Social Media, Conspiracy Theories, And Quackery

"Tesla Biohealing, which has no connection to the car company, is part of a growth industry marketing unproven cures and treatments to conspiracy theorists and others who have grown distrustful of science and medicine. Experts who study such claims say they’re on the increase, thanks to the internet, social media and skepticism about traditional health care.

"'There have always been hucksters selling medical cures, but I do feel like it’s accelerating,' said Timothy Caulfield, a health policy and law professor at the University of Alberta who studies medical ethics and fraud. 'There are some forces driving that: obviously the internet and social media, and distrust of traditional medicine, traditional science. Conspiracy theories are creating and feeding this distrust.'

"Blending the high-tech jargon of Western science with the spiritual terminology of traditional and Eastern medicine, these modern salesmen claim their treatments can reverse aging, restore mental acuity or fight COVID-19 better than a vaccine. They promise better health, but what they’re really selling is the idea of insider information, the promise of a secret known only to the wealthy and the powerful.

"So-called medbeds are one of the flashiest, most expensive, and least credible. 'Medbeds are coming,' exclaims a woman in one TikTok video. Similar videos have been seen millions of times on the platform.

"According to believers of the QAnon conspiracy theory, medbeds were developed by the military (in some versions, using alien technology) and are already in use by the world’s richest and most powerful families. Many accounts claim former President Donald Trump, if he wins another term in the White House, will unveil the devices and make them free for all Americans."

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Miracle cures: Online conspiracy theories are creating a new age of unproven medical treatments