Chasing Life
Episode: How to Identify Medical Misinformation & Fake AI Ads
Host: Dr. Sanjay Gupta (CNN)
Guest: Claire Duffy (CNN Tech Reporter)
Date: November 28, 2025
Overview
In this episode, Dr. Sanjay Gupta addresses the pressing issue of medical misinformation and the rise of AI-generated deepfake ads, particularly those using his own likeness and voice. He explores how fake endorsements and health scams exploit trust, especially around diseases like Alzheimer’s and diabetes. Joined by CNN tech reporter Claire Duffy, Gupta shares personal experiences, discusses the evolution of misinformation, and provides listeners with practical tools for skeptical, savvy navigation of online health information.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
1. Dr. Gupta as the Target of AI Deepfakes
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Personal Impact: Dr. Gupta shares how friends, family, and even former professors have reached out, having seen extremely convincing fake videos featuring him promoting dubious health supplements.
"They were starting to ask me if these were legitimate products... I started to see a significant number of these videos where it very much looked like me, very much sounded like me, and I was selling products."
— Dr. Gupta, 04:01 -
Quality Shift: While impersonation attempts have happened for years, the realism and sophistication enabled by AI in recent deepfakes marks a new, troubling milestone.
"In the past... if you spent a half a beat thinking about it, you realize that that wasn't me... This was really quite stunning."
— Dr. Gupta, 04:37
2. How Has Online Health Information Changed?
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Accessibility vs. Overload: Information is vastly more available online, but quality is variable and the risk of encountering outright falsehoods is high.
"It has completely changed... Now I think it's almost the opposite. There's much more about this online."
— Dr. Gupta, 05:27 -
Evolution of Trust: Previously, the main danger was misapplying accurate information; now, blatant falsehoods are rampant and widely shared.
"You still believed that the information was true... What is so striking to me now is that... stuff that shows up in my feed... is demonstrably, objectively not true..."
— Dr. Gupta, 06:17
3. Marketing, Attention, and Monetization
- Profit Motive Drives Misinformation: Most egregious medical misinformation is tied to selling products or harvesting attention for ad revenue.
"Fundamentally, I think this is still all about money and how people are monetizing that.... If you're not buying a product, you are the product."
— Dr. Gupta, 07:42
4. AI’s New Frontier: Trustworthy Faces, Dangerous Claims
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Deepfakes Exploit Authority: Misinformation leverages recognizable health experts, making scams even more convincing.
"Now you hear them talking... even answering questions... It sort of piggybacks off some of the work that I've done... and then layers in almost always the selling of a product."
— Dr. Gupta, 11:37 -
Real-world Impact: Even highly educated individuals, including medical professionals, can be deceived by convincing fakes.
"One of my old professors... said to me... 'Hey, by the way, I bought some of those type 2 diabetes products I heard you talking about.'"
— Dr. Gupta, 09:49
5. The Emotional Manipulation in Medical Scams
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Vulnerability Targeted: Misinformation often aims for emotional resonance—promising miracle cures, playing on fear or hope, making people feel responsible for not acting.
"It's almost designed to make you feel like you're not doing enough for yourself or your loved ones... Wouldn't you want to do everything you can for your mom with Alzheimer's disease?"
— Dr. Gupta, 15:33 -
Potential for Harm: Not only is money lost, but people’s health is put at risk by unknown, unproven supplements.
"I have no idea what's in these products. I'm hoping and assuming they're at least inert... But who knows?"
— Dr. Gupta, 15:33
6. Why Misinformation Spreads So Fast
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Simplicity and Certainty: False claims often lack nuance and appear definitive, compared to the careful language of science.
"The misinformation is often cloaked in what seem like legitimate studies... that takes time. And then you come to find out that those studies are bogus."
— Dr. Gupta, 16:51 -
Confirmation Bias: Once misinformation takes root, people are less likely to question it—even when confronted directly.
7. Societal Impact: Universal Distrust
- All Content is Tainted: The flood of falsehoods undermines trust in even quality content; skepticism becomes rampant. Vulnerable populations, like older adults and teens, face disproportionate risk.
"Everything, at least for the time being, unless we can have some reasonable regulation around this, everything gets tainted. Nobody believes anything, everybody's suspicious."
— Dr. Gupta, 19:19
8. Spotting Red Flags in Medical Content
- Classic Warning Signs:
- If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
- Health professionals rarely make absolute promises or claims of miracle cures.
- Heavy emotional appeals ("Wouldn't you want to do this for your mom?") are suspect.
- Sales pitches, especially for expensive products, are a major red flag.
- Visual or audio inconsistencies in videos may signal AI manipulation.
"If it sounds too good to be true, it's probably too good to be true... If it's overly appealing to your emotions... that's a red flag... And obviously the sales pitch..."
— Dr. Gupta, 22:08
9. Practical Defense: Finding Good Info
- Verify Across Sources:
- Search for corroboration from other reputable, directly accessed organizations (not just social feed links).
- Check URLs to ensure you’re on official sites.
- Develop a list of trusted sources and visit them directly.
"If you can't find evidence of this elsewhere, then... that's a red flag... Just find the sources that you like and go to them directly."
— Dr. Gupta, 25:12
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
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On being deepfaked:
"Let me be clear. That infomercial you just heard is totally fake and it's only designed to scam you out of your money."
— Dr. Gupta, 00:40 -
On emotional manipulation:
"It's almost designed to make you feel like you're not doing enough for yourself or your loved ones... It's so enticing in that way. And it's particularly, I find reprehensible because you are preying on people at a very vulnerable time in their lives and taking their money."
— Dr. Gupta, 15:33 -
On universal skepticism:
"Everything gets tainted. Nobody believes anything, everybody's suspicious of each other. Unless you can touch the person or talk to them directly, they are also suspect because it could be an AI impersonator."
— Dr. Gupta, 19:19 -
On classic warning signs:
"If it sounds too good to be true, it's probably too good to be true ... If it's overly appealing to your emotions ... that's a red flag ... and obviously the sales pitch ..."
— Dr. Gupta, 22:08
Timestamps for Key Segments
- Initial Fake Ad & Listener Concerns: 00:03–01:35
- Gupta Explains Deepfake Discovery: 04:01–05:17
- How Online Info Has Changed: 05:17–07:31
- Monetizing Misinformation: 07:42–09:28
- AI Deepfakes and Personal Trust: 09:49–12:31
- Manipulation & Emotional Appeals: 15:22–16:51
- Spread and Cloaking in "Studies": 16:51–19:00
- Society-wide Distrust: 19:19–21:05
- Spotting Red Flags: 22:08–25:05
- How to Find Good Info: 25:12–26:24
- Closing Thoughts & Empowerment: 26:24–End
Summary & Takeaways
This episode underscores the urgency of vigilance in the digital health landscape, especially as AI makes falsehoods more convincing than ever. Dr. Gupta’s personal encounters with deepfake scams illuminate the seriousness of the threat—not just financially, but to public health and personal trust. Listeners are encouraged to adopt a skeptical mindset, seek multiple trusted sources, look for classic red flags, and recognize that even savvy, educated individuals can be fooled. Ultimately, the antidote to medical misinformation is a combination of personal skepticism, technical literacy, and collective advocacy for stronger verification and transparency in digital media.