Watchdog group asks FTC to investigate Dr. Oz's influencer marketing
Source: Washington Post
Updated December 3, 2024 at 6:19 p.m. EST
A nonprofit consumer advocacy group asked the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday to investigate Mehmet Oz, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, regarding accusations he failed to properly disclose his financial ties to a supplement company he markets on social media.
The liberal watchdog group Public Citizen sent a letter to the FTC following reporting by The Washington Post about Oz’s business ties to health and wellness companies whose fortunes he could have a hand in influencing if he is confirmed to run two of the government’s largest taxpayer funded programs.
Since Oz, a well-known television doctor and cardiothoracic surgeon, was named a “global advisor and stakeholder” for e-commerce supplement company iHerb in October 2023, he has heavily promoted the company across his social media accounts, including in at least 24 TikTok posts, 25 Instagram reels, 20 tweets and 20 Facebook posts, according to a Post review.
In most of Oz’s iHerb posts on Instagram, Facebook and X, he does not disclose any association with the company, as required by the FTC. Instead, Oz, who spent more than a dozen years headlining “The Dr. Oz Show,” describes himself as “@iHerb Global Advisor & Stakeholder” on his Instagram, X and TikTok bios. He also tags the company’s social media account in the posts.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/12/03/dr-oz-influencer-marketing-investigation-ftc-iherb/
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Like the infamous Joe Mercola, he should take a large footlocker of his "remedies" for a long walk on a short pier.