Fake videos targeting people with type 2 diabetes

The New Zealand Society for the Study of Diabetes (NZSSD) has been made aware of a number of deep fakes promoting fake "diabetes medications" that are using NZSSD members names, faces, and voices.  NZSSD is warning people with type 2 diabetes to be cautious about health advice on social media, especially videos that appear to be from New Zealand doctors. Some of these videos are “deepfakes” — fake videos created with artificial intelligence (AI) to make it look like a real doctor is speaking, when they are not. The AI uses real video footage to create a copy of someone’s face and voice. “Until recently, deepfakes mostly targeted celebrities. But now, some fake videos are pretending to be New Zealand doctors selling unproven and potentially unsafe treatments”, says NZSSD President Dr Jo McClintock. Read more in their media release . Patients are being warned to be careful with medical advice on social media and to get reliable information from trusted sources such as www.healthify.nz and www.diabetes.org.nz .  It is recommend that anyone impacted by these deep fakes contact the NZ Police.