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    SNP rebels plot to oust John Swinney as party leader after Hamilton by-election loss

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    Anas Sarwar should not expect to oust John Swinney yet, says polling guru

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    Keir Starmer says he will not support a second independence referendum as Prime Minister

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    Angela Rayner accuses Reform of ‘politics of hatred’ as she insists Labour can win bitter Holyrood by-election

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    SNP complain about Reform’s ‘race-baiting’ advert on Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar

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      Hiring activity in Scotland slows amid steep decline in staff availability

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      Celtic on brink of four new signings as Benjamin Nygren lands staggering transfer claim and Balikwisha stays cool

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      I see cracks in Celtic with transfer fears over four starters so maybe this Rangers claim is a myth – Hugh Keevins

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      The £17m reason Celtic won’t sit still this transfer window as Brendan Rodgers learns painful lesson

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      Rangers placed on Vaclav Cerny red alert over Wolfsburg ‘fire sale’ as Cyriel Dessers makes transfer stance clear

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        How the Scottish MPs voted in the assisted dying debate

        How the Scottish MPs voted in the assisted dying debate

        Former Labour MP calls for party to ditch ‘rigged’ voting system

        Former Labour MP calls for party to ditch ‘rigged’ voting system

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        Labour’s £14bn ‘fixation’ with new nuclear power ‘won’t cut bills or help climate’

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        SNP rebels plot to oust John Swinney as party leader after Hamilton by-election loss

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        Anas Sarwar should not expect to oust John Swinney yet, says polling guru

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        Keir Starmer says he will not support a second independence referendum as Prime Minister

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        Angela Rayner accuses Reform of ‘politics of hatred’ as she insists Labour can win bitter Holyrood by-election

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        SNP complain about Reform’s ‘race-baiting’ advert on Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar

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        Two Israeli embassy staff shot dead in Washington DC, sparking massive anti-terror response

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        Reform chief rules out IndyRef and claims party will be second biggest in Scotland

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        Scotland being held back by chronic shortage of housing with calls for 25,000 new builds a year

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        Keeping Royal Family in Scotland ‘can no longer be justified’, claims Patrick Harvie

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          What is a virtual office and why you need one in Central London – Your Company Formations Ltd

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          Inflation rises again to new 40-year high

          Bank of England hikes interest rates to 1.25%

          Bank of England hikes interest rates to 1.25%

          Hiring activity in Scotland slows amid steep decline in staff availability

          Hiring activity in Scotland slows amid steep decline in staff availability

          Scottish retail footfall growth ‘worst in UK compared to pre-pandemic’

          Scottish retail footfall growth ‘worst in UK compared to pre-pandemic’

        • Sports
          The Rangers transfers Russell Martin needs revealed as AEK set Dessers deadline and Shankland a no-brainer

          The Rangers transfers Russell Martin needs revealed as AEK set Dessers deadline and Shankland a no-brainer

          Celtic on brink of four new signings as Benjamin Nygren lands staggering transfer claim and Balikwisha stays cool

          Celtic on brink of four new signings as Benjamin Nygren lands staggering transfer claim and Balikwisha stays cool

          I see cracks in Celtic with transfer fears over four starters so maybe this Rangers claim is a myth – Hugh Keevins

          I see cracks in Celtic with transfer fears over four starters so maybe this Rangers claim is a myth – Hugh Keevins

          Punters dramatically lose faith in Rory McIlroy in wake of his astonishingly honest US Open confession

          Punters dramatically lose faith in Rory McIlroy in wake of his astonishingly honest US Open confession

          ‘I still always visit Sir Alex Ferguson’s house – even though he branded me a Big Time Charlie’

          ‘I still always visit Sir Alex Ferguson’s house – even though he branded me a Big Time Charlie’

          The £17m reason Celtic won’t sit still this transfer window as Brendan Rodgers learns painful lesson

          The £17m reason Celtic won’t sit still this transfer window as Brendan Rodgers learns painful lesson

          Rangers placed on Vaclav Cerny red alert over Wolfsburg ‘fire sale’ as Cyriel Dessers makes transfer stance clear

          Rangers placed on Vaclav Cerny red alert over Wolfsburg ‘fire sale’ as Cyriel Dessers makes transfer stance clear

          Mathias Kvistgaarden waves Brondby farewell but Celtic hit with transfer blow as boss throws spanner in works

          Mathias Kvistgaarden waves Brondby farewell but Celtic hit with transfer blow as boss throws spanner in works

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          World A-listers go nuts for Ange as Roy Keane drops the mic, McCoist breaks down barriers and Salah keeps receipts

          How a ferry and a forklift helped Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers reach the top as SFWA Manager of the Year relives his journey

          How a ferry and a forklift helped Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers reach the top as SFWA Manager of the Year relives his journey

          How Celtic fans can still land Aberdeen Scottish Cup Final tickets as second chance emerges

          How Celtic fans can still land Aberdeen Scottish Cup Final tickets as second chance emerges

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          Ante Palaversa tells Aberdeen pals how they can turn Rangers atmosphere early as Jimmy Thelin message revealed

          Trending Tags

          • Technology
            Lenovo IdeaPad laptop praised for everyday use and affordable price

            Lenovo IdeaPad laptop praised for everyday use and affordable price

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            EE unveils huge new discount on JBL Flip 7 Wireless Bluetooth Speaker but you must act quick

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            Apple AirPods Pro 2 hit lowest price since Black Friday at five different retailers

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          how social media gave rise to fraudulent wellness influencers like Belle Gibson

          by BP Author
          February 16, 2025
          in World
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          This article contains spoilers for Apple Cider Vinegar.


          The new Netflix series Apple Cider Vinegar tells the story of wellness influencer Belle Gibson, who built a loyal following on social media by documenting her cancer journey online. But in 2015, Gibson was exposed as a fraud. She never had cancer, and lied about donating funds to charities and ill children.

          The series documents Gibson’s rise to fame and subsequent downfall, portraying some of the psychological factors that influenced her deceit. But this scandal also illustrates a larger story about the conditions that enable cancer frauds such as Gibson to gain credibility and influence online.

          The 2000s were characterised by the “blogging revolution” – a shift in how people produced and consumed information. Blogs enabled content creators to share their lives and experiences publicly, and engage directly with their readers. Niche communities formed around common interests ranging from health to heartbreak.

          Gibson capitalised on this trend, creating a blog called The Whole Pantry where she documented her alleged journey battling a rare form of terminal brain cancer. She claimed on her blog to have decided to reject conventional cancer treatments.

          Instead, Gibson expressed that she was empowered to heal herself naturally through nutrition, determination and love – as well as alternative medicine including Ayurvedic treatments, craniosacral therapy, oxygen therapy and colonics.

          The blog was developed into an app in 2013 and a book in 2014 – with Gibson’s story being legitimised by a reputable publisher and brands, then further fuelled by her social media presence.

          Gibson’s primary platform of communication was Instagram. She used the photo-and-video sharing app to build and engage with her followers through inspirational quotes, personal anecdotes and evocative photographs. Lifestyle and wellness influencers typically earn trust and intimacy by presenting themselves as authentic, accessible – and autonomous from state and corporate interests.

          A quote from Gibson’s book, also called The Whole Pantry, encapsulates the way she executed this strategy to appeal to online followers. She wrote: “Too many people over-edit themselves. There’s not enough honesty out there. It’s human to feel sick, to ask questions, to search for answers … Never refine yourself in a way which takes away your heart, message and truest self.”

          This persona allowed Gibson not only to achieve fame online, but to establish a parasocial relationship with her followers by distancing herself from the medical establishment, appearing relatable and unfiltered in her exchanges with followers.

          The mass media has long been recognised as facilitating parasocial relationships: emotional and imaginary bonds that, despite feeling real, tend to be one-dimensional and one-sided. The original parasocial relationships were formed with media figures such as news anchors, radio hosts, and film and pop stars.

          Today, content creators on social media are the primary influencers. Although these relationships are typically one-sided, they can still feel intimate and real.

          The role of the wellness industry

          In the aftermath of the scandal, people searched for who to blame. Fingers were pointed at the press for glamorising Gibson, as well as a publisher and other companies that failed to adequately fact-check Gibson’s claims.

          Criticism was also directed at the wellness industry for peddling misinformation and pseudoscience.

          There’s an assumption that wellness is mainly a female pursuit – and the Netflix series follows several female wellness influencers who have built brands around their illness and disease.

          In fact, the gendered dimensions of wellness are more complicated. The original founders of the wellness movement were male. Although many struggled to commodify wellness, they increasingly tapped into a market of women, many of whom felt justifiably unheard and overlooked by health professionals.

          There’s an irony that Gibson’s wellness brand went by the Instagram handle “healing_belle”. Part of the success of the wellness industry today is derived from promising miracle cures and remedies for various forms of illness and disease. Many wellness influencers have built successful brands by commodifying health and wellbeing.

          This is a far cry from the movement’s origins and the more positive conception of health they sought to establish – which aimed to operate in conjunction with medicine, rather than against it.

          Gibson rose to fame in a climate of low institutional trust, where her lived experience was valued over institutional expertise. Similar to many alt-health influencers, her suspicion of conventional medicine resulted in controversial claims about vaccination, and the benefits of Gerson therapy – a regimen that claims to cure cancer through a special diet, supplements and enemas – and raw milk.

          It was by documenting the negative side effects of chemotherapy and radiotherapy in her book that Gibson was able to present her lifestyle and lived experience as a hopeful alternative path to healing.

          After she was convicted of misleading and deceptive conduct in 2017 and ordered by the Federal Court of Australia to pay a fine of AUS$410,000 (£206,000), one might have expected to see a decrease in cancer frauds, given the global publicity this scandal attracted.

          Instead, other high-profile cases of content creators peddling cancer misinformation on short video platforms have emerged at an alarming rate – often using social media to monetise fake miracle cures, from apricot kernels to soursop tea.

          Short-form video platforms such as TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts have changed the dynamics of fame. Algorithms are central to the user experience on these apps, allowing relatively unknown content creators to gain visibility and attention online.

          Whereas Gibson spent years cultivating a following online, today a content creator with only a handful of followers can upload an engaging video and achieve millions of views.

          The technologies have changed, but there is an industry of content creators profiting from misleading and harmful advice. The prevalence of cancer misinformation online highlights that the problem runs much deeper than the case of Gibson, as told in Apple Cider Vinegar.



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