Does an authentic video show Dr. Mehmet Oz promoting a "cure" for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD? No, that's not true: AI detection tools found the video was likely created using AI technology. There is no known cure for COPD, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The claim appeared in a post and video (archived here) on Facebook on December 29, 2024. It said:
'I never thought I'd breathe freely again, but now I can.'
Today, I can walk my grandkids to school, spend an afternoon tending to my garden, and even climb stairs without gasping for air. Every breath feels lighter, fuller, and free. I wake up every morning refreshed, with the energy to enjoy life again. Breathing feels natural, not like a fight.But just a few years ago, my life was the opposite. At 47, I was diagnosed with COPD, and every simple task became a challenge. Walking up stairs, playing with my grandkids, or even just sitting outside felt impossible. My inhalers only gave temporary relief, and I started to lose hope.Then, I discovered an innovative method developed by Dr. Seijun Jhin. Inspired by approaches similar to what experts like Dr. Oz have spoken about--focusing on the root cause of lung health instead of just managing symptoms--I decided to try it. Though I was initially afraid, I knew I needed to address the root cause of the disease and not just mask the symptoms... I am very grateful.
This is what the post looked like on Facebook at the time of writing:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Tue Jan 14 17:15:43 2025 UTC)
The post does not offer credible evidence to support its claim. It linked to a website (archived here) that has nothing to do with Oz or a supposed cure for COPD; it instead promotes a water purifier.
There is no known cure for COPD, which refers to a group of lung diseases that restrict breathing, though there are treatment options, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
A reverse image search (archived here) of the video clip in the post showing Oz, starting 10 seconds into the video, did not return results confirming the video's authenticity and audio. These were the results it displayed:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Tue Jan 14 22:13:11 2025 UTC)
The background in that clip reads "U.S. Senate," which corresponds to when Oz ran for U.S. Senate in 2022 in Pennsylvania as a Republican. The real clip says nothing about COPD treatment.
The video making the claim on Facebook also said that Oz "promises to pay $1,000,000 if it fails" to cure COPD within three days. Lead Stories could not find evidence of that with searches of Google (archived here) and Google News (archived here).
Made with AI
AI detection tool TrueMedia.org (archived here) found "substantial evidence" that the video was created using AI technology with "100% confidence":
(Source: truemedia.org screenshot taken on Mon Jan 13 18:49:35 2025 UTC)
Hive Moderation, another AI detection tool, found that "the video is 99.9% likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake content," as shown in the screenshot of the results below:
(Source: hivemoderation.com screenshot taken on Mon Jan 13 18:49:59 2025 UTC)
The post's doctored video used Oz's image:
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Mon Jan 13 18:27:17 2025 UTC)
Lead Stories contacted sources close to Oz and will provide an update if a response is received.
Lead Stories has previously debunked similar deepfakes using Oz's image to promote various purported "cures" here, here and here.
Read more
Additional Lead Stories fact checks on claims concerning deepfakes can be found here.
