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Ciara O'Rourke
By Ciara O'Rourke December 13, 2021

Ad for gummies endorsed by Dr. Oz is fake

If Your Time is short

  • Dr. Oz is the subject of enough fake ads using his name or likeness to sell products that he has a page on his website for people to report them. 
 

Celebrity surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz recently announced he would be running for a Pennsylvania seat in the U.S. Senate. He didn’t debut a "miracle" gummy, as a recent Facebook post suggests. 

"Dr. Oz releases COPD gummies that help quit smoking, detox lungs and stop COPD," the post says, referring to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, a lung condition. 

The post shows a picture of Oz standing next to what looks like a yellow bear-shaped gummy floating midair, and a link to a website called lungspowerhealth.com. 

But for years now Oz has warned that supposed product endorsements like these are a scam. 

This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

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In December 2012, Oz posted a message on his Facebook account thanking people for reporting "fraudulent ads" through a page on his website called "Oz Watch." 

"Remember," he said. "I don’t endorse anything, so if you see something using my name or likeness, it’s fake!" 

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The "Oz Watch" page says, "Unfortunately, dubious people online will often spam or solicit people like you; they make it seem as though Dr. Oz is personally endorsing their product — he does not." 

A spokesperson for Oz’s Senate campaign told us on Dec. 13, 2021, that this Facebook post "is yet another example of Dr. Oz’s image being used without his consent to try and sell products he does not support to unsuspecting people." 

We rate this post False. 

 

Our Sources

Facebook post, Dec. 9, 2021

Dr. Oz Facebook post, Dec. 28, 2012

Oz Watch webpage, visited Dec. 10, 2021

Statement from Dr. Oz’s Senate campaign, Dec. 13, 2021

 

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Ad for gummies endorsed by Dr. Oz is fake

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