Fairy dust cleanse: How to create a health scam

posted in: Science vs myths | 0

A bright spot on social media is Mallory Demille, who exposes the deep underbelly of online wellness and MLM grift (e.g. Healy).

Follow Demille on Tiktok and Twitter.

The clip below illustrates how to fabricate a fake diagnosis in order to sell a fake solution:

Demille also guest-hosted podcasts on parasite cleanse pseudoscience and Light Language TikTok.

This is roughly what happens with quacks who market themselves as naturopathic, integrative, functional, and alternative:

  1. Take a real problem that impacts a small number of people, or simply make up a problem.
  2. Claim that you are an expert and it is causing many people’s problems.
  3. Make big money from fake testing and fake treatments.
  4. Feed your ego on grateful patients.
  5. Cry conspiracy if anyone questions you.

See also:

Dr. Harriet Hall: The One True Cause of All Disease

Dr. Jonathan Howard: The psychology of false diagnoses

Dr. David Gorski: Chronic Lyme disease: Fake diagnosis, not fake disease

LymeScience: More about so-called pseudoscientific co-infections

Braden MacBeth: Afflicted and the Tragedy of Fake Illnesses

Dr. Peter Lipson: Fake diseases, false compassion

Quackwatch: Be Wary of “Fad” Diagnoses

Britt Hermes: The anatomy of a detox scam