Imposter pages fabricate endorsements for barley drink from Philippine actor
- This article is more than one year old.
- Published on September 14, 2023 at 10:48
- 6 min read
- By Jan Cuyco, AFP Philippines
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Altered images of actor Gardo Versoza appearing to promote a product called "Navitas Pure Organic Barley" were shared on a Facebook page named after him here on August 29, 2023.
One of the images appears to show Versoza in a hospital gown standing next to well-known Filipino doctor Willie Ong and his wife Liza, who are holding a box of the drink powder.
"I cannot express my gratitude enough to Dr. Willie Ong who introduced me to Navitas," the post reads.
The Tagalog-language post goes on to say Versoza recovered from a stroke and heart failure after drinking two glasses of the barley grass product daily for two months.
The actor had a heart attack and underwent an angioplasty in March 2023 (archived link).
The post adds: "After three months, I visited the hospital to get a checkup, and all my health indicators became completely normal".
It also mentions a study by the "Japanese Institute of Health" in 2023 that supposedly found barley grass powder can lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease.
The same collage of images was also shared in other Facebook pages impersonating the actor here, here and here.
"Does this barley product still apply to someone with stage 5 Chronic Kidney Disease?" said one user who appeared to believe the health claims about the product.
Other users complained they ordered "Navitas Pure Organic Barley" but received a different product.
"This is my second time to order, I got navitas barley grass powder the first time but the second time was different and it said seedling," another wrote.
Fabricated endorsements
The pages that shared the posts are not genuine and a representative for Versoza told AFP the actor's Facebook page could be found here (archived link).
The actor also dismissed the false posts on his official Instagram account on September 3 (archived link).
"I am not endorsing this product. I did not even give them my permission to use my pictures," reads his Tagalog-language post. "If that's how they promote [their products], doesn't that make their products questionable?"
Ong, meanwhile, said in a video uploaded to his official Facebook page on April 18 that the only product he has endorsed is a brand of milk for senior citizens (archived link).
"There are so many scams using my face, not only mine but those of other celebrities and influencers," he said. "If you see these ads, almost all of them are fake."
An analysis of the images used in the collage also show they have been altered to insert the barley grass product.
The main image appearing to show Versoza next to Willie and Liza Ong was altered from a photo taken from the actor's Instagram account.
The original photo, posted on April 15, in fact shows him posing with a nurse and a doctor (archived link).
"Thank you LORD for the nth life," reads the post's caption.
Below is a screenshot comparison between the altered image used in the collage (left) and the photo Versoza posted on Instagram (right):
The image of Ong and his wife that was used to cover the nurse and doctor in this photo was taken in 2018, when he entered the 2019 Philippine senatorial elections.
A keyword search of Ong's Facebook page led to the same photo posted here on December 14, 2018, as part of a post explaining why he was running for the senate (archived link).
Below is a screenshot comparison between the altered image used in the collage (left) and the photo Ong posted on Facebook (right):
The image of Versoza lying in a hospital bed was originally shared on Instagram here by his wife, Ivy Vicencio, on March 29, but the watermark of a photo-editing website can be seen in its bottom-left corner (archived link).
Below is a screenshot comparison between the image used in the collage (left) and the photo uploaded to Instagram by Versoza's wife (right), with the watermark highlighted by AFP:
The image of Versoza supposedly holding a glass of green juice has also been altered from a photo of him holding a cup of coffee, which was posted as part of a genuine product endorsement on his Instagram account (archived link).
Below is a screenshot comparison between the image used in the collage (left) and the original photo posted on Versoza's Instagram (right):
'No cure-all'
Filipinos face a barrage of bogus and harmful medical posts on social media platforms, with many products promoted in videos that have been altered to make it look like real medical professionals are endorsing them.
AFP has previously debunked false claims about the supposed health benefits of barley grass drinks here and here, which promoted the same product.
Viannelly Berwyn Flores, a cardiologist at the Philippine Heart Center, told AFP on September 11 there is "no scientific basis" for the claim that barley can treat stroke and heart failure (archived link).
Registered nutritionist Jo Sebastian told AFP in an earlier debunk that while barley has many health benefits, it cannot cure all diseases.
"Generally, we can't say one single food can be the cure for something," she said.
The Philippine Food and Drug Administration also warned in July that this product had not undergone the agency's evaluation process, meaning the regulator could not "assure its quality and safety" (archived link).
A keyword search on Google for the "Japanese Institute of Health" mentioned in the false post led to the Japan National Institute of Health Sciences (NIHS), a research agency that studies the safety and efficacy of various food products in the East Asian country (archived link).
AFP found no studies conducted by the NIHS in 2023 that support the false post's claims about the benefits of barley grass powder.
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