2023-10-10 03:50:30
Wearing a doctor’s coat and a stethoscope around their necks, doctors give health advice in videos on social media, name natural remedies for diseases or explain how to get whiter teeth again. Only these are not real doctors, but artificially generated bots, which share their supposed information with hundreds of thousands of subscribers. But not all of his claims are true.
Can chia seeds control diabetes?
Claim: “Chia seeds can control diabetes,” claims an AI-generated medical bot on Facebook. The video has more than 40,000 likes, has been shared more than 18,000 times and has nearly 2.1 million views.
DW checks: false
Chia seeds are very popular, among other things because of their numerous positive active ingredients. They contain a high level of unsaturated fatty acids and fiber, as well as essential amino acids and vitamins. According to a 2021 American study, chia seeds have a positive effect on health. People with type 2 diabetes and hypertension had much lower blood pressure after eating a certain amount of chia seeds for several weeks.
Therefore, chia seeds can have a positive effect on the health of people with different types of diabetes. “But it is not a cure,” Andreas Fritsche, a diabetologist at the University Hospital of Tübingen, told DW. So there is no scientific evidence to prove that chia seeds can cure diabetes or control it completely.
Fake doctors spread partly false health advice on social networks.
Can home remedies cure brain diseases?
Claim: “Grinding seven almonds, ten grams of rock candy and ten grams of fennel and taking them with hot milk at night for 40 days cures all types of brain diseases,” claims another artificially generated doctor in a video on Instagram. The account has more than 200,000 subscribers and the video has been viewed more than 86,000 times.
DW checks: false
This recipe supposedly gives specific instructions to cure all brain diseases. But the claim is false, Prof. Dr. Frank Erbguth, president of the German Brain Foundation, explains to DW. There is no evidence that this recipe has a curative effect on brain diseases. An internet search for a mixture of these ingredients could not find any results. The German Brain Foundation advises on its website to consult a doctor immediately in case of urgent symptoms, such as paralysis and speech disorders.
However, the video contains not only a false statement, but also a fake doctor. Numerous videos of these fake doctors can be found on social networks. Sometimes, they talk about what remedies promote health. In other videos, artificially generated doctors give beauty tips, such as which home remedies stimulate beard growth or how to get whiter teeth again.
The very appearance of a doctor can be misleading, says Stephen Gilbert, Professor of Regulatory Science of Medical Devices, Else Kröner-Fresenius Center for Digital Health, Faculty of Medicine, TU Dresden. Among other things, Gilbert researches medical software based on artificial intelligence. These videos try to “convey the authority of a doctor, who has a very authorized and legally anchored role in almost all societies,” he summarizes, in an interview with DW.
(gg/rml)
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