FACT CHECK: Glufarelin not endorsed by PGH, US doctor as diabetes cure

Claim: Dr. Mehmet Oz, an American celebrity doctor best known for advocating alternative medicine, claims Glufarelin is a “very effective treatment” for diabetes.

A Facebook post linking to a website bearing the claim uses a quote card with the name and logo of ABS-CBN, refers to Dr. Oz as a former Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) adviser, and says that the statement was mentioned in a “Diabetes Insights Conference” in February 2023.

Rating: FALSE 

Why we fact-checked this: The quote card was posted on May 10 by the Facebook page “Philippine General Hospital News.” It has 641 reactions, 88 comments, and 117 shares as of writing.

The post links to a dubious website bearing the name and logo of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH). It contains claims that Glufarelin “has helped the rate of people with diabetes in the US decrease by more than 50% after 2 years.”

The site also features a section on methods to treat diabetes, with statements attributed to Dr. Oz promoting the benefits of Glufarelin, an unregistered product claimed to treat diabetes. 

Unregistered: As of writing, Glufarelin is not on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) list of registered food products and drug products. 

Reused card template: The quote card template has been repeatedly reused to promote the unregistered drug, differing only in the name and photo of the person supposedly making the statement. Some fabricated quote cards, such as this one attributed to a US expert, uses the same statement but in Filipino.

ABS-CBN previously said in a Facebook post that the quote card graphics were “manipulated.”

Not endorsed by PGH: The Facebook page posting the quote card is fake, according to a statement from the PGH. The hospital has also warned the public against believing claims posted on the page.

Previous fact-checks: Rappler has previously fact-checked fabricated quote cards attributed to health practitioners and claims of Glufarelin as a diabetes cure:

• FACT CHECK: Neither PGH nor US expert endorses Glufarelin as diabetes cure (April 26, 2023)
• FACT CHECK: Quote cards about diabetes used to promote Glufarelin fabricated (April 6, 2023)
• FACT CHECK: CNN’s Dr. Gomez ‘does not promote any medication’ for diabetes (April 6, 2023)
• FACT CHECK: NIH, Leachon do not endorse Glufarelin as diabetes cure (March 27, 2023)
• FALSE: Glufarelin milk treats diabetes by completely controlling blood sugar levels (July 13, 2022)

– Cecilia Ignacio/Rappler.com

Cecilia Ignacio is a 3rd-year Economics and English undergraduate student at the University of Notre Dame and is a graduate of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.

Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.