Does American television personality Martha Stewart advertise "C0PD Gummies" sold under her name? No, that's not true: Her website does not contain any information about such a product. The video in the Facebook post does not sync with the audio, suggesting someone edited fake or impersonator audio over authentic video. The facebook post uses a common dodge to try to evade fact checking and platform restrictions on false content: Leetspeak, which is the substitution of numerals similar to letters. In this case, the post uses zeroes for the letter O.
The story originated from a post published on Facebook on May 10, 2023. The caption said:
Martha Stewart - For years I've watched countless friends and family suffer from 𝗖𝟬𝗣𝗗 and some even pass.. I regret not being able to help sooner so I've decided to release my newest 𝐂𝟎𝐏𝐃 𝐆𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐬. Just 2 pieces each day will help ease the symptoms of 𝐂𝟎𝐏𝐃 such as:Shortness of breath
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The post contained a video of Martha Stewart (or a very similarly-looking person) promoting the product. The audio closely resembles her voice and manner of speaking, but could be an impersonator or the product of audio deep fake technology.
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Mon May 15 19:02:44 2023 UTC)
However, a search for the term "COPD gummies" on Stewart's official website produces no results:
(Source: Marthastewart screenshot taken on Mon May 15 20:09:34 2023 UTC)
The link from the post on Facebook (archived here) led to an unrelated Kentucky-based company.
According to the CDC website, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a "group of diseases that cause airflow blockage and breathing-related problems," including emphysema and chronic bronchitis frequently resulting from smoking. The treatment of COPD includes quitting tobacco products, pulmonary rehabilitation, medicine, supplemental oxygen and preventative measures against lung infections, not "COPD gummies."
Martha Stewart, known for her multiple entrepreneurial endeavors, does promote gummies. However, those are CBD gummies. Despite a similar-sounding name, CBD has nothing to do with COPD.
CBD products contain cannabidiol from marijuana, and the official promo video on Stewart's website implies that her gummies may potentially help against stress. The CDC website says that CBD products will not make people high but emphasizes that its effects, benefits and risks are not fully understood by scientists at this point.
