Philippine news report doctored to promote unproven 'intelligence-boosting multivitamins'

The video was shared on Facebook here on October 6, 2022, and has since been viewed more than 23,000 times.

The post's caption appears to advertise a product called "Bearbites" -- which it claims are multivitamins that "boost intelligence and increase IQ" in children.

The video appears to show a news segment from 24 Oras -- a nightly news programme on Philippine television network GMA News -- about a child named Miguel whose IQ is said to be in the "upper extreme".

"According to Miguel's parents, Bearbites is the secret to his intelligence," says the video's voiceover.

Keyword searches for "Bearbites" on the website of the Philippine Food and Drug Administration -- the country's product regulatory agency -- did not return any results as of October 20.

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Screenshot of the false Facebook post, captured on October 18, 2022

The same one-minute 37-second-long video was viewed more than 200,000 times alongside a similar claim elsewhere on Facebook here, here, here and here.

Comments on the posts suggest some users believed the claim and wanted to buy the product.

"How do I order?" wrote one user.

"How much is it?" said another.

The video, however, has been digitally altered.

Doctored news report

The original news report, which is two-minutes 17-second long, was published by GMA News on its official Facebook page on June 18, 2019.

It had been doctored to include a different voiceover.

Shots of the "Bearbites" product were also inserted at the 57-second and one-minute 19-second marks of the doctored video.

"According to the parents of Miguel, Bearbites is the secret to his intelligence," the voiceover says at the 57-second mark.

At the one-minute 19-second mark it says: "They said changes happened when he started taking Bearbites multivitamins."

John Arrabe, assistant vice president for GMA News programmes, told AFP on October 14: "We did not endorse or promote any product in the original news report."

Below is a screenshot comparison of the altered clip (left) and the original footage (right):

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Unproven IQ claim

Dr Joan Perez-Rifareal, a psychiatrist from the Philippine Psychiatric Association, told AFP on October 17 that food and multivitamin supplements cannot increase a child's IQ.

"They must always be supported by proper nutrition as food consumption is a major factor when it comes to a child's positive brain development," she said.

"A child's IQ may be increased through proper education and social, linguistic and academic training."

Neurologist and neurosurgeon Dr Kenny Seng also told AFP food supplements have not been proven to directly increase a person's IQ.

"Although many supplements claim to have this benefit, such as fish oil, the direct link has not been consistently proven," he said on October 19.

AFP has previously debunked doctored news reports touting unregistered products here and here.