Tue, 23 Dec 2025

Tue, 23 Dec 2025 TikTok removes AI weight loss ads from fake Boots account

The adverts for prescription-only drugs showed healthcare professionals impersonating the British retailer.

* Fake adverts for weight loss drugs by a company pretending to be Boots have been removed from TikTok after Boots complained.
* The adverts used AI-generated images and videos featuring smiling healthcare professionals, but were actually promoting prescription-only weight loss drugs.
* It is illegal to advertise prescription-only weight loss drugs to the public.
* Boots said it was aware of the videos and had complained to TikTok, which removed them initially, but allowed the account to re-upload the same content before deleting the user.
* The fake Boots account linked to a website where weight loss drugs could be bought, featuring testimonies from customers and doctors that were either made with AI or taken from other websites.
* AI expert Sam Gregory said that platforms like TikTok need to act quickly when detecting scams that breach their terms of service.
* Other videos uploaded by the same account used content originally posted by real people without permission.
* Boots emphasized that it only runs adverts on social media through its official account @BootsUK, and warned about the risks of purchasing counterfeit weight loss medicines.
* The MHRA also warned against buying weight loss medicines outside a registered pharmacy with a prescription.
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