I used to defend that 'miracle weight loss tea' article, but then I tried to fact check it

I used to defend that 'miracle weight loss tea' article, but then I tried to fact check it. There was this viral story going around about a tea that supposedly helped people drop 20 pounds in a week. I shared it a few times because the testimonials seemed legit. Then I actually spent a Sunday afternoon tracking down the sources. The before and after photos were stock images from a photo site. The 'doctor' quoted in the article had a fake credential from a diploma mill. And the study they linked to was about green tea, not their specific product. It took me about 3 hours to pull all that apart. Felt stupid for falling for it, but now I don't trust any health article without verified research. Has anyone else spent way too long proving a fake claim was fake?

3 comments

3 Comments

susan817d ago

Those stock photos were probably from the same site I found behind a fake testimonial once, right?

spencer_gonzalez17d ago

Nah I gotta push back on that one. Honestly those stock photo sites are legit for small businesses that can't afford a real photographer. Tbh the fake testimonial thing is a separate issue entirely, it's not like the photos themselves are a scam. I've seen way more fake reviews on Amazon for actual products than I've ever seen fake stock photos. Ngl you're probably just remembering that one sketchy website and now you're putting that on every stock photo you see.

young.thomas7d ago

Okay but is this really that big of a deal though? I mean yeah it sucks that you got tricked by a fake article but like, spending three whole hours on a Sunday to prove some dumb tea thing is fake sounds like a weird hobby more than anything. Genuinely asking, what did you gain from that? You showed that one article was fake, but there's a new one every day. Feels like you're way overthinking something that most people already know is junk. Not saying it's cool that they lied, just wondering why this one got under your skin so bad.