Deepfake ads featuring Søren Brostrøm, the former director of the Danish Health Authority, are circulating on social media. At least two men in their 80s bought a medicine they believed he had recommended, which led to incorrect medication.
DR reports that the fake videos and ads show Brostrøm promoting a specific medicine. The material is made with artificial intelligence and places him on the sofa of the TV show “Go’ Morgen Danmark”.
According to DR, two men in their 80s saw the ads and bought the product. They believed the recommendation came from Brostrøm himself, and the purchase resulted in incorrect medication. One of the men’s doctors told Politiken it was impossible to explain to him what a scam or a deepfake is.
Brostrøm became nationally known as director of Sundhedsstyrelsen during the coronavirus pandemic. He is now a senior adviser at the World Health Organization. He states that he has never appeared in advertising for medicines or natural remedies.
As reported by Politiken, Brostrøm called the misleading ads disturbing and said they must be regulated. He noted that this type of misleading advertising is already illegal in Denmark, and that the platforms should take it seriously. Politiken also reports that the fake video promotes a supplement called Cardio Genix, a name not included in DR’s report.
Other Danish health figures misused
Bente Klarlund Pedersen, professor of integrated medicine at the University of Copenhagen, has also been used in fake videos. Per Politiken, ads are currently circulating in which she appears to recommend remedies for tinnitus, erectile problems, fatty liver and obesity.
BT reports that at least 100 people have written to Klarlund Pedersen about the fake ads. In some of the material she is falsely paired with Kandis singer Johnny Hansen, according to BT.
The fact-checking outlet TjekDet describes the ads as part of an international wave of deceptive Facebook ads. As noted by TjekDet, the names of at least 15 well-known Danes have been used, and the claims in the fake material are not real.
Politiken states that the ads involving both Brostrøm and Klarlund Pedersen are active at present. Brostrøm commented in response to the ongoing misuse of his name and image, according to the newspaper. DR published its report on the case on Friday.
