Claim: Calamba Medical Center posted a video of Filipino physician Rocky Willis promoting Bee Venom Advanced Joint and Bone Care Cream for bone and joint pain.
Rating: FALSE
Why we fact-checked this: A Facebook page with 5,000 followers, claiming to be Calamba Medical Center, posted the advertisement on October 25, 2024, and it continues to circulate online.
As of writing, the video has garnered 20 million views, 87,700 reactions, 14,000 comments, and 10,300 shares.
In the video, Willis can be seen promoting Bee Venom Advanced Joint and Bone Care Cream, which can supposedly cure bone and joint problems in just three weeks.
He also claims that the said product is safe and has no side effects as it is registered with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Moreover, those who will not get cured will allegedly be given ₱10,000 from their insurance policy commitment.
To further encourage people to buy, a limited-time 70% sale is promised. The post contains a link where consumers can buy the product.
The facts: Deepfake detection tool Deepware flagged the video of Willis as 83% deepfake and 67% suspicious.
Willis had debunked similar claims of him advertising the said product through his Facebook page in November 2024. He urged the public to be critical and to report the product.
Not FDA registered: Contrary to the claim of the ad, Bee Venom Advanced Joint and Bone Care Cream is not included in the Philippine FDA’s list of registered products.
Fake Facebook page: The page that posted the ad only copied Calamba Medical Center’s official page name, profile picture, cover photo, and other content. The official page has 34,000 likes and 38,000 followers. The fake page only has 3,400 likes and 5,000 followers.
Additionally, based on the page transparency information for both pages, the hospital’s official Facebook page was created in March 2011, while the fake page was created only in October 2024. The official page also has 11 administrators based in the Philippines, while the fake page has five based in Vietnam.
According to Facebook’s Help Center, the primary country location of these administrators is determined by their information and activity on Facebook products, including the stated location on their profiles, and device and connection information.
Rappler has also published a fact-check article about Willis’ alleged promotion of Bee Venom. –Lyndee Buenagua/Rappler.com
Lyndee Buenagua is a third year college student and an alumna of Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship of Rappler for 2024.
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