Photo: TikTok
She looks like she’s endorsing a coffee that supposedly makes you lose weight fast. But any of Dr Dana Brems’s followers – there are over a million of them – would raise an eyebrow as to why one of TikTok’s most famous foot and ankle surgeons is promoting a weight loss drink. And that’s because she didn't: A TikTok user had taken a clip of Brems positively reacting to another account’s video which she duetted, and has spliced it onto their own, making it look like she’s duetted them. They were then able to pay TikTok to promote that video, turning it into an advert.She is not the only doctor this has happened to. A video misleadingly using a clip of Dr Kunal Sood (@drsood), a pain management specialist doctor with 830,000 followers, to promote the so-called diet coffee has reached 28 million views. Brems told VICE World News that she has found eight other doctors who have had their videos used to promote this product. “Shame on you, TikTok,” she said in a video criticising the app for platforming the videos and adverts.Tom Quinn, director of external affairs for the UK’s eating disorder charity Beat, said: “It is incredibly concerning to see diet products – especially with false endorsements from medical professionals – advertised so freely on TikTok. Diet products can be very attractive to those affected by an eating disorder or vulnerable to one, and the effects can be devastating.” “We recognise that TikTok has taken some steps to limit the spread of harmful advertising on its platform and last year pledged to further restrict advertising on diet and weight loss products, which we support. We would urge them to consider the effects these adverts can have on those affected by eating disorders, and extend this ban to all weight loss products.”Numerous accounts making these videos – some of which have hundreds of thousands of views – often use the same, misspelled hashtags where hundreds of these videos can be found. Some of the videos are organic, but others have had paid promotion – including one that Brems found herself in. Many of the accounts have links in their bios, directing users to the site where they can buy the coffee. She brought the videos to TikTok’s attention, but only some of the accounts were banned – excluding one that made a video reaching hundreds of thousands of views. “You know, at first I was confused why TikTok didn’t take down this account and hundreds of others that are using my image to promote eating disorders by selling this diet coffee,” she said, in a TikTok that has been seen over 130,000 times, posted in response to a video that TikTok deleted after VICE World News sent it to them. “But I think I’ve figured it out. Cause even when I directly reported this account to someone at TikTok they emailed me back saying no violation, and I think I just figured out why.”“If you look right here I’ll zoom in, it’s an ad. Why would TikTok take down accounts when they’re directly making tens of thousands of dollars off you getting an eating disorder?”The video, uploaded by an account called @hgussiwilliam, had only 2,000 likes, but over 300,000 views, a ratio that suggests it had had paid promotion on the algorithm. A TikTok spokesperson told VICE World News after we brought the videos to its attention that the two accounts Brems mentioned in her video were now permanently banned. "Our Community Guidelines make clear that we do not allow accounts that pose as another person or entity in a deceptive manner, or allow medical misinformation that can cause harm to an individual's physical health. We will remove such content and accounts as we work to promote a safe community environment for everyone.”In some of the videos, content has also been taken from users to show the weight loss recipe, which Brems is pictured as reacting to. A video of @cinamonnbaby was used as a ‘before’ image, then using a completely different woman to show the ‘after’ image. @cinamonnbaby responded to the video saying “WHAT IS THIS”, writing in the caption: “I’m still fat and hot.”One user commented, telling @cinamonnbaby to “report the doctor for fraud. Clearly so damaging and awful,” to which Brems had to respond, explaining that it’s not her video. The original video has since been deleted.
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