AI-generated doctors spread false health advice to millions on TikTok

TL;DR:

• Research by agency Hallam found AI-generated content in 40% of top health-related TikTok videos.
• Deepfake accounts styled as doctors are promoting disproven cancer myths and invented products.
• The BMA, NHS England and the Royal College of GPs have all raised public safety concerns.

Synthetic clinicians are drawing millions of views on TikTok while dispensing medical advice that UK health bodies say is dangerous. Analysis of 1,198 videos by digital marketing agency Hallam found AI-generated material in 40% of top health-related videos; for the search term “health tips”, 84% were classed as AI-generated or AI-assisted. Top AI doctor videos averaged 2.5m views.

Fabricated authority, real audience

The claims are not subtle. AI physicians promoted the disproven idea that microwaving food in plastic, using deodorant or sleeping beside a phone causes cancer — each refuted by Cancer Research UK. One avatar claimed to have prescribed a product called “Hyalethinap Plus Pro Max” to patients for years; the Guardian could find no evidence it exists.

British Medical Association council deputy chair Dr Emma Runswick said platforms “must do more to stop the rise of dangerous fake medical advice”. NHS England national medical director Prof Frankie Swords said clinicians report growing numbers of patients “worried and confused” by advice made for clicks, and Royal College of GPs president Prof Victoria Tzortziou Brown flagged a “real risk” of harm. UCL misinformation researcher Alex Ruani called it “industrialised exploitation of trust”.

The exposure is not marginal. A Savanta poll of more than 7,400 adults in England for Healthwatch England found roughly one in five people use social media for health information. TikTok removed the videos the Guardian sent it, while disputing the findings as coming from “a marketing agency with commercial interests” — a fair point about the source, though one that does not address the videos themselves.

Looking forward

This is a regulatory orphan. Synthetic doctors are not medical practitioners, so the General Medical Council has no jurisdiction; the content is advertising-adjacent but rarely a formal ad. Ofcom’s online safety powers cover harmful content, but health misinformation sits awkwardly against them. Britain has already seen AI chatbots give unreliable advice on voting — the pattern is consistent, and the accountability gap is the same one.