WHAT WAS CLAIMED
Doctors are handing out advice and medicines on Facebook.
OUR VERDICT
False. The doctors are fake and have been created using AI technology.
AAP FACTCHECK - Australians are being targeted by AI-generated health experts doling out medical advice and even treatments.
AAP FactCheck has discovered several deceptive Facebook pages claiming to belong to qualified medical professionals in Australian cities.
However, the supposed doctors are the product of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.
The accounts reviewed by AAP FactCheck commonly feature a biography section in which the professed medical professionals introduce themselves and list their qualifications.
Their profile photos typically show them in white coats, often with stethoscopes draped around their necks.
At first glance, the profiles appear legitimate. However, closer inspection reveals numerous signs that they are not real people but AI-generated fabrications.
One example, a purported Melbourne-based doctor named Dr Garcia, claims to be part of the "Australia Medical Association team" and has more than 1300 Facebook followers.
Yet her profile image shows several telltale signs of AI generation: distorted, unreadable text on her medical coat, two left arms and six digits on one hand.
A reverse image search of the account's cover photo traces it to a group of doctors based in Philadelphia, while Facebook's transparency information shows the page is operated from Hong Kong.
Another profile, claiming to belong to Bondi Junction-based Dr Audrey Sinclair, links via reverse image search to a stock photo website identifying the image as AI-generated.
Similarly, a supposed Sydney-based "board-certified sex therapist," Dr Selena Harvey, is associated with multiple Facebook pages using near-identical content.
Her profile image also exhibits hallmarks of AI imagery - unnaturally smooth skin and evenly lit facial features that lack realistic shadowing.
The page is managed by users in Nigeria, Afghanistan and Mozambique.
AAP FactCheck contacted the supposed doctors but did not receive a response.
None of the individuals investigated by AAP FactCheck appear on the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) register, where all legitimate medical professionals must be listed.
Not all the accounts operate in the same way. While some appear to post genuine health advice taken from legitimate sources, others spruik medicines which they falsely claim are approved by Australian regulators.
Others appear to have very limited activity, while prompting links to external websites.
Cyber fraud investigator Dan Halpin said the common goal is exploitation, whether financial or by spreading misinformation.
"The ones selling products are usually scams aimed at making money or collecting personal details," he said. "Others post health advice to drive clicks or push misleading content."
This drive for clicks can ultimately be monetised, either through advertising revenue or the sale of social media profiles and external web pages with a certain amount of exposure, he said.
AAP FactCheck has previously debunked a Facebook page for a Melbourne-based doctor that was created using AI and promoted restricted weight-loss drugs.
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