White coats, zero credentials: The rise of fake doctors on Tiktok

A few seconds after opening TikTok, the first video that popped on my screen was a live stream. I rarely join these, but a caption caught my attention—”here’s how to lose your belly fat.” The algorithm had perfectly matched my needs. On the other side of the screen stood a woman in a white lab coat, her live chat flooding with comments.

“Doc, how many times should I take the ginger shot?” 

“Daktari, I have a bloated stomach, what meds can I take?”

“I have tried going to the gym but I gained even more weight. What else can I do?”

It was like a virtual nutritional clinic, and I was hooked. For an hour, the woman talked nonstop, alternating between responding to comments and acknowledging medical testimonies from her loyal followers. About 2,000 people, including myself, stayed glued to our screens, absorbing clinical advice from a stranger whose qualifications none of us questioned.

Initially, I thought it was impressive that an app once known for dance trends now offered medical solutions just one scroll away. 

Also read: Parenting in a time of TikTok

When the ‘doctor’ was about to end her live session, I asked if she would be open for an interview. She either ignored me or my comment was buried in the flurry of appreciation messages.

The next day, an invite appeared on my screen, notifying me that her live stream had started again. This time, she was discussing hormonal imbalance in women—again, perfect for her target audience. I joined. As I continued scrolling, I encountered more people like her, all sharing medical information seemingly for free.

I finally snapped into journalist mode when one ‘doctor’ advised his followers not to drink water at all, claiming it was unhealthy. 

“Water? Is this sound medical advice? Who is this guy? Why now?” I questioned myself.

The more I investigated, the more alarming the revelations became. It was evident that while anyone is free to use social media as they wish, some individuals are masquerading as medical doctors when they aren’t. They brand themselves as medical influencers.

Women’s health issues

Our analysis reveals that most of these pseudo-medical influencers target women’s health issues including pregnancy, menstrual problems, infertility, hormonal imbalance, urinary tract infections, and even sexually transmitted infections.

Their pattern is predictable—content often copy-pasted from online sources. To establish authority and credibility, many wear scrubs and lab coats with “Dr” preceding their names, complete with stethoscopes around their necks.

We reached out to one user, Mr P* who has more than 200,000 followers. His profile states he is an accoucher— someone who assists during childbirth.

He primarily shares content on maternal issues. Personal consultations cost his followers Sh100. His pinned video has more than two million views. One video particularly caught our attention, filmed in what appeared to be a private hospital in one of the major towns in Kenya, suggesting he worked there.

Also read: Mark Zuckerberg: We were slow to recognise the threat posed by TikTok

We contacted a nurse from the referenced hospital who confirmed that while the entrance and corridors matched their facility, the wards shown were not consistent with theirs.

We then posed as patients with a yeast infection to interact with this influencer, having studied the kind of information he shares online. The first message we received requested payment, followed by a long wait for responses that offered barely any sound medical advice.

We discovered his real name, which is not registered in the country’s medical registry. Another ‘doctor’ -Mr O* - charges Sh1,000 for consultations. His target audience is also women, and he claims to be a gynaecologist.

According to his posts, he is usually fully booked and doesn’t allow walk-ins. He regularly shares screenshots of testimonials from his “patients,” mostly pregnant women. An open-source analysis across various social media platforms revealed that on Facebook, he uses a different name and says he is a fertility doctor. His personal account indicates he graduated in 2022 from one of Kenya’s private universities.

We also found a self-proclaimed dermatologist who was not in the medical registry. A quick online search revealed he is actually a clinical officer specialised in Community Health and Preventive Medicine.

His medical influencing career is so convincing that a local television station once invited him as a guest to discuss dermatological issues, despite his lack of expertise in the field.

Two other medical influencers—Mary* and Paul* on TikTok—are also absent from the council’s registry.

These accounts typically share medical information based on frequently asked questions from their followers, most of whom refer to them as doctors. 

Our investigation into their real identities doesn’t link them to medical qualifications, though they appear to have some background in the medical field.

The list of unverified medical practitioners online seems endless, with some even obtaining certifications to offer services, particularly those related to skincare.

We approached the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council (KMPDC) Chief Executive, Dr David Kariuki, who mentioned that the council has not received any official complaints concerning unqualified doctors offering services online. “It becomes difficult to deal with those people when there is no complaint. But they are quacks. Regulating them on social media is difficult because we don’t know their physical location,” he said.

He explained that in 2016, KMPDC established advertising rules to guide doctors and hospitals on how to promote their services.

“We may not stop doctors from advertising their services on social media but then there are rules. For instance, you cannot say that ‘I am the best’ because every doctor is a doctor anyway,” he said.

“When it comes to a quack, who could just be an influencer, our laws don’t apply to them. That now becomes a criminal case. It is a false presentation. What we can do is to create awareness to the population,” he added.

Dr Kariuki emphasised that people who call themselves doctors without proper training are committing an offence under the penal code, making their practice illegal.

Always verify

He advised that the public should always verify that anyone they deal with, even on social media, is a registered medical practitioner with KMPDC.

“It is easy to do that by just checking on the KMPDC website or sending a free text message to 2057 to confirm before engaging the doctors online,” he said.

He continued: “We encourage that people should not follow what is said on social media if they are not sure of the qualifications of the person providing that information.”

Dr Kariuki mentioned that the Digital Health Act, passed in 2023, will bring some control to the digital space.

“People had taken advantage previously, where there was no national policy or law dealing with provision of digital health services. To all health professionals, when you are providing digital healthcare, that does not remove the responsibility of a professional to act ethically,” he advised.

The Digital Health Act stipulates that any digital service or e-health services shall only be offered by healthcare providers holding valid licences issued by relevant regulatory bodies.

Dr Dennis Miskella, deputy secretary-general of the Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union, shared his concerns: “We have seen beauticians claiming to be doctors. We have seen others prescribing boric acid for curing candidiasis (yeast infections). It is a dicey situation.” He urged regulatory bodies including the KMPDC, Pharmacy and Poisons Board, Nursing Council of Kenya, and Clinical Officers Council to take action against unqualified practitioners.

“Not everyone who wears a white lab coat or scrubs online is a doctor—even butchers wear lab coats. If KMPDC is not empowered properly to handle quacks, they can propose a law,” he said.

Dr Miskella explained that when seeking medical care, patients rarely ask about their doctors’ licence status due to the power dynamics involved—they simply want to feel better.

“People think that we are gatekeeping. We are not. We are protecting the quality of medicine in our country,” he emphasised.

He warned that consulting unqualified practitioners is a form of self-harm: “Someone may come to the hospital when it’s too late. They may have been treating a condition that is not correct. It’s not their fault because in their minds, they believe that they have seen a doctor based on how these ‘doctors’ have presented themselves online.”

“The law is clear now that as a doctor, any medical practitioner who is licensed cannot advertise their services. We are cheapening things when we do that. Look at Ozempic that is now being peddled by influencers, for instance,” he added.

Dr Miskella urged regulatory bodies to adapt to current trends: “They have to make new laws that make sense. I also get embarrassed when I see my own colleagues posting photos with blood on social media, divulging patients’ conditions. This is wrong. It is not allowed. We need social media ethics training for doctors.”

He called on KMPDC to implement social media regulations for both licensed healthcare workers and non-practitioners.

“We have to protect the patients, and the council has to make it easier for people to verify who a doctor is. Kenyans have to also double-check whoever they are dealing with,” said Dr Miskella.

Victor Ndede, Technology and Human Rights manager at Amnesty International, told us that medical information is among the most sensitive types of personal data.

He explained that sharing diagnoses, treatment regimens, or personal health journeys—particularly when combined with identifiable details such as names, locations, or images—can lead to severe consequences.

Mr Ndede cautioned that when such details are posted or messaged, unethical practitioners can capture screenshots, download them, or repurpose them in ways that patients may not anticipate or control.

“Influencers may not be bound by medical confidentiality laws but are certainly bound by data protection law. There is no guarantee that what people share, even in direct messages, will remain private. While influencers may act in good faith, others may repost your story, quote your messages, or use your data to promote a product or build engagement, sometimes without your consent,” he explained.

“It’s also important to remember that social media platforms themselves do not offer secure environments for health discussions. Messages on some platforms are not end-to-end encrypted by default, and all content is subject to the platform’s data collection policies. Even private messages can be compromised through hacks, account breaches, or changes in platform policy,” he added.

Mr Ndede advised that those who feel the need to share their experiences or seek help online should consider using anonymous accounts or avoid disclosing personally identifying information. He also suggested being cautious about the nature of information shared and avoiding sending sensitive health documents or complete medical records over these platforms.

“It’s also worth reminding people that they can set boundaries, withdraw consent to share, and request that their data be deleted even if they initially agreed to share it. Respecting these rights is part of their rights as data subjects,” he said.

The Amnesty International official expressed growing concern about the commercialisation of health struggles on social media.

“Some influencers, intentionally or not, exploit vulnerable individuals by turning personal stories into marketing content, where they are pushing supplements, alternative treatments, or unverified advice. This can mislead followers and lead to both privacy violations and potential health risks,” he said.

While seeking medical help from unknown individuals online is highly discouraged, there are qualified personnel who also serve as medical influencers.

Healthy Nation spoke with a woman who believes she reversed her prediabetes condition by following advice from a health practitioner online.

“I had been having a lot of health issues for some time. I tried visiting hospitals, and no one diagnosed me with prediabetes. I was given so many tablets that didn’t help. One day, I bumped into one of the TikTok videos and self-diagnosed my condition,” she shared.

She never had a private consultation with the TikTok medical influencer; she simply followed their live broadcasts where most of the information was shared.

“One thing that bothered me was the tingling feeling in my fingers and feet. I felt as though a blunt object was hitting my elbows every night. I had some tiny lines on my neck and some growth. I also experienced frequent urination and blurred vision,” she explained.

She was relieved to receive a diagnosis—albeit not clinically but online—that seemed to explain her symptoms.

Behind the screens: What research reveals about medical TikTok

Scrolling through your feed, that quick health tip video seems harmless enough—maybe even helpful. But what does science actually say about getting medical advice from social media? 

The digital diagnosis trend

A recent survey published in Forbes reveals a striking shift: younger people, especially Gen Z, are increasingly using TikTok as their go-to search engine, gradually abandoning traditional platforms like Google. When it comes to health information, this trend is particularly pronounced.

This isn’t just happening in Kenya. A study published in the journal JMIR Infodemiology confirms that TikTok has become a significant source of health information for young women in the United States as well.

“More than half of the respondents who had ever used TikTok (672/1026, 65.5 per cent) reported that they had intentionally used TikTok to look for advice or information about their health or healthcare, and nearly the entire sample of TikTok users (948/1026, 92.4 per cent) reported having unintentionally obtained health information on TikTok,” the study reveals.

The researchers found that health-related messages spread rapidly through viral hashtags that collectively garner more than seven billion views. Popular examples include #healthtok and #medicaltiktok, which serve as gateways to this content.

The study warns of potential repercussions on the healthcare profession and proposes that legitimate health professionals should counter misinformation by creating credible health content themselves.

Why women turn to TikTok for health advice

“To better understand why young women are using TikTok as a source of health information, we asked our respondents about their agreement with various reasons for health-related TikTok use,” explains the JMIR Infodemiology study.

“Our findings showed that the most agreed upon reasons were obtaining advice from others with the same disease or health condition, receiving social support from others, and gaining knowledge about a disease they had been diagnosed with,” the researchers add.

This suggests that the community aspect of TikTok—the ability to connect with others experiencing similar conditions—plays a crucial role in its appeal as a health resource.

The accuracy problem

The American Journal of Otolaryngology (the study of ears, nose, and throat) published research that analysed more than 200 TikTok videos with more than 300 million views and 1 million shares.

“Almost half of the videos were published by non-medical influencers. When controlling for covariates, nonmedical influencers and lay uploaders were more likely to have harmful harm/benefit scores, less understandable videos, compared to medical professionals,” the study reports.

Researchers discovered that most TikTok videos about conditions like sinusitis posted by non-medical influencers contained inaccurate information, despite being presented as medical advice or educational content.

Verification challenges

Perhaps most concerning is how users approach verification of this health information.

“The least frequently reported form of verification was verifying the TikTok users’ qualifications or credentials. Age, education, and TikTok intensity were each found to have a weak positive correlation with the likelihood of verifying TikTok health information,” the study notes.

This suggests that even as users consume more health content on the platform, they aren’t necessarily becoming more vigilant about checking sources’ credentials.

The challenge extends beyond human creators as well. With advances in Artificial Intelligence, deepfakes presenting as doctors giving medical advice are now appearing on TikTok, further blurring the line between legitimate healthcare information and potentially dangerous misinformation.

[email protected]