AI video and fake website featuring Canada's top doctor dupes Facebook users into scam purchase

Chief public health officer of Canada Dr. Theresa Tam speaks at the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Immunization Conference, in Ottawa, on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. An ad that recently appeared on Facebook used Tam's likeness to push false claims about COVID-19 vaccinations and sell health supplements. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

A video claiming to show an interview with chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam appeared on Facebook in May. In the video, Tam says doctors discovered blood clots in deceased COVID-19-vaccinated people, and promotes a product to "dissolve" the clots and avoid death. The Facebook post associated with the video directs to a website impersonating a scientific journal and contains a supposed text interview with Tam where she promotes the product, a supplement. The video and website are fake. ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø found evidence of the video's digital manipulation through artificial intelligence and Tam never promoted the supplement or made the health claims contained in the interviews.

THE CLAIM

A May 7 from an advertising page teased the "shocking truth the media won't tell you" about blood clots found in dead bodies.Ìý

"Since 2021, doctors have been finding unusual clots in the bodies of the deceased — long, dense, rubber-like white masses never seen before," the since-deleted post reads.Ìý

It directed readers to "act before it's too late" and "protect yourself" by clicking the attached link to learn more about a product that would "dissolve" the clots and "clean" the blood vessels.Ìý

Attached to the post was a featuring a supposed interview between chief public health officer and a journalist.Ìý

In the video, Tam repeated the post's claim about doctors finding blood clots in COVID-19-vaccinated deceased people.

She urged Facebook viewers to click on the video, which brought up a link to "learn more at ." 

The link leads to a bearing similarities to the scientific journal Nature, but whose URL does not match the journal.Ìý

The now-deleted website features an apparent text interview with Tam where she promotes the product "Blood Balance" and contains a link for the product.Ìý

RATING: Fake

Neither the interviews with Tam nor the website containing the link to purchase "Blood Balance" are authentic.Ìý

The Facebook video features Tam supposedly talking about deaths in COVID-19-vaccinated people and the discovery of blood clots in their bodies, and promotes a product that "dissolves" the clots.Ìý

The video claimed blood clots occurred in 80 per cent of autopsies and are directly linked to COVID-19 vaccination.Ìý

There is blood clots — also known as thrombosis — are a significant cause of death among COVID-19 patients.Ìý

Blood clotting was reported as a of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, which is for use in Canada.Ìý

A through the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Library of Medicine found no evidence of studies supporting the claim blood clots were discovered in 80 per cent of autopsies performed on COVID-19-vaccinated people.  

"If you don't want to die … cleanse your blood vessels," Tam seemingly said in the Facebook video.Ìý

But Tam never said that, or anything else she appeared to say in the video — it's a deepfake likely generated through artificial intelligence or editing software.Ìý

A reverse image search of a screenshot from the video shows the actual video is from between Tam and Rosemary Barton of CBC News.Ìý

In the original, authentic interview Tam talks about COVID-19 variants and the efficacy of vaccines. At no point does she reference autopsies, blood clots or the "formula" to dissolve them.

A Google search of a line from the altered video shows an identical video with the same script , which shares the same profile picture as the account that posted the Tam video.

The video includes a nearly identical script, but instead features the chief medical officer for England, .

A reverse image search shows the real Whitty interview was with the in 2021 and not the news anchor from the start of the video.

Whitty talks about COVID-19 but makes no mention of autopsies, blood clots or the formula to reverse clotting.Ìý

Both the original Tam and Whitty interview include identical clothing, backgrounds and mannerisms that match up with the digitally manipulated videos.Ìý

Searching various lines from the fake text interview brings up AI-generated articles with similar scripts, including a fake website featuring celebrity TV doctor and administrator of the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Mehmet Oz.Ìý

The promotes "vascular cleansing" with a different dietary supplement.Ìý

A Google keyword search found no evidence Tam, Whitty or Oz ever promoted the products or made the health claims present in the supposed interviews with the doctors.Ìý

FAKE WEBSITE PROMOTES DIETARY SUPPLEMENT 

The website featuring Tam contains the name of the product for dissolving blood clots, which wasn't mentioned in the Facebook video.Ìý

The supplement, "Guardian Botanicals Blood Balance," seems to be a real product from U.S.-based company GreenVify Inc., available from retailers like Amazon and Walmart as a third-party seller.Ìý

The company has trademarks for dietary supplements, including Blood Balance, although there does not appear to be a legitimate website for GreenVify or Guardian Botanicals.Ìý

GreenVify said its product is only available online through Amazon and Walmart.Ìý

"All those videos and fake interviews/websites have nothing to do with us, those sites are copycats and doesn’t have our company name on it," the company said in an emailed response to a request for comment.

"Our product is GreenVify Guardian Botanicals Blood Balance and it is currently only available to sell from legitimate platforms on Amazon and Walmart, those platforms would not over charge customers and would not scam people in any ways. Of course, customers should consult with their doctors for suitability in consuming health supplements."

Blood Balance claims to regulate blood sugar, blood pressure and "healthy blood levels." 

The AI video and fake website do not mention blood sugar or levels, but they do claim to treat blood pressure through "vascular cleansing," a term that does not appear on the product's Amazon or Walmart pages.Ìý

Unfortunately, the fake interview and website featuring Tam duped some Facebook users.Ìý

In December, one user , despite paying for between $30 to $50 worth of product. Commenters on the user's post said they lost or nearly lost similar amounts.

Another Facebook user said in Australian dollars when she nearly fell for a scam about a fake "diabetic product" supposedly promoted by Tam.Ìý

SOURCES

Facebook post with video from advertising page. Facebook website. May 7, 2025 (, )

Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer (CPHO): Dr. Theresa Tam's biography. Public Health Agency of Canada via Government of Canada . Accessed May 13, 2025 ()

Christopher T. Rentsch et al. Early initiation of prophylactic anticoagulation for prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 mortality in patients admitted to hospital in the United States: cohort study. BMJ . Feb. 11, 2021 ()

COVID-19: Vaccine safety and side effects. Government of Canada . Accessed May 13, 2025 ()

AstraZeneca Vaxzevria COVID-19 vaccine. Government of Canada . Accessed May 13, 2025 ()Ìý

PubMed search page. ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Library of Medicine . Accessed May 13, 2025 ()

of fake Tam interview and "Blood Balance" product. Accessed May 9, 2025 

for Blood Balance. Accessed May 13, 2025 

What still worries Dr. Theresa Tam one year into the COVID-19 pandemic. CBC News, on . March 7, 2021 (, )

AI video featuring Chris Whitty. Facebook. May 8, 2025 (, )

Professor Chris Whitty. United Kingdom government . Accessed May 13, 2025 ()

RSM COVID-19 Series | Episode 68: Professor Chris Whitty. Royal Society of Medicine, on . April 1, 2021 ()

of fake Dr. Oz interview promoting supplement. Accessed May 13, 2025 

Jonathan J. Cooper. What to know about Dr. Mehmet Oz, Trump's pick to lead Medicare and Medicaid. The Associated Press via ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø website. Nov. 19, 2024 ()

Facebook about scam featuring Dr. Tam from Dec. 5, 2024 () and ()

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NOTE TO READERS: This story was updated on May 15, 2025 to include a response to a request for comment from GreenVify, received after publication.

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