"I Did My Own Research" or How Influencers Spread Fake News

Mar. 12, 2025

Supported by BETC Paris, the union of young general practitioners ReAGJIR is launching a campaign that uses AI to warn of the danger of medical fake news on social networks.

Online as in reality, the only medical advice to be followed is that given by certified doctors. However, a large number of so-called tips and miracle cures are invading social networks and are often relayed by influencers without any medical qualifications. This is mainly the case on TikTok: according to a recent study by the company Tebra, 45% of the medical advice on the platform is false or misleading.

Anti-vaccine rhetoric, garlic cloves in the nose, ingestion of methylene blue, deliberate disruption of the diet...These are just some examples of practices with sometimes dangerous consequences that are being disseminated to millions of Internet users, including young members who are even more vulnerable to false information.

In response to this alarming trend, the ReAGJIR union has launched @healthbuster5: unique TikTok and Instagram accounts dedicated to raising public awareness of the risks of false medical advice by confronting the authors with the reality of their own recommendations.

Using deepfake technology, and in collaboration with a dozen or so doctors, ReAGJIR has modified videos of influencers who have relayed unfounded medical practices, so that they can finally present the sometimes disastrous consequences of these so-called remedies.

In these videos, the influencer who advocated the use of garlic cloves to treat flu now explains that she had been the victim of a nasal infection, while the TikTok user who recommended the ingestion of methylene blue explains the resulting anemia.

At the end of each of these surprising videos, ReAGJIR lifts the veil: they were actually real doctors, who had taken on the appearance of these misinformed influencers in order to raise awareness of the danger of fake medical news and to remind people that when it comes to health, it is imperative to trust only a professional.

The #HEALTHBUSTER operation embodies ReAGJIR's commitment to combating medical misinformation as a whole, particularly among GenZ on social networks, and invites TikTok and Instagram users to consult the @healthbuster5 account (TikTok / Instagram) if they have any doubts about new advice that is currently in vogue.