The FTC stated that due to misinformation…[+] spread to Facebook and Twitter, the company is providing suspicious treatments for COVID-19 or coronavirus.
Among the misinformation surrounding the coronavirus, claims of hope to cure the virus and treatments are very common. On Monday, the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration took action to warn seven companies about their product advertisements that are expected to help fight the coronavirus.
Affected companies include: Vital Silver (colloid vitality), Quinessence aromatherapy, N-ergetics, GuruNanda, Vivify Holistic Clinic, Herbal Amy and Jim Bakker Show. Everyone received letters warning them that making unsubstantiated claims may violate the Federal Trade Commission Act.
According to the FDA’s guidance: “There are currently no approved vaccines, drugs or research products that can be used to treat or prevent the virus.” The agency said that consumers should not buy or use “not approved, cleared or authorized by the FDA to be related to COVID-19 Related products”. Therefore, unless they are scientifically proven to be correct, any company that claims to be capable of fighting COVID-19 should not just ignore it, but completely ignore it.
One of the goals of the FTC and FDA’s suppression is the myth that drinking silver can help kill the coronavirus. This is a false statement made by the Jim Bakker Show. Its host, dissatisfied TV promoter Jim Bakker (Jim Bakker) promoted a series of products-silver sol liquid, silver sol gel in a video titled “A detailed study of what the coronavirus has not yet said.” Gum and silver lozenges. The owner once claimed that drinking silver solution can kill the coronavirus in just 12 hours, but the once world-famous TV broadcaster Bakker was called by Right Wing Watch in February.
Another supporter of the panacea is Life Silver, which supports pastors on its Facebook page and claims: “In fact, the scientific and medical communities generally believe that ionic silver kills the coronavirus. It is now known that the Chinese are using ionic silver to fight The spread of the coronavirus.” Despite these suspicious claims, Facebook posts still exist. “I didn’t realize that my company violated FDA standards, or that any statement was considered fraudulent. In accordance with the FDA’s request, I deleted all statements about COVID-19 from my website and social media.” Vigor owner Jennifer Hickman said.
N-Ergetics is also bold in declaring the power of silver: “Colloidal silver is still the only known antiviral supplement that kills all these seven human coronaviruses.” A spokesperson for N-Ergetics told Forbes that they were collecting After the warning, the website has been updated and pointed out: “We have not claimed any product to have the ability to prevent, treat or cure human diseases… Any products we offer for sale are not intended to alleviate, prevent, treat, diagnose or cure People’s COVID-19.”
Herbs, oil and tea have also been questioned by government agencies. Herbal medicine Amy was warned of unapproved “Coronavirus Protocol” products, including: Coronavirus Bone Tea, Coronavirus Cell Protection, Coronavirus Core Tin Agent, Coronavirus Immune System and Elderberry Berry. On its website, it claims: “Many herbs have strong antiviral effects against coronavirus.”
Amy Weidner, the owner of Herbal Beauty, said she removed an offer from the advertisement due to the warning. She told Forbes: “Because it is a purely natural herbal product, the FDA does not want me to quote anyone in the product description that implies that it can treat, alleviate or cure any disease.” When asked When it is possible to say whether her products are any help to the coronavirus, she said: “I can’t make these claims, but herbs have been used for 3000 years to help the human body cope with the disease.”
At the same time, people saw that GuruNanda is promoting its frankincense solution, Quinesence for its essential oil and Vivify, a loose leaf tea, all of these promises will help defeat COVID-19 without scientific support. (GuruNanda stated that after receiving the FTC warning, “any information related to the treatment or prevention of COVID-19 and coronavirus was immediately deleted.”)
Everyone promotes their products on social media, especially Facebook and Twitter. Such sites are trying to stop misinformation, but it is clear that attempts to verify facts and redirect users to reliable medical information sources have been difficult.
FTC Chairman Joe Simons warned that companies would take advantage of the coronavirus panic. Simmons said: “People have been highly concerned about the potential spread of the coronavirus,”. “In this case, we don’t need companies to prey consumers by promoting products with fraudulent prevention and treatment requirements.”
In recent weeks, a large number of scams hoping to profit from the coronavirus have spread. For example, spam has been trying to trick people into visiting websites using false prevention techniques and false coronavirus information nearby. At the same time, Amazon has launched 1 million products with false coronavirus claims.
Late last week, cybersecurity company Malwarebytes issued a warning to a website claiming to show the latest coronavirus cases on a global map, but the site is silently installing malware in an attempt to steal passwords and credit card information from visitors.
I’m the associate editor of Forbes, and the content involves security, surveillance and privacy. Since then, I have been providing news and writing functions on these topics for major publications
I’m the associate editor of Forbes, and the content involves security, surveillance and privacy. Since 2010, I have been providing news and writing functions on these topics for major publications. As a freelancer, I have worked in companies such as The Guardian, Vice Main Board, Wired and BBC.com. I was named a BT security journalist for a series of exclusive articles in 2012 and 2013, and was awarded the best news report in 2014 for his report on the US government harassing security professionals. I like to hear news about hackers destroying things for entertainment or profit, and news about researchers who find annoying things on the Internet. Give me a signal on 447837496820. I also use WhatsApp and Treema. Alternatively, you can email me at TBrewster@forbes.com or tbthomasbrewster@gmail.com.