Misleading! Nigerian doctor did not invent hypertension cure

Claim: A Nigerian doctor created a new product that normalises blood pressure in several hours to days. Videos of the claim, shared on Facebook, alleged the doctor urged hypertensive patients to dispose of their medications and embrace the supposed new product.

Verdict: Misleading! The creator merged videos from different events to push the narrative. Also, the designs were created using a news-generating tool. 

Full Text

Recently, some Facebook users shared videos claiming a Nigerian doctor had created a drug that can help to normalise the blood pressure of hypertensive patients. 

The video featured Kayode Okikiolu of Channels Television presenting the 10 pm news. A caption written on the video reads, “Shocking discovery: 4 out of 6 people with high blood pressure can permanently lose their sight.”

The voice-over said, “A Nigerian doctor has created a drug that normalises blood pressure in three days. In just one course of treatment, your body will become completely healthy, and you will forget about blood pressure problems forever.”

After the initial 12 seconds, another video featured a man seated against the backdrop of the Expo 2020 Dubai, aiming to enhance the credibility of the video’s content.

He was heard saying, “I guarantee that already, after the first use of the product, your blood pressure will normalise. In two weeks, there will be no cholesterol in your blood vessels, and hypertension will disappear forever. The risk of stroke and heart attack will be reduced to zero. Nigerians have already tried the drug and got rid of hypertension. Join the hypertension treatment program. Today is the last day of the campaign.”

When DUBAWA clicked on the link, it led to a blog posting scanty articles on health-related issues. 

Another video was reshared by Facebook user Klivert Ekatu, with the exact narrative used in the video above. However, when DUBAWA watched the video Mr Ekatu shared, it instead showed protesters in a clash with police officers. 

A journalist, who adorned a bulletproof vest and a helmet, was seen standing with a group of people identified as protesters. 

A male voice in the video said, “Hundreds of hypertensive patients today protested against pharmaceutical companies following a shocking announcement by Dr Junadis. He’s the first doctor in the world to introduce a cure for hypertension. The proven efficacy of this drug is 96 per cent. The average duration of treatment for hypertension is two weeks.”

The video further showed police officers throwing tear gas at the protesters while some of them countered by throwing stones. 

Subsequently, the face of a medical doctor appeared in the video who seemed to be speaking in the first part of the video. 

He said: “High blood pressure is the third leading cause of death in Nigeria, so I set out to solve this problem. I have developed a remedy that brings blood pressure back to normal in 24 hours and permanently stabilises it at 120/80 after one course of treatment. I want everyone in Nigeria to live a long and happy life without the risk of strokes and heart attacks, but my drug is banned for sale in stores and pharmacies and carefully hidden by pharmaceutical companies because of their greed. I have temporarily opened online sales to all Nigerians. Go to my website by clicking more details before this video is removed.”

Upon clicking the link mentioned by the doctor, it led to a website where drugs meant to cure diabetes were sold. The doctor was also heard saying that the drug was being hidden by doctors and pharmacists who would not want citizens to get access to the full pack of the drug. 

Due to the sensitivity of the claim and the impact it could have on public health, DUBAWA conducted a fact check. 

Verification

The first video, which showed the face of the Channels TV presenter, Kayode Okikiolu, appeared to be a deepfake video as the lip movements did not look natural; only the mouth was moving while other parts of his face were static, which is unusual for a normal video. 

DUBAWA subjected the first frame to analysis on a Deepware scanner, which helped to detect that the video was 98 per cent a deep fake. 

Other parameters that tried to identify the video’s authenticity were less than 20 per cent, which established that the video was indeed a deepfake video. Also, there is no such video on the verified YouTube channel of the TV station. 

The second frame of the video showed the supposed doctor who explained how the drug would cure hypertension in less than a week. Upon close observation, the voice-over was imposed on the second video as the movement of the lips was not in sync with the words he was supposedly uttering. 

When we ran the video through the INVID verification tool, we observed the supposed doctor was Dr Ini Urua, the Deputy Director & Head of Country Relations at the Africa Finance Corporation at the time, a partner of the African Union.

Mr Urua spoke at the Expo 2020 Dubai held in the United Arab Emirates in 2022 on a variety of topics, including PIDA (Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa) financing; the collaboration of public and private sectors for the implementation of the projects for all; international investment opportunities; and achieving Africa we want. He made no mention of any product created for hypertensive patients. The video was deliberately merged into the other one and used in a misleading context. 

The creators of the second video purported that it was a group of hypertensive patients protesting against the government for hiding a drug that could aid the treatment of the sickness in 24 hours. 

However, upon analysis, we observed the first frame of the video showed BBC journalist Mayeni Jones at the Lekki tollgate in Lagos with young people protesting against police brutality in Oct 2020 (the #EndSARS protest).

The video was taken from a video posted on BBC News (1:10 to 1:30) a day after the attack on protesters by members of the Nigerian Armed Forces. 

Ms Jones said, “What happened here on Tuesday night has deeply unsettled Nigerians. This is not the first time the army has been accused of shooting innocent protesters. For the fact that it happened here, in one of the most peaceful protests, has ignited an already volatile situation.”

Also, the two videos carried the logo of one of Nigeria’s foremost TV stations (Channels TV) to lend credibility to the content of the videos. We observed that the video was created with a tool to generate such content – Break Your Own News (https://breakyourownnews.com/). 

The site provides users with a template to input headlines, tickers, and images. Also, the website runs in real-time and allows users to download and share their creations on social media.  

While the creator of the tool established it was created for fun, humour, and parody, it warned users to be careful of what they share and the potential virality of the content. Unfortunately, some created content has been misused to mislead people, as observed in this case.

With the surge in technology and proliferation of Artificial Intelligence tools, tons of digital applications can be used to create such content, as seen here. 

Can high blood pressure/hypertension be cured?

Hypertension is a dreaded medical condition globally. A report by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) defined blood pressure as the pressure of blood pushing against the walls of one’s arteries. Arteries are vessels that carry blood from the heart to other body parts.

There are high blood pressure and low blood pressure, and each could be dangerous to health if not properly managed. 

The CDC report further explained that blood pressure is measured using two numbers: systolic blood pressure, which measures the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats, and diastolic blood pressure, which measures the pressure in the arteries when the heart rests between beats. 

While the average blood pressure was <120mmHg/<80mmHg, elevated blood pressure was pegged at <120-129mmHg/< 80mmHg. It gave stage 1 of hypertension as 130-139 mmHg/ 80-89 mmHg and stage 2 as ≥140 mmHg/≥90 mmHg. 

Healthline explained that those who do not manage their hypertension run the risk of several severe health problems, such as heart attack, heart failure, kidney disease, peripheral artery disease, sexual dysfunction, stroke, and vision loss. It advised those diagnosed with hypertension to work with their healthcare team to remain healthy. 

Medical News Today advised maintaining a healthy lifestyle via exercising, reducing sodium intake, taking less alcohol, managing stress, and taking natural supplements. 

However, the American Medical Association explained that there is currently no cure for high blood pressure. 

Conclusion

Contrary to the viral videos, a Nigerian doctor did not introduce a cure for hypertension nor ask hypertensive patients to discard their medications and embrace the supposedly invented drug as claimed.