A Facebook (FB) ad shows veteran broadcast journalist Jessica Soho and cardiologist Dr. Tony Leachon supposedly promoting the practice of drinking a water and salt solution to cure hypertension within a day. This is fake.
The videos were manipulated using artificial intelligence (AI) to alter the voices and mouth movements of Soho and Leachon. An expert on hypertension contacted by VERA Files Fact Check also debunked the claim that drinking water with salt could bring down one’s blood pressure.
The fake ad was uploaded on Aug. 29 and continues to make the rounds online this month. It bore a superimposed text that read:
“GAMITIN LANG ANG 1 BASO NG MAALAT NA TUBIG PARA SA AGARANG PAGPAPABABA NG PRESYON HANGGANG 120/80 BUKAS.
(Just use one glass of salted water to immediately lower your blood pressure to 120/80 tomorrow).”
Its caption also read in part: “Kung ikaw ay may sakit sa puso o anumang cardiovascular na sakit, gamitin mo ang natatanging pamamaraang ito upang bukas ay may 100% na tsansa na ganap na mawala ito (If you have a heart condition or any cardiovascular disease, use this unique approach so that it will have a 100% chance of totally disappearing by tomorrow).”
Dr. Raymond Oliva, one of the directors of the Philippine Society of Hypertension, told VERA Files Fact Check in a Nov. 6 email that people with hypertension are “actually advised to lower salt intake.” He added:
“It has been shown that increasing salt consumption can provoke water retention and can lead to elevations of blood pressure. Some individuals are also salt-sensitive, so any intake of salty food can elevate blood pressure.”
Reputable health sources such as Johns Hopkins Medicine, the American Heart Association, as well as an entry in the e-Journal of Cardiology Practice of the European Society of Cardiology have also said that increased sodium (salt) intake can negatively affect the control of hypertension.
Dr. Oliva explained that managing one’s blood pressure involves a combination of right medications and non-pharmacological techniques such as reducing weight, doing aerobic exercise, avoiding smoking and alcohol, and having a low-salt diet rich in fruits and vegetables.
Reverse image search found that Soho’s original clip was taken from the The Jessica Soho Presidential Interviews which aired in January 2022.
Meanwhile, Leachon’s clip was taken from a June 29 livestream from his official FB page where he talked about the health risks of doing mukbangs, an online fad where a host eats lots of food and films themselves doing it.
Dr. Oliva also advised people with hypertension to work with their doctors to prevent having more serious conditions like heart attack, heart failure, stroke, kidney problems or vision loss.
Uploaded by FB page Pangunahing mga kaganapan sa Pilipinas (created Aug. 29) which is being managed from Ukraine, the video received over 490,000 views, 4,000 reactions and 260 comments.
