Deepfake videos impersonating real doctors are spreading false medical advice

Deepfakes use AI to produce manipulated media to mislead viewers

Unlike most content created from large language and diffusion models, deepfakes intentionally misrepresent real people or events with the intent to deceive. As the products of this technology become more realistic, they pose increasing risks to public trust, security, and privacy.

Deepfake Tom Cruise goes viral

Tom Cruise isn’t on TikTok. But you might think that he actually does have an account on the service if you came across the TikTok deepfakes of the actor that have gone viral. They’re the work of a visual and AI effects artist named Chris Umé and a Cruise stand-in, actor Miles Fisher, who already bears a vague resemblance to the actor. Watch what happens after Cruise’s face is superimposed onto Fisher’s.

Investigation finds 'influencer' dietitians paid to promote sugar, supplements on social media

A joint investigation by The Examiner and The Washington Post found that food, beverage, and supplement corporations and groups have paid registered dietitians on social media to promote content that goes against decades of scientific evidence on...

In 2019, videos on TikTok convinced children they had Tourette syndrome

Right before the COVID-19 pandemic, an "outbreak" of Tourette syndrome was attributed to videos from a German TikToker who documented his life with the condition. The children experiencing the symptoms all had the same tics, which experts say was a case of mass sociogenic illness, also referred to as mass hysteria.

Why TikTok's algorithm is likely driven by what you linger on

While the inner workings of the engine driving the vast majority of the app's engagement remain a secret, it is understood to rely heavily on what content users spend the most time watching rather than swipe past. Experts believe the app can develop user profiles robust enough for its algorithm to consistently match engaging content to in as little as two hours.

How to catch a TikTok thief

Someone took a 10-second clip of a parody video made by Hugh Clegg and posted it to TikTok, where it racked up millions of views. The uncredited clip meant viewers assumed it was owned by the uploader, an assumption Clegg was eager to rectify. His messages and comments had no real effect outside of earning him temporary bans for "spamming." So he decided to moonlight as a private eye.

Watch these fact checks of medical missteps in the show 'Grey's Anatomy'

This roughly 10-minute video seeks to highlight both medical and filming errors in the popular medical television show "Grey's Anatomy." Inaccurate medical moments in the show include mistakes in surgical procedures, wearing jewelry during surgery, and confusing cirrhosis—which is a scarring condition that damages the liver—with psoriasis, a skin condition.

TikTok is obsessed with weird cottage cheese recipes

Cottage cheese “cookie dough.” Pizza cottage cheese bowl. Cottage cheese queso dip. TikTok influencers are suddenly posting nonstop cottage cheese recipes. It might be echoes of the 1990s weight-loss obsession, when diet culture encouraged the consumption of questionably tasty low-fat foods and not much else. Now, cottage cheese’s high protein content has made it an intriguing prospect for online fitness gurus who say that it’s the key to building muscle.

See images of medical cases of firework injuries shared on this 'Instagram for doctors.' (Warning: Graphic content)

The spread of fraudulent stem cell treatments

All the coverage of research into promising (but often unproven) medical treatments involving stem cells has created conditions allowing some people to engage in activities regulators describe as scams. As this news article explains, attorneys general in at least seven states have taken legal action against businesses that promised (costly) stem cell treatments but allegedly engaged in fraud.

Some influencers are facing the dark side of being a public persona

From burnout to stalkers, a content creator’s life can quickly become complicated as their following grows. Women’s Health recently spoke with some creators about what they wish they’d known before they started their careers on social media.

Some medical schools have phased out human cadavers for digital alternatives

AI-based anatomy tools and digital cadavers are increasingly used to teach students, bypassing the ethical and consent concerns around the use of real bodies. Digital cadavers have also become less expensive than real ones, though the tactile and sensory experiences of real dissection may be irreplaceable.

Two festival-goers were hospitalized after receiving peptide injections, raising questions

Investigative journalism shop ProPublica wrote about two people who became extremely ill following antiaging peptide injections. Authorities were examining whether the individuals were sickened by an infection, contamination related to the injections, or an issue with the medication itself, according to documents obtained by the journalists at ProPublica.

Mark Zuckerberg apologized for not doing enough to stop the spread of misinformation on Facebook ahead of the 2016 election

Leading up to the 2016 election, misinformation about both Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and even Barack Obama flourished on Facebook. In the final stretch leading up to the election, more than one-quarter of Americans visited a fake news site supporting either Trump or Clinton. Many fake news studies have widely different methods of measuring and assessing the impact of fake news, so the actual impact it had in the 2016 election is unclear.

Microplastics 101: What we know about the contaminants invading our bodies

Fifty-one trillion particles of microplastics float in our oceans. Yet there is very little science of how this affects our health. This quick 2-minute video explains the dangers of microplastics.

How medical robots could cure cancer

Medical robots are on the verge of being able to be injected into the body, where they will be responsible for semi-autonomous behavior, such as detecting cancer cells and distributing medication. This six-minute video dives into the science of these nanorobots, which are smaller than blood cells. Applications of these nanobots could range from disease discovery and condition monitoring to tissue repair and artificial blood delivery.

Men are flocking to hundreds of new online testosterone clinics for low T prescriptions

Many primary care clinicians may not be familiar with testosterone testing protocols and treatments, but online testosterone clinics are proliferating, with names like DudeMeds. COVID-era restrictions loosened remote prescribing rules, allowing them to expand online widely, though those more lenient prescribing policies are slated to expire in December 2026 unless they're renewed. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

Doctors weigh in: Are wearable fitness devices useful or just entertainment?

In an age where technology is intertwined with our daily routines, there is an evolving relationship between healthcare professionals and the data gained from our wearable devices. This piece, published on The Verge, explores how doctors view and...

A pediatric journal ran 138 fictional case studies, and 61 were cited as real stories

The Canadian journal Paediatrics & Child Health issued corrections to 138 case studies published since 2000, acknowledging the cases were entirely fictional—a practice intended to protect patient privacy that was never disclosed to readers. At least 61 of the fabricated reports were cited as fact in other peer-reviewed journals a combined 218 times, including a 2006 Lancet article alleging an infant died from opioid-laced breast milk.

The quest to find natural ways to extend lifespan

Tales of searching for the Fountain of Youth persist. Our modern-day version is marked by promises of pharmaceutical miracles and a proliferation of viral "biohacking" routines. One doctor’s quest to unlock the keys to longevity stimulated much of this renewed fervor, though his ideas are often taken out of context.

See images of medical cases of firework injuries shared on this 'Instagram for doctors'

Included photos include scans of missing or damaged digits, a chunk of missing flesh, a facial injury from a homemade firework in a glass bottle that exploded in the patient's hand before it was thrown, and an injury where a patient's finger bone flew into someone's leg.

Debunking myths about weight loss drugs

Business Insider delves into the research on GLP-1 to highlight the good and bad aspects other stories overlook. Few make it clear that GLP-1 drugs simply don’t work for many people. This deep dive raises a number of questions about the future of GLP-1 and how they will be used.

Telehealth demand for GLP-1s for weight loss is booming as consumers seek easier access.

A fake vaccine campaign was used to locate Osama bin Laden, fueling vaccine distrust

As part of the intelligence operation to find bin Laden in Pakistan, the US Central Intelligence Agency recruited a Pakistani doctor who ran a fake hepatitis B vaccine campaign and obtained DNA samples from bin Laden. News of this fake campaign fueled further distrust of healthcare workers, attacks on them, and stymied efforts to vaccinate against polio in the region.

Read the Surgeon General's 2023 loneliness report claiming loneliness is an epidemic

This report details the specific health threats linked with loneliness, including that loneliness and social isolation can increase the risk of premature death by nearly 30%. Loneliness lowers our capability to mount an effective immune response to viruses and respiratory illness, can cause chronic inflammation on par with physical inactivity, and increases the risks for anxiety, depression, dementia, heart disease and stroke.

American Psychological Association issues recommendations for teen social media use

Listen to this three-minute podcast to learn more about the American Psychological Association's recommendations for teenagers' use of social media. The first report of its kind, it advises parents to closely monitor teens' social feeds during early adolescence, continually screen for signs of problematic use (such as sleep interference), minimize the amount of dangerous content their child is exposed to (such as disordered eating), and limit their teen's use of social media around appearance-related content.

Dove’s ‘Real Beauty’ campaign sparked conversations about beauty standards in media

For the 20-year anniversary of the campaign in 2024, Dove conducted a brand-commissioned study to gauge how perceptions of beauty standards have shifted since its launch. While 81% of US women thought “the media and advertising set an unrealistic standard of beauty that most women can’t ever achieve” in 2004, the share had shrunk to 69% in 2024. Watch the ad here.

This site reaches millions of visitors who are tired of AI chatbots and seeking human connection. Pretend to be an AI chatbot and ask questions, provide answers, and draw for people in real time.

Read a deep dive on the 'all-purpose healing' peptide BPC-157.

Children are now three times more likely to say they want to be a YouTuber when they grow up than an astronaut, with some even attending 'YouTube camps' that teach kids how to create content for the platform.

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.

An investigation suggests a Scottish island became awash in forever chemicals via seafoam and seaspray—raising questions about what that means for the safety of other coastal areas.

Watch how algorithms can be designed to train themselves and self-improve without human input, to the point where the optimized code is too complex for programmers to understand.

After 25 people used virtual reality headsets to practice flying with virtual wings—flapping their arms—their visual cortex responded to the wings almost as if they were real arms, treating them as body parts.

A 2019 Facebook event called on attendees to "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us," resulting in countless memes, the creation of a music festival, and eventually the arrests of those who did try to approach the area.

In 2019, a laptop loaded with six of the worst malware in history and described as 'an exhibit of historical weaponry' sold for $1.3M.

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

Tattoos remain visible on your skin thanks to immune cells called macrophages

Indefinite cloning of some endangered species may not sustain their longevity because cloning success rates decrease as genetic mutations accumulate.

Marburg virus, related to Ebola, is also extremely deadly, and has no available vaccine.

Alzheimer's can lead to brain shrinkage, with an average of around 2% of volume reduction per year

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.

Animal phobias are likely the most common type of phobias, followed by an extreme fear of heights.

In 2025, four executives from large tech companies were given positions in the US Army Reserves—including Palantir Chief Technology Officer Shyam Sankar, which reinforced Palantir's ties with the US military and its role as a leading defense partner.

According to the physics of black holes, our 4D reality may be a hologram—a projection of information coded on a 2D surface on the edge of the universe.

Hear 50 years of iconic hip-hop samples, the genre's foundational looped tracks

Roughly 43 million US borrowers owe roughly $1.7T in student debt, the second-largest source of consumer debt behind mortgages.

'Saturday Night Fever,' the 1977 film that introduced disco to the mainstream, was based on a fabricated magazine story.

US intelligence allegedly pursued more than 600 schemes to assassinate Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro.