Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group, requested that the Federal Trade Commission look into claims that Dr. Mehmet Oz broke the FTC’s rules regarding influencer marketing.
President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Oz, has marketed herbal supplements in a number of films that have been uploaded to his different social media accounts.
Oz shared a video about the stress-relieving properties of ashwagandha, a shrub that grows in Asia and Africa, on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X the day before Thanksgiving. Oz recommended iHerb, an internet marketplace, as a reliable source for his 11 million followers to purchase the herbal supplement. Oz claims to be a stakeholder and the company’s global adviser on social media.
All nominations and appointees will adhere to the ethical requirements of their individual agencies, according to Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the Trump transition team.
Public Citizen co-president Robert Weissman wrote to the FTC on Tuesday, claiming that some of Oz’s videos promoting herbal supplements might have broken influencer marketing rules by failing to disclose Oz’s financial relationship with the companies. The FTC told NBC News that it does not comment on communications or complaints from third parties, therefore it declined to comment.
Dr. Oz frequently makes postings urging readers to think about purchasing goods from iHerb. Neither the video posts nor the text that goes with them reveal his financial ties. In an analysis of Oz’s posts on several platforms, Weissman noted that the posts also don’t include other disclosures like #ad.
During his prosperous TV career, Oz was dubbed America’s doctor. However, he has also made contentious and unsubstantiated health claims, such as endorsing foods and components that are said to aid in cancer prevention and weight loss.
Although a number of Trump’s Cabinet members, agency leaders, and administration employees have social media accounts, Oz has one of the largest fan bases and has used the most open influencer marketing. The possibility of political personalities participating in concealed influencer marketing is a more recent issue, even if misleading campaign advertisements and influencer endorsements were hot topics during the previous election cycle.
With this information, consumers should be able to evaluate commercials using the proper emotional and cognitive filters, ignoring hype and authenticity promises. Weissman wrote about consumers’ right to know if they are seeing an advertisement, but disguised ads are fundamentally dishonest as they don’t know how to apply the proper filters. Disguised advertisements with paid endorsements are particularly problematic since they lead customers to assume that admired celebrities are genuinely endorsing businesses in a self-directed and enthusiastic manner, only to discover that the celebrities are actually paid and may not even utilize the advertised brand.
According to NBC News, as recently as September, Oz promoted iHerb products on TikTok, where he has 1.1 million followers, by utilizing the in-app function that enables TikTok users to purchase anything featured in videos with just three clicks. The latest iHerb movies that Oz uploaded to TikTok do not make use of the store function, and although they include the description, “Creator earns commission,” they do not reveal Oz’s affiliation with the company.
According to Weissman, the TikTok commission labels are probably generated by TikTok and might not adequately disclose Oz’s brand interests in accordance with FTC influencer marketing guidelines. Additionally, he stated that Oz does not use these designations in his posts on Instagram and X (previously Twitter).
On Facebook, where he has the most followers (5.4 million), Oz does not reveal his role at iHerb, even though he does so in his bios on Instagram, X, and TikTok. According to its rules, the FTC states that disclosures in bios are insufficient and that individual posts should include both textual and audio disclosures if they are videos.
NBC News saw several accounts praising Oz for his advice and celebrating his impending job in the comments section of his most recent Instagram and Facebook postings for iHerb. Most of the comments were supportive, with some urging Oz to either expand coverage to Medicare and Medicaid or maintain the current arrangements. The majority of the comments on X that NBC News saw were critical, with multiple people calling him a thief. NBC News saw dozens of comments ridiculing Oz for utilizing TikTok Shop and expressing dread for America’s future on TikTok.
Oh my god The most popular TikTok remark was WE ARE COOKED, which is slang for “impending consequences.” The TikTok shop commercials he is doing Another popular response was “OMG,” which was followed by We must be doomed, and the cosmos must be playing tricks on us.
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