Skip to main content
NOPE
Low reported severity Internal Action

Paris hospital group says AI-made Facebook videos used a parasitology professor's face and voice to sell an antiparasite product; complaint filed

AP-HP, the Paris public hospital group, and Sorbonne Université said in a communiqué on 5 October 2026 that three videos published on Facebook used the image and voice of Professor Renaud Piarroux, a parasitology specialist at the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital, to promote a product presented as ridding the body of parasites. The institutions said the videos were unquestionably a montage made with artificial intelligence and were put online without his consent. AP-HP filed a complaint and asked Meta to remove them; Le Parisien reports that the videos were removed and that similar ones later reappeared. AP-HP warned that such content can lead people to use products with no scientific support. No source reports that anyone bought the product.

AI system
Unidentified video tool
Occurred
Event date unknown
Reported
5 October 2026
Event location
Unknown
What the AI did
Depicted or impersonated the person
Reported harm
Reputational Harm
Whose AI use
Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Health · Work
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution supported · 2 sources, 1 underlying account
5 claims: 5 reported. 5 open questions
People reported harmed
1 person

AI system as recorded: Facebook videos that AP-HP and Sorbonne Université describe as an AI montage of the professor's voice and image; tool and operators not identified

What Happened

Le Parisien (5 October 2026) and France 3 Paris Île-de-France (5 October 2026, with AFP) relay the AP-HP and Sorbonne Université communiqué. It states that the institutions learned of three Facebook videos using Professor Piarroux's image and standing to promote an antiparasite product, and that "il s’agit incontestablement d’un montage réalisé par intelligence artificielle en utilisant la voix et l’image de ce médecin", put online without his consent. Le Parisien describes one video: it opens with a fake version of a TF1 evening-news presenter, whose identity it says was also taken over by AI, introducing the "testimony" of an 82-year-old woman said to be cured, after which the fake professor attributes most illnesses to parasites and praises the treatment. AP-HP filed a complaint and asked Meta to remove the content; the videos were removed, but similar ones later reappeared, according to Le Parisien. AP-HP said the content harms the image of the doctor and of AP-HP and can lead people to adopt false information or use products without scientific support. Le Parisien adds that altered videos and photos showing people in AP-HP coats or using a Paris hospital logo circulate regularly on social networks.

Reported harm

AI-made videos used the professor's face and voice without consent to advertise a product he did not endorse, and AP-HP filed a complaint (AP-HP communiqué, relayed by Le Parisien and France 3 with AFP).

Outcome

Ongoing

AP-HP filed a complaint and asked Meta to remove the videos. The videos were removed and similar ones reappeared later (Le Parisien). The complaint's recipient and any investigation are not reported.

What remains unknown

  • When the videos were first posted and how widely they were seen.
  • Whether anyone bought or used the advertised product.
  • The authority receiving the complaint and its status.
  • Which tool made the videos and who posted them.
  • Whether the TF1 presenter depicted in the video made any statement.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. AP-HP and Sorbonne Université state that the three Facebook videos were a montage made with artificial intelligence using the professor's voice and image (Le Parisien; France 3 with AFP). The generated videos showed him promoting a product he did not endorse, and that depiction is the reported harm. No tool is named and the videos were not inspected.

5 claims: 5 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported AP-HP and Sorbonne Université said on 5 October 2026 that three videos published on Facebook used the image and standing of Professor Renaud Piarroux, a parasitology specialist at the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital in Paris, to promote a product presented as ridding the body of parasites.

Causal attribution. The institutions' communiqué as relayed by two outlets; the videos were not inspected by the reviewer.

  • leparisien.fr(opens in new tab) supports · French
    '« L’AP-HP et Sorbonne Université ont pris connaissance de la diffusion de trois vidéos publiées sur le réseau social Facebook utilisant l’image et la notoriété du Pr Renaud Piarroux (…) faisant la promotion d’un produit présenté comme permettant de débarrasser l’organisme de ses parasites »'
  • leparisien.fr(opens in new tab) supports · French
    'Victime de ce montage, le Pr Renaud Piarroux, spécialiste de parasitologie à l’hôpital de la Pitié-Salpêtrière (XIIIe arrondissement de Paris) et professeur à Sorbonne Université, a vu son image et sa voix utilisées à son insu pour vendre un « produit miracle ».'
  • france3-regions.franceinfo.fr(opens in new tab) supports · French
    '"Trois vidéos publiées sur le réseau social Facebook" utilisent l’image et "la notoriété du Pr Renaud Piarroux, spécialiste de parasitologie de l’hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière AP-HP, faisant la promotion d’un produit présenté comme permettant de débarrasser l’organisme de ses parasites.'
Reported The two institutions stated that the videos were unquestionably a montage made with artificial intelligence using the doctor's voice and image, put online without his consent.

Causal attribution. The institutions' characterisation; no tool or creator is identified.

  • leparisien.fr(opens in new tab) supports · French
    'Elles sont formelles, « il s’agit incontestablement d’un montage réalisé par intelligence artificielle en utilisant la voix et l’image de ce médecin », mis en ligne « sans son consentement ».'
  • france3-regions.franceinfo.fr(opens in new tab) supports · French
    'Il s’agit incontestablement d’un montage réalisé par intelligence artificielle en utilisant la voix et l’image de ce médecin, et qui a été mis en ligne évidemment sans son consentement'
Reported AP-HP filed a complaint and asked Meta to remove the videos. The videos were removed, but similar ones later reappeared on Facebook, according to Le Parisien.

Causal attribution. Reported from the communiqué; the reappearance is reported by Le Parisien only. The complaint's recipient and status are not stated.

  • leparisien.fr(opens in new tab) supports · French
    'Face à cette usurpation d’identité, l’AP-HP a déposé plainte et saisi Meta, la maison mère de Facebook, pour obtenir le retrait des contenus. Les vidéos incriminées ont bien été supprimées, mais d’autres, similaires, ont depuis refait surface sur le réseau social.'
  • france3-regions.franceinfo.fr(opens in new tab) supports · French
    'L'AP-HP annonce avoir déposé plainte et saisi Meta, maison mère de Facebook, pour le retrait de ces vidéos, qui "ont depuis été supprimées", précise-t-elle.'
Reported According to Le Parisien, the video opens with a fake version of a TF1 news presenter, whose identity the outlet says was also taken over by AI, introducing a supposed testimony from a woman said to be cured by the treatment.

Causal attribution. The outlet's description of one video; not in the France 3 text.

  • leparisien.fr(opens in new tab) supports · French
    'La vidéo truquée qui s’ouvre sur une fausse'; 'présentatrice du 20 Heures de TF1 elle aussi usurpée par l’IA, qui introduit le « témoignage » d’une femme de 82 ans soi-disant guérie grâce à un traitement « détruisant les parasites ».'
Reported AP-HP said that beyond the harm to the image of the doctor and of AP-HP, such content is a danger to patients because it can lead people to believe false information or use products without scientific support.

Causal attribution. The institution's assessment of risk; no source reports that anyone bought or used the product.

  • france3-regions.franceinfo.fr(opens in new tab) supports · French
    'au-delà de l’atteinte portée à l’image du médecin et à celle de l’AP-HP, la diffusion de tels contenus constitue un véritable danger pour la santé des patients : ils peuvent conduire des internautes à adhérer à de fausses informations ou à recourir à des produits dont l’efficacité et la sécurité ne reposent sur aucune donnée scientifique'
  • leparisien.fr(opens in new tab) supports · French
    'Au-delà de l’atteinte à l’image du praticien et de l’hôpital, l’AP-HP insiste sur le risque sanitaire.'

Sources

2 sources inspected, from 1 underlying account. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

French. Read in full from the publisher page on 2026-10-06 (Le Parisien, Candice Doussot, 5 October 2026). Translation by the research agent (an AI); no human translator. Relays the AP-HP and Sorbonne Université communiqué and adds the reporter's description of one video. Applies to s1.

French. Read in full from the publisher page on 2026-10-06 (France 3 Paris Île-de-France, 5 October 2026, credited "Avec AFP"). Translation by the research agent (an AI); no human translator. Relays the same communiqué. Applies to s2.

Event countries: Unknown. Affected-person countries: France. Court countries: Unknown.

Both sources describe the professor as a specialist at the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital in Paris and a professor at Sorbonne Université, so his country is FR. Neither source states where the Facebook videos were targeted or viewed, so no event country is recorded. No court is reported.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-06: A concrete adverse event: AI-made videos used a named hospital doctor's face and voice without consent to sell an antiparasite product, and his employer filed a complaint and sought removal. The professor is a public figure named in his employer's communiqué. Both sources relay that communiqué and are one reporting chain.

People described

Professor Renaud Piarroux, parasitology specialist at the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital (AP-HP) and professor at Sorbonne Université, named in his employer's public communiqué

People reported harmed in this case

1 person

0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed

One person, Professor Piarroux, whose image and voice the communiqué says were used without consent (Le Parisien; France 3). The TF1 presenter shown in one video is described by Le Parisien only and no consequence for her is reported, so she is not counted. Viewers are not counted. Exact 1.

Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.

Tags

#deepfakes#fake-advertisement#health-product-scam#doctor-impersonation#facebook#french-language

Cite this case

Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.

APA

NOPE. (2026). Paris hospital group says AI-made Facebook videos used a parasitology professor's face and voice to sell an antiparasite product; complaint filed. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-paris-hospital-professor-ai-deepfake-videos-advertise-antiparasite-product

BibTeX

@misc{2026_paris_hospital_professor_ai_deepfake_videos_advertise_antiparasite_product,
  title = {Paris hospital group says AI-made Facebook videos used a parasitology professor's face and voice to sell an antiparasite product; complaint filed},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-paris-hospital-professor-ai-deepfake-videos-advertise-antiparasite-product}
}

Related cases

Low Unidentified video tool

Professor Nissaf Ben Alaya publicly denies a video circulating on social media that uses the professor's image and an attributed voice to promote a supposed prostate cancer treatment, and attributes it to AI; statement published by Kapitalis on 28 September 2026

Kapitalis reported on 28 September 2026 that Professor Nissaf Ben Alaya had issued a categorical denial of a fraudulent video circulating on social media, which the outlet describes as a deepfake generated with AI. In the statement, which Kapitalis reproduces, the professor says the video uses the professor's image and a voice attributed to the professor to promote a medicine presented as a treatment for prostate cancer. The statement says the video appears to reuse old footage, including from the COVID-19 period, with a voice or words artificially added, a method the professor attributes to AI. The professor says no permission was given, that the professor has never advertised a health product, and asks platforms and the competent bodies to identify and remove the content. The statement warns that such videos can harm the reputation of the people shown and put the public's health at risk. The report does not say who made the video or whether it has been removed.

Low Unidentified video tool (suspected)

TV presenter Bettina Tietjen warns on Facebook in September 2026 that fake videos, described by outlets as AI deepfakes, show her advertising a remedy for Alzheimer's, and says scammers are behind them

Bettina Tietjen, host of the 'NDR Talk Show', wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday 29 September 2026 that videos were apparently circulating in which she advertised a remedy for Alzheimer's. 'Das sind Fake-Videos, dahinter stecken Betrüger', she wrote, asking people not to fall for them. The spot on news agency (via Abendzeitung München) reports that she has nothing to do with the advertised product. MOPO describes the clips as fake AI videos, and spot on news and TAG24 say they are apparently deepfakes made or altered with artificial intelligence. No report says whether anyone bought the product, and no complaint or takedown is reported.

Low Unidentified video tool

Padre Diego Jaramillo of El Minuto de Dios says in February 2026 that videos, described by his organisation as made with AI and with a voice that is not his, falsely show him selling collagen and health products

On 23 February 2026 the Minuto de Dios organisation issued a public alert that ads circulating on social networks used the name, image and AI-manipulated videos of its president, the priest Diego Jaramillo Cuartas, with a voice that is not his, to make it appear that he recommended or sold health formulas. In a video published on the organisation's channels, Jaramillo said his image was being used as if he were a collagen seller and that this was totally false. The organisation called the ads deceptive advertising and said it was seeking their removal and reporting the facts to the authorities. No report says whether anyone bought the products.

Low Unidentified video tool

Actor Tony Ramos's interview on Ana Maria Braga's 'Mais Você' is digitally altered and redubbed into a fake advertisement for a prostate remedy, reported as made with AI; Terra reported his team's warning in December 2023 and he recounted it on 'Roda Viva' in September 2026

Terra reported on 6 December 2023 that the team of the actor Tony Ramos, then appearing in the telenovela 'Terra e Paixão', had warned that an interview he gave to Ana Maria Braga's programme 'Mais Você' was digitally altered to promote a supposedly miraculous remedy for prostate hyperplasia. According to the team, his words were edited with advanced technology to make it seem he endorsed the product, his voice was redubbed, and the original footage was a tribute to fellow professionals. Terra describes the clips as fake videos created with artificial intelligence. On the TV programme 'Roda Viva' on 28 September 2026, Ramos said his image had been stolen from that interview, badly dubbed and made to sell a prostate medicine (Estado de Minas, 29 September 2026), and Estado de Minas describes the clip as a deepfake that circulated on social networks. No buyer losses, complaint or takedown are reported.

If you or someone you know is struggling, free and confidential support is available. Find a helpline near you at Signpost.

Back to all incidents