Beware 'deepfakes' of famous doctors promoting scams: experts

Grifters and scammers will do the worst to take advantage of the public, sometimes is convincing real "influencers" to support their useless or even dangerous products, sometimes they will skip the middleman and just fake the videos. As long as there are people that don't have proper skepticism and scientific literacy there will always be enough victims to profit (a lot) from these scams.

As long as there are people that don't have proper skepticism and scientific literacy there will always be enough victims to profit (a lot) from these scams.

Sorry you fell victim.

Sorry you fell victim.

I never wrote anything that would lead to this deeply illogical conclusion, that is for people that defend antiscientific propaganda and reject the scientific consensus, specially those that repeatedly attack scientific institutions like the global public health authority the WHO.

They will likely use this to further censor online discussion, to more tightly control the narrative.

The thing is that it's not only "deepfakes" that promote scam; many scams are promoted by famous doctors and "journalists" on the MSM.

As long as there are people that don't have proper skepticism and scientific literacy there will always be enough victims to profit (a lot) from these scams.

Yes, very true.

The thing is that it's not only "deepfakes" that promote scam; many scams are promoted by famous doctors and "journalists" on the MSM.

Another conspiracy theory. Same old tired playbook.

More reason to start teaching kids how to recognise propaganda, how to spot a deepfake, and so on. Education has to keep up with the times, and these are dangerously stupid times (see: the current state of the US presidential race, inter alia).

Yes, very true.

It is terribly easy to find out when someone has very poor scientific literacy, they will defend debunked theories and call scientific institutions "captured" to excuse believing the global scientific communty is all wrong and only their favorite youtube "expert" knows the truth. They are the people that most easily fall for scams since they are bad at evaluating and accepting proper expertise, they only cherry pick the opinions that they already wanted to accept from the beginning even if they come from known scammers or obvious deepfakes.

If you suspect something is a scam the easiest thing to do is to check what is the scientific consensus by looking what the respected institutions of science and medicine have to say about it. If they contradict what the source your are checking is saying then it is fake and trying to scam you.

If you suspect something is a scam the easiest thing to do is to check what is the scientific consensus by looking what the respected institutions of science and medicine have to say about it.

The scientific consensus is not determined by institutions. The scientific consensus, if there is one, is determined by the entire scientific community through research and open and honest discussion.

What you call "scientific consensus" is actually scientific dogma laid down by bureaucrats who are more interested in profits than truth.

The scientific consensus is not determined by institutions

Which is irrelevant, institutions are still the much better and easier way to see what that consensus is, if you search on youtube or blogs, etc. You will find unprofessional, inept or lying people contradicting the consensus for personal profit, doctors saying that "magnetism causes infections" or physicists that say that "earthquakes prove the hollow Earth theory", etc. People that are simply wrong and contradict the consensus. But institutions? they are much more reliable as a source that actually, accurately convey what is the scientific consensus, specially when they are well respected in the field. Pretending otherwise is a sign of poor scientific literacy.

What you call "scientific consensus" is actually scientific dogma laid down by bureaucrats who are more interested in profits than truth.

No, it is not, that is just an excuse from antiscientific propaganda groups that refuse to accept the consensus. In reality it changes and improves constantly (the opposite of what dogma is), the problem for the scammers is that this change only comes with proper data analyzed with validated methods in order to reach valid conclusions. Those that work to manipulate others to reject science fear this consensus because it is beyond any doubt the best tool we have to find out what things being peddled by scammers are wrong.

Virusrex,

You can bet your bottom dollar that if one of the anti-science / "I'm an independent thinker, me" people on here were told they were seriously ill and needed to take their doctor's advice if they wanted to survive, we would see a miraculous change in their attitude.

Or maybe not, who knows. Maybe they would genuinely be willing to die or face permanent damage rather than "sticking it to the establishment". Not that anyone would miss them...

Whether deepfake or real people, the problem is if the information being conveyed is true or not

You can bet your bottom dollar that if one of the anti-science / "I'm an independent thinker, me" people on here were told they were seriously ill and needed to take their doctor's advice if they wanted to survive, we would see a miraculous change in their attitude.

The real problem is that antiscientific propaganda proponents frequently put in danger the life of friends, family, people they have some kind of influence. Their own risk or death may make them abandon the antiscientific beliefs they like to push, but the death of a family or a friend? not a chance.

The worst part is that they sincerely believe the doctors, scientists, public health experts are all in a global conspiracy that puts in risk the lives of their loved ones just to get rich, which indicates these people think this twisted scale of values is normal, something they themselves would do in a heartbeat, so sacrificing their family or friends may not even be something about the mistaken beliefs, it may be as simple as just a necessary sacrifice to get money.

Whether deepfake or real people, the problem is if the information being conveyed is true or not

And for that proper scientific literacy helps a lot, the same as consulting what respected institutions have to say about it. It is terribly easy to find out scammers promoting useless (or even dangerous) drugs, supplements, diets, etc. for profit. But looking at the communications from universities, public health systems, research institutes, big hospitals, it becomes easy to find out if there the information is true or not.

The scientific consensus is not determined by institutions. The scientific consensus, if there is one, is determined by the entire scientific community through research and open and honest discussion.

And when the community comes to a consensus, respected institutions will support it.

This doesn't change that you guys keep pushing podcast science which no respectable institutions agree seem to agree with.

Is this a "there are good people on both sides" kind of thing?

And when the community comes to a consensus, respected institutions will support it.

It only appears that the community comes to a consensus when we only hear one side, with the other side being censored.

This doesn't change that you guys keep pushing podcast science which no respectable institutions agree seem to agree with.

No, we usually push leading experts in the field. Problem is that because they disagree with the powers-that-be, very often they can only be heard on podcasts.

It only appears that the community comes to a consensus when we only hear one side, with the other side being censored.

ahh yes another conspiracy.

and we’re back to why you guys don’t have credibility. No facts.

This is only new in terms of the deepfake. I remember a TV show from years ago about charlatans promoting medically impossible claims. One man, who was either HIV positive or actually had AIDS, was scammed by someone promoting some "holistic" method. The man saw an actual HIV expert who took some measurement via a blood test (I don't remember the specifics, and I'm not medically trained), and then the man went off and did the "holistic" method. Upon completing it, he returned to the doctor who did another test and confirmed that literally nothing had changed and that the "holistic" method had done nothing.

Same story, just with added technological "progress".

It only appears that the community comes to a consensus when we only hear one side, with the other side being censored.

When that "one side" is the full scientific community of the world this is again just an excuse, is unbelievable that the whole scientific community of the world is in such impossible conspiracy. The reality is that the "other side" is not being censored, it is just that is wrong and can't modify the consensus precisely because is wrong and don't have the evidence to do it.

No, we usually push leading experts in the field. Problem is that because they disagree with the powers-that-be, very often they can only be heard on podcasts.

That is not what "leading" means, it means fringe and debunked, the disagreement is with what is scientifically proven which in simple terms means just being wrong. As described before, people fishing for anybody that would repeat whatever belief they want to keep is not science, is just confirmation bias and double standards.

Upon completing it, he returned to the doctor who did another test and confirmed that literally nothing had changed and that the "holistic" method had done nothing.

The patient was lucky, people that undergo "holistic" or "alternative" healing very frequently end up worse. There is a reason why it has been scientifically proved that those that choose treatment different from the consensus have worse results.

The "other side" has no problem being heard. It, however, chooses not to confront the scientific community with evidence-based arguments, it prefers to adress the general public as if the scientific consensus were somehow decided in a court of public opinion.

Their podcast bros tell them they're right, and they believe it like lemmings. Then they get out there and point at everyone else and scream "look, lemmings!"

I never wrote anything that would lead to this deeply illogical conclusion, that is for people that defend antiscientific propaganda and reject the scientific consensus, specially those that repeatedly attack scientific institutions like the global public health authority the WHO.

Yes you did.

And got taken by the grifters and scammers.

Yes you did.

And got taken by the grifters and scammers.

Completely false, easy to see when you could not quote anything of the sort. Just again the same user following around the same other users to contradict what they say with obviously wrong misinterpretations, it was only a matter of time before you began repeating the same patterns that made you lose your previous account.