Barely a day goes by before I receive a message from a follower on social media informing me of a fake account using my images to spam them. Falling victim to scammers online is something we are all at risk of nowadays. I’m a doctor who appears on TV and other forms of media, which leaves me even more exposed.
Worryingly, there are now more sophisticated means being used to deceive and exploit vulnerable people, such as “deepfake” AI generated videos. Creators of deepfakes are targeting victims using trusted healthcare professionals.
As a doctor in the public eye, this deeply concerns me. My main purpose for doing media is to challenge health misinformation that commonly circulates online and to educate the public about key health messages. During the pandemic we saw the harm that misinformation was causing online. Now, with deepfake images using the faces and voices of trusted healthcare professionals being viewed millions of times, the potential for grave harm grows.
The term “deepfake” means content that has been digitally altered using artificial intelligence with the intention to spread misinformation. This can be done with pictures, audio clips and videos and it’s becoming a significant cause for concern for experts in the public eye.
One of my close friends, Dr Amir Khan, has fallen victim to deepfake videos being generated using his face. Fraudsters have used his TV appearances and social media to create false videos of him endorsing unlicenced drugs and misleading viewers about the management of conditions like hypertension and diabetes. This has been a very unsettling and frightening experience for him.
Whilst we can report and block such accounts, we have no control over where else these images and videos are being shared and more worryingly, the harm they could be causing to people who are unaware they are fake.
Selling an agenda, products or spreading health misinformation using trusted doctors can cost someone their life – a fact these scammers don’t seem to be conscious of. When someone is unwell, they are vulnerable and therefore at risk of being exploited. They are willing to try anything to feel better and will often search for treatments online. There is now a generation of healthcare professionals, like myself, who use their platforms to help by offering evidence-based medical knowledge in a digestible way to the public, but we are fast being outnumbered and at risk of being compromised by scammers.
Other than raising awareness about the existence of deepfakes and urging the public to be more cautious, there is nothing else we can do to stop them, and that is the most frustrating part.
The Government has this week announced a new law to prosecute those who create sexually explicit deepfakes. This is a positive step, but there needs to also be more urgent action on medical and health exploitation in deepfakes too.
It is distressing to hear from followers who have received messages from fake accounts pretending to be me. On reviewing these accounts, I often find pictures taken from my page, some of which include my family, with misinformation in the captions. The messages these scammers send to victims include requests for money for medical research or for charities claiming to raise funds for humanitarian causes, as well as selling products with no evidence.
I worry about the implications of this a lot. I immediately block and report these accounts, and I also advise my followers to do the same, but I still feel anxious about how far and wide they have travelled. What if someone has fallen for it, has transferred money or worse – taken the ill-informed advice and become unwell as a result?
As deepfakes become more and more realistic, I urge everyone to be more cautious about the content you are viewing, especially in the context of health. Verify the details, compare it to credible sources like NHS websites, reach out to relevant healthcare professionals on their verified pages before acting on anything.
The online world can offer many benefits, but there is a more sinister side to it, and protecting yourself in this new digital era is vital.
I'm a GP - this is what happened when my photo was used in a scam
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18.04.2024
Barely a day goes by before I receive a message from a follower on social media informing me of a fake account using my images to spam them. Falling victim to scammers online is something we are all at risk of nowadays. I’m a doctor who appears on TV and other forms of media, which leaves me even more exposed.
Worryingly, there are now more sophisticated means being used to deceive and exploit vulnerable people, such as “deepfake” AI generated videos. Creators of deepfakes are targeting victims using trusted healthcare professionals.
As a doctor in the public eye, this deeply concerns me. My main purpose for doing media is to challenge health misinformation that commonly circulates online and to educate the public about key health messages. During the pandemic we saw the harm that misinformation was causing online. Now, with deepfake images using the faces and voices of trusted healthcare professionals being viewed millions of times, the potential for grave harm grows.
The term........
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