\n<\/p>\n
Fake adverts for weight loss drugs by a company pretending to be health and beauty retailer Boots have been removed from TikTok after the firm complained.<\/p>\n
The adverts for prescription-only weight loss drugs appeared to show smiling healthcare professionals from the British retailer – but in reality they were made with AI.<\/p>\n
It is illegal to advertise prescription-only weight loss drugs to the public. <\/p>\n
A spokesperson for Boots told the BBC the firm was “aware” of the videos and had complained to TikTok, which said it had removed the videos.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
A TikTok spokesperson said it did not allow “harmful or misleading AI-generated ads” on its platform.<\/p>\n
But the BBC found while the videos were removed, the account – seemingly located in Hong Kong – was not.<\/p>\n
It was able to re-upload the exact same videos despite the originals being removed.<\/p>\n
TikTok was again notified of this, and the user was subsequently deleted.<\/p>\n
Weight-loss jabs have been available on the NHS in England since the end of June, but they are not available over-the-counter and patients must meet strict criteria in order to be eligible for a prescription.<\/p>\n
Before the fake Boots account was removed, its videos linked to a website where weight loss drugs could be bought.<\/p>\n
It featured testimonies from customers and doctors which were either made with AI or taken from other websites.<\/p>\n
The TikTok videos showed what appeared to be health workers drinking from a vial of blue liquid.<\/p>\n
This would then appear to jump forward several months, with the workers apparently having lost a drastic amount of weight.<\/p>\n
“AI now makes it trivially easy to generate a convincing series of videos or images showing an apparent change in a plausibly real generic health professional, or to impersonate specific health professionals wholesale,” AI expert Sam Gregory told the BBC. <\/p>\n
“The underlying question is how quickly and comprehensively platforms act when they detect – or are notified of – scams that clearly breach their terms of service. <\/p>\n
“Major brands like Boots will get prioritised over an individual business owner who’s been targeted.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Other videos uploaded by the same account on TikTok seemed to have used content originally posted by real people, showcasing their weight-loss journey, but repurposed and used without permission.<\/p>\n
All of the videos used similar branding and names to that of the official Boots account on TikTok – using the handle “@BootsOfficial”. <\/p>\n
Boots said it only runs adverts on social media through its actual account @BootsUK.<\/p>\n
The website also included warnings from the MHRA, the UK’s governmental body that ensures medicines and medical devices are safe, about purchasing counterfeit products.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the body told the BBC weight loss medicines “should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy against a prescription issued by a healthcare professional”. <\/p>\n
“Taking these medicines sourced in any other way carries serious risks to your health with no guarantees about what they contain,” they said.<\/p>\n
TikTok said it would continue to “strengthen” its detection methods for AI-generated content and it does not allow “the depiction, promotion, or trade of controlled substances”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n