Consumer Watchdog Group to FTC: Investigate Dr. Oz

Public Citizen, a consumer watchdog group, called on the Federal Trade Commission to investigate whether Dr. Mehmet Oz violated influencer marketing rules by promoting supplements from a wellness company without proper disclosures.

In a letter to the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, Public Citizen said Oz frequently posts content for iHerb on a number of social media platforms, including X, TikTok, and Instagram, without making users aware that he is financially connected to the company.

"Disguised advertisements are inherently deceptive, because consumers do not know to apply appropriate screens," Public Citizen wrote Tuesday. "The issue is acute with disguised ads featuring paid endorsements, where deceived consumers believe admired celebrities are making genuine, self-directed and enthusiastic endorsements of brands, not realizing that those celebrities are instead paid and may not even use the touted brand."

Oz has served as a global adviser for iHerb since last year and was recently nominated to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services by President-elect Donald Trump.

"Dr. Oz's apparent violations of these standards must be immediately investigated — and, as a prospective nominee to be administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, he should be asked to explain why he failed to follow FTC rules and if he thinks it matters," Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, said in a statement.

The consumer advocacy group cited a post on Instagram the day before Thanksgiving, in which Oz told his 1.1 million followers that one way to reduce holiday stress is "with adaptogens like ashwagandha from a trusted source like iHerb."

Although Oz discloses that he is an "@iHerb Global Advisor & Stakeholder" in his bios on Instagram and X, Public Citizen noted that many of his video posts do not disclose his financial connection to the company or use the hashtag #ad. The letter states that FTC guidelines are clear that endorsement disclosures must be made with every promotion.

"Dr. Oz is poised to run the nation's Medicare and Medicaid system," Weissman said. "That is a position of trust which, among other things, requires protecting taxpayers from fraudsters and scammers. If Dr. Oz is careless about fair advertising rules himself, can we expect him to crack down on those who would bilk Medicare?"

Oz's posts on TikTok contain disclosures, the watchdog said, but they are likely automated by the platform's content disclosure system, and it's not clear if they sufficiently disclose his interests.

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