TikTok removes AI weight loss ads from fake Boots account

Fake adverts for weight loss drugs from a company claiming to be health and beauty retailer Boots have been removed from TikTok after the company complained.

Advertisements for prescription-only weight loss drugs appeared to show smiling healthcare professionals from the British retailer – but in reality they were made with AI.

It is illegal to advertise prescription-only weight loss medications to the public.

A Boots spokesperson told the BBC the company was “aware” of the videos and had complained to TikTok, which said it had removed the videos.

A TikTok spokesperson said it does not allow “harmful or misleading AI-generated ads” on its platform.

But the BBC discovered that although the videos had been removed, the account – apparently located in Hong Kong – was not.

He was able to re-upload the exact same videos despite deleting the originals.

TikTok was informed again and the user was subsequently deleted.

Weight-loss vaccines have been available on the NHS in England since the end of June, but they are not available over the counter and patients must meet strict criteria to be eligible for a prescription.

Before the fake Boots account was removed, his videos were linked to a website where people could buy weight loss drugs.

It featured customer and doctor testimonials, either made with AI or taken from other websites.

The TikTok videos showed what appeared to be health workers drinking from a bottle of blue liquid.

This would then appear to move forward several months, with workers apparently having lost a considerable amount of weight.

“AI now makes it very easy to generate a convincing series of videos or images showing an apparent change in a plausibly real generic healthcare professional, or to impersonate a specific healthcare professional,” AI expert Sam Gregory told the BBC.

“The underlying question is how quickly and effectively platforms respond when they detect – or are made aware of – scams that clearly violate their terms of service.

“Large brands like Boots will take priority over an individual business owner who has been targeted.”

Other videos uploaded by the same account on TikTok appeared to have used content originally posted by real people, showcasing their weight loss journey, but repurposed and used without permission.

All videos used similar branding and names to the official Boots account on TikTok – using the handle “@BootsOfficial”.

Boots said it only runs social media adverts through its current @BootsUK account.

The website also included warnings from the MHRA, the UK government body that ensures the safety of medicines and medical devices, about purchasing counterfeit products.

A spokesperson for the charity told the BBC that weight loss drugs “should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy with a prescription from a healthcare professional”.

“Taking these medications from any other source carries serious health risks, with no guarantee of what they contain,” they said.

TikTok said it would continue to “strengthen” its methods for detecting AI-generated content and that it did not allow “the depiction, promotion, or trade of controlled substances.”