dietary supplements that presupposed to remedy hypertension final yr. However the addition of AI-manipulated video and deepfaked audio of Musk provides a brand new layer to such scams.
Whereas this explicit rip-off has apparently gone largely undetected by Meta, the corporate is effectively conscious that fraudsters typically use celebrities and different public figures to lure in unsuspecting customers. A Polish billionaire lately received a authorized battle with the corporate over deepfake adverts that used his likeness. Final fall, the corporate introduced that it might deliver again facial recognition expertise in an effort to battle “celeb bait” scams.
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Musk, after all, is not any stranger to impersonation scams. Crypto scammers have impersonated him throughout social media for years. His new place as an in depth lieutenant of President Donald Trump and head of the “Department of Government Efficiency,” nonetheless, makes him an much more engaging goal to fraudsters hoping to capitalize on his newfound authority. A number of of the adverts recognized by Engadget characteristic video clips of Musk’s current public appearances and speeches. These embody adverts with AI-generated audio overlaid onto video from an onstage interview this month on the Conservative Political Motion Convention, generally known as CPAC, and a photograph opp within the Oval Workplace.
“There are a lot of different ‘blood sugar support,’ type 2 diabetes, reverse diabetes, sort of scams out there these days,” says Jordan Liles, a senior reporter at Snopes who has debunked a few of these movies on his YouTube channel. “It’s the same sort of process you might see with other scams in that they start with an ad, they go to a long video on a website, and then they want you to order the product. And they want you to believe everything that you just saw is real.”
These adverts appear to violate a number of insurance policies of Meta, together with its guidelines round medical misinformation and necessities for advertisers to reveal the usage of AI-manipulated media. And lots of the adverts recognized by Engadget seem to have been eliminated inside a day or two. However lots of the Fb pages behind these adverts, which have names like “Mindful Medicine,” “Your health compass” and “The Wellbeing Spot” stay lively. A number of pages repeatedly ran dozens of recent adverts with related content material shortly after the outdated ones had been eliminated.
As a result of adverts which might be taken down are faraway from Meta’s Ad Library together with their related analytics, it’s arduous to know simply what number of accounts they’re reaching. However the few that stay viewable provide some clues. One such ad, from a web page referred to as “Healthy Style,” was lively on Fb, Instagram and Messenger for 3 days, in keeping with the corporate’s Ad Library. The advertiser paid Meta between $300 and $399 for the ad, which generated 5,000 – 6,000 impressions. At one level in February, the web page was operating 177 variations of an analogous ad. One other, from a web page referred to as “Hydromeduoside” additionally ran for 2 days, producing between 10,000 and 15,000 impressions throughout Fb, Instagram and Messenger. It price between $400 and $499, in keeping with the Ad Library. Each adverts had been eliminated by Meta as a result of they “ran without the required disclaimer” for adverts about social and political points, in keeping with a discover within the Ad Library, regardless of probably breaking different guidelines and having no explicit relation to politics.
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Meta eliminated the “Healthy Style” web page after an inquiry from Engadget. The corporate mentioned in an announcement it was investigating the adverts and taking motion on different pages. “The ad review system reviews ads for violations of our policies,” a spokesperson mentioned. “This review process may include the specific components of an ad, such as images, video, text and targeting information, as well as an ad’s associated landing page or other destinations, among other information.”
The adverts by no means disclose the precise “trick” for reversing diabetes. In a single model, Musk says all you want is a “common fruit.” In one other, Kennedy says it requires a “frozen lemon.” One other suggests that each one you want is “a lemon and a pair of socks.” The adverts urge viewers to go to a linked web site to discover a information “before it’s wiped from the internet.” Bizarrely, the movies finish with a number of minutes of silence that present a nonetheless picture of a random object like a clock, calculator or blood stress cuff.
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(There’s no proof that O’Neill, who has emerged as a preferred wellness influencer within the US lately, is definitely related to these web sites. As The Guardian reported final yr, O’Neill is commonly impersonated by scammers utilizing AI-generated content material to promote unproven treatments on Fb and TikTok. Her official Fb web page typically warns followers about scammers who impersonate her on and off Fb. A consultant for O’Neill didn’t reply to a request for remark.)
When you make it to the tip of the video, a hyperlink seems providing a time-limited “deal” on a complement referred to as “Gluco Revive.” The complement, which can be obtainable from third-party sellers on Amazon and walmart.com, doesn’t really declare to deal with any situation associated to diabetes in its advertising and marketing. As an alternative, it suggests it presents “blood support” that “boosts energy levels” and “supports healthy weight.” According to its label, it has a “proprietary blend” of ingredients like juniper berry powder and bitter melon extract.
An example of one of the websites linked from a Facebook ad that attempts to spoof Fox News.
The FDA has previously warned consumers about companies selling over the counter diabetes treatments and supplements. “There are no dietary supplements that treat or cure diabetes,” the agency wrote in a warning published in December. “Some ‘all-natural’ diabetes products contain hidden active ingredients found in approved prescription drugs used to treat diabetes … these products may interact in dangerous ways with other medications.”
While it’s impossible to know just how many people have been duped by these ads, there are dozens of listings for Gluco Revive on Amazon, some of which indicate there have been thousands of sales in the last month. The reviews on Amazon, where it’s sold for anywhere from $22 – $70, suggest that some people may have purchased the supplements after seeing one of the ads described above. “It’s not working. I thought someone from the company was going to call me on what to do. Dr. O’Neil [sic] said that we might feel a change in about 17 hours. It’s been 7 days and I feel no difference.”
“This does not work and in fact raised my blood sugar,” another reviewer reports, noting they found the product via Facebook. “When contacting the suppler [sic] they did send me a Return authorization number and address to send the unused bottles …I boxed them up [and] sent priority shipping and it’s being returned as no such address. I called USPS and they let me know that it was a scam and they have had 100s of returns to that address [and] that they do not exist.”
Though Gluco Revive appears to be the most prevalent supplement sold via this scam, some linked pages from the Facebook ads sell similar products, like “Gluco Control,” which purports to be a “a 100% pure, secure, and efficient blood sugar administration product.” The web site says it’s made up of gymnema sylvestre, grape seed extract, inexperienced tea extract and “African mango extract.” The web site includes a checklist of scientific references and media endorsements that look like completely made up. One other web page promotes one thing referred to as “Gluco Freedom,” which has an analogous ingredient checklist, and presents a 180-day provide for $294.
Liles, the Snopes reporter who recognized the Gluco Revive adverts on Fb in early February, and has researched many related scams on social media, suspects the adverts are having some success. “If the same product gets weeks and weeks, or months or longer of advertising, that means that it’s something that they’re seeing results with,” he says.
Have a tip? Get in contact with the writer at karissa.bell [at] engadget.com or message securely on Sign: karissabe.51
Author : tech365
Publish date : 2025-03-05 16:22:04
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