FACT CHECK: Ad for gout, joint pain ‘cure’ uses deepfake video of Filipino doctor
Claim: Filipino physician Liza Ramoso-Ong, wife of doctor and online health personality Dr. Willie Ong, promotes Bee Venom Advanced Joint and Bone Care Cream as a cure for joint pain and gout.
Rating: FALSE
Why we fact-checked this: The Facebook page “Health Information 24H” posted the video advertisement on March 5, and it continues to circulate online.
As of writing, the video has garnered 2 million views, 12,400 reactions, 2,800 comments, and 726 shares.
In addition to claims about the product’s effectiveness and its supposed registration with the Department of Health (DOH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the video cited the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) as the supposed developer and user of the product.
According to the video, over 8 million patients with gout and arthritis were treated at PGH in 2024 using the product.
Furthermore, it alleges that using the cream one to three times a day will yield results in just two weeks. If the product is ineffective after three weeks of use, PGH supposedly guarantees a P100,000 payment to patients. The post also includes a link to purchase the product.
The facts: Deepfake detection tool Deepware flagged the video of Ong as 92% deepfake and 79% suspicious.
The manipulated video was repurposed from her 2015 video on preventing pimples, which was originally posted on the YouTube channel of her husband, Dr. Willie Ong.
The Ong couple, whose names and images have frequently been used in misleading ads for supposed medical products, have repeatedly said they do not endorse the products attributed to them.
PGH’s involvement: In an October 2024 Vera Files report, UP-PGH debunked the claim that the hospital developed the supposed bee venom cream.
No official reports corroborate the video’s claim that the product has cured 8 million patients.
In December 2024, UP-PGH stated on its official Facebook page that it does not endorse any medicine or medical equipment.
Not FDA registered: Bee Venom Advanced Joint and Bone Care Cream is not included on the Philippine Food and Drug Administration’s list of registered products, contrary to the claim.
Debunked: Rappler has also previously published fact-check articles about the product Bee Venom:
- FACT CHECK: Ad of Filipino doctor pushing cure for bone and joint pain uses deepfake
- FACT CHECK: Arthritis ‘cure’ ad uses deepfake video of Filipino doctor
- FACT CHECK: Fake Philippine General Hospital page promotes arthritis ‘cure’
- FACT CHECK: Ad for joint pain ‘cure’ uses AI-edited video of Filipino doctor
The Facebook page that posted the advertisement was created on February 20, 2025, according to the page’s transparency information. Since then, it has posted content related to UP-PGH. It is currently managed by three page administrators based in Vietnam.
A previous imposter page for Calamba Medical Center (now renamed to Gout at Osteoarthritis Treatment Center), which also posted a false claim, also had administrators based in Vietnam. – Lyndee Buenagua/Rappler.com
Lyndee Buenagua is a third year student journalist based in Baguio and an alumna of Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship of Rappler for 2024.
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