NHS surgeon and popular content creator Dr Karan Rajan has called on TikTok to take urgent action after falling victim to an AI deepfake.
Famous for his refreshingly frank medical myth-busting and health advice videos, Dr Rajan has earned the trust of over 10 million people across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.
Now, that trust is being weaponised by scammers looking to dupe unsuspecting users into buying supplements from the TikTok shop.
Dr Karan Rajan Targeted By Scammers
A recent video on the app appeared to show Dr Rajan endorsing Moringa Leaf Capsules as a remedy for high cortisol.
At the end of the clip, the author of the No.1 Sunday Times bestseller This Book May Save Your Life even “prescribed” two capsules per day and seemingly promoted a Spring sale.
However, all was not as it seemed. Subtle tells and glitchy face movements revealed an unsettling truth: the video was an AI deepfake.
Flagging the sophisticated con to his followers, Dr Karan Rajan said: “This kind of sounds like me and basically does look like me beyond some of the weird lip movements.
“And if you didn’t pick it, this is a deepfake. The science is completely wrong, and those are words that I’ve never said.”
The fake ad was posted by an account called Healthy Life UK, which had taken an unrelated podcast clip of Dr Rajan discussing endometriosis and manipulated it using AI software. The result was a bogus video crafted to drive sales of a linked supplement.
“Unfortunately, after asking them if they could stop using my likeness and intellectual property for commercial use without my consent – which I believe is illegal – they just blocked me,” he continued.
“This is very worrying because someone who doesn’t follow me or know me might believe this to be a real advert. And if they think it’s coming from a doctor they might be influenced to buy the product for a health reason.
“If the product promoted is something untested, unregulated, and dangerous, it could lead to major harm.”
The account in question appeared to be operating under the username nick.healthy.
Since Dr Rajan raised the alarm, a second account named nick.healthy2 has surfaced – once again using AI-altered videos of influencers and health professionals to promote the same capsules.
TikTok has long struggled to control the flood of deepfake videos appearing on the platform. Last year, it introduced automatic labelling of AI-generated content using metadata to help flag altered videos.
But clearly, some are still slipping through the net as scammers look for new ways to bate people into parting ways with their hard-earned cash.
“TikTok – you need to do something urgently on the platform to stop this becoming the norm,” Dr Karan Rajan concluded.
“I’m not the first creator affected and I won’t be the last!”
