STORY UPDATED: check for updates below.
Did Dr. Mehmet Oz promote a "cure" for prostate disease that does not require surgery? No, that's not true: A representative for Oz told Lead Stories, "This is a fake post fraudulently using Dr. Oz's name and likeness." A link that accompanied a post making the claim on Facebook redirected users to a bogus website posing as NBC News. Also, there was no trace of the post's claim on any reputable news site or Oz's official online channels. Should such a cure exist, it would be extensively covered by online publications.
The claim originated in a post shared on Facebook on December 18, 2023, (archived here). Over a medical drawing and an inset photo of Dr. Oz, text on the post said:
Dr. Ben Carson discovered 3 completely natural ingredients, and as a result, blood pressure disappeared forever. Headaches go away, blood cholesterol levels decrease, and symptoms caused by increased blood pressure disappear.
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Mon Dec 18 21:59:46 2023 UTC)
Lead Stories found no evidence to support the claim that Oz promoted a supposed cure for the disease, or that such a cure exists.
A search for the phrase "Dr. Oz prostate disease cure," (archived here) using Google News' index of thousands of credible news sites did not reveal any factual or credible reports that that Oz promoted, or supported such a "cure." Should such a treatment have existed, it would have been extensively covered by online publications.
Lead Stories also dug through the official website and social media accounts of Oz (X, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Facebook). As of December 18, 2023, the celebrity had not shared such endorsements or videos on his platforms.
The post shared on Facebook lacked information describing the type of "prostate disease" and did not include any evidence to support its claims,
Prostate disease, or prostatitis, affects the prostate gland in the male reproductive system that lies below the bladder and makes fluid contained in semen, according to the National Library of Medicine online medical database, MedlinePlus. There are my types of prostate disease and treatment depends on the type one is diagnosed with.
"The treatment for an enlarged prostate gland will depend on how badly the symptoms are affecting your qualify of life," wrote the UK National Health Service on its website. "Most men with urinary symptoms do not need to have surgery, but it may be an option if other treatments have not worked or give you severe side effects, or your symptoms are severe."
Treatment for prostate cancer also depends on several factors, including the speed at which the cancer is growing, whether it has spread, and a person's overall health, as well as the potential benefits or side effects of a given treatment, according to the Mayo Clinic.
In short, there is no one-size-fits-all "cure" for prostate cancer or disease.
Despite years of efforts I've made to prevent the proliferation of fake ads using my name and likeness, these ads continue to spread across the internet, as organic content and as fake ads. The advent of AI has led to even more egregious efforts to manipulate my likeness to dupe consumers. The websites and companies being paid to run these ads must start sharing the names of the fraudsters so that we can stop them.
Updates:
-
2023-12-19T17:30:06Z 2023-12-19T17:30:06Z Updated with December 18, 2023, response from Dr. Oz's representative, who said, "This is a fake post fraudulently using Dr. Oz's name and likeness."
