AI-Generated Doctors Spread Health Myths on TikTok, Study Finds

Artificial intelligence-generated doctors are proliferating on TikTok, spreading medically dubious advice to audiences of millions and prompting urgent warnings from health authorities about threats to public safety.

Research published this month by digital marketing agency Hallam found that AI-generated content appeared in 40 percent of top health-related TikTok videos. The study analyzed 1,198 videos across search terms including "health tips" and "doctor advice," finding that deepfake influencer accounts designed to resemble real physicians dominated results. For the search term "health tips" specifically, 84 percent of videos were classified as AI-generated or AI-assisted.

These synthetic doctors have achieved substantial reach. Top AI-generated health videos in the study averaged 2.5 million views each, according to Hallam's findings.

Dangerous Medical Myths

The AI physician avatars spread disproven claims about cancer, including assertions that microwaving food in plastic, using deodorants, and sleeping next to phones could cause the disease—all claims refuted by Cancer Research UK. The accounts also promoted bizarre remedies, such as mixing Coca-Cola with onion for pain relief.

One avatar claimed to have recommended a product called "Hyalethinap Plus Pro Max" to patients for years as an anti-aging solution that combats hair loss, skin weakening, brittle nails, and joint pain. The Guardian could not find evidence that this product exists.

Medical Community Response

Dr. Emma Runswick, deputy chair of the British Medical Association council, characterized the phenomenon as a "huge danger to public safety." She called on platforms like TikTok to take stronger action against fake medical advice, warning that "it is the public who could be paying the price with their health and perhaps even their lives."

Prof. Frankie Swords, national medical director at NHS England, said the rise in online medical misinformation was concerning, noting that "many clinicians are reporting an increasing number of patients who feel worried and confused due to false advice that has been made solely for clicks."

Alex Ruani, a health misinformation researcher at University College London, described the trend as "industrialized exploitation of trust" and noted the "frightening amount of exposure to fake medical content."

Platform Scale

A 2025 poll conducted by Savanta for Healthwatch England found that approximately one in five people in England use social media for health information, underscoring the potential impact of misleading content.

TikTok removed examples of the videos flagged by The Guardian. A company spokesperson disputed the research findings, stating they "are not an accurate reflection of our platform" and noting that the study came from "a marketing agency with commercial interests." The spokesperson said TikTok removes harmful health misinformation, partners with the World Health Organization and NHS on reliable health information, and invests in AI literacy resources and labeling technologies.

Why It Matters

The convergence of generative AI tools and social media recommendation algorithms creates a scalable system for distributing health misinformation that mimics trusted medical authority. Unlike traditional misinformation that requires human creation, AI-generated doctor personas can be produced at industrial scale, potentially overwhelming platform moderation systems and reaching vulnerable users seeking medical guidance. With one in five people already turning to social media for health information, the proliferation of convincing deepfake physicians represents a new category of risk for public health infrastructure.

These details were first reported by The Guardian.