TikTok Bans Fake Boots AI Ads Peddling Illegal Weight Loss Drugs

Recently, TikTok, the popular video-sharing app, faced a problem with fake advertisements for weight loss drugs. These ads pretended to be from Boots, a well-known health and beauty retailer in the UK. The videos showed people dressed as healthcare professionals, smiling and talking about weight loss products. However, these videos were not made by real doctors or Boots employees. Instead, they were created using artificial intelligence, or AI, to make them look convincing.

Boots discovered these fake ads and reported them to TikTok. The company said it was aware of the issue and took action. TikTok removed the videos, but the account that posted them, which appeared to be based in Hong Kong, was not deleted right away. This allowed the account to upload the same videos again. After TikTok was notified a second time, the account was finally removed. The fake ads linked to a website where people could buy weight loss drugs. These drugs are only available with a prescription in the UK, and it is illegal to advertise them to the public. The website also included fake testimonials from customers and doctors, some of which were created with AI or copied from other sites.

The videos used the Boots logo and similar branding to make them look official. Some even showed supposed health workers drinking a blue liquid and then appearing much thinner after a few months. AI experts say that it is now very easy to make fake videos that look real, which can trick people into believing false information. The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, or MHRA, warns that weight loss medicines should only be bought from registered pharmacies with a prescription from a healthcare professional. Buying these drugs from unapproved sources can be dangerous and put your health at risk.

TikTok says it does not allow harmful or misleading AI-generated ads and is working to improve its ability to detect and remove them. The company also says it does not allow the promotion or sale of controlled substances on its platform. Boots has reminded customers that it only runs ads from its official account, @BootsUK, and warns people to be careful about fake accounts. This incident highlights the risks of fake ads online and the importance of checking if an ad is real before buying anything, especially medicine. It also shows how quickly fake content can spread on social media and the need for platforms like TikTok to act fast to protect users.