
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


Netflix has a TV show out called Apple Cider Vinegar - it’s a dramatisation of a real story of a real influencer who was popular online, and said she was treating a terminal illness with alternative therapies. But it turned out the supposed natural treatments she was promoting didn’t do anything, because she didn’t really have brain cancer.
So it got us thinking - how can you spot false wellness claims?
Drinking special tea to make you slimmer. Rubbing bee venom on your face to reduce fine lines and wrinkles. Inserting gemstones into your vagina to regulate menstrual cycles. These are just three on the seemingly endless list which have little to no scientific evidence to support their purported benefits.
Jacqui Wakefield, a reporter with the BBC’s Global Disinformation Unit, takes us through what makes these trends take off and how we can spot the bad ones online. Makuochi Okafor in our Lagos bureau explains what wellness scams look like in Nigeria. And Maria Clara Montoya tells us about the scene in Latin America.
Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld
By BBC World Service4.3
1616 ratings
Netflix has a TV show out called Apple Cider Vinegar - it’s a dramatisation of a real story of a real influencer who was popular online, and said she was treating a terminal illness with alternative therapies. But it turned out the supposed natural treatments she was promoting didn’t do anything, because she didn’t really have brain cancer.
So it got us thinking - how can you spot false wellness claims?
Drinking special tea to make you slimmer. Rubbing bee venom on your face to reduce fine lines and wrinkles. Inserting gemstones into your vagina to regulate menstrual cycles. These are just three on the seemingly endless list which have little to no scientific evidence to support their purported benefits.
Jacqui Wakefield, a reporter with the BBC’s Global Disinformation Unit, takes us through what makes these trends take off and how we can spot the bad ones online. Makuochi Okafor in our Lagos bureau explains what wellness scams look like in Nigeria. And Maria Clara Montoya tells us about the scene in Latin America.
Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld

7,732 Listeners

530 Listeners

298 Listeners

1,788 Listeners

1,823 Listeners

1,074 Listeners

527 Listeners

388 Listeners

323 Listeners

969 Listeners

477 Listeners

244 Listeners

374 Listeners

41 Listeners

30 Listeners