Which fact‑checking organizations have investigated viral gelatin‑trick ads claiming celebrity endorsements?

1. Who in the public record has formally warned about these ads

Federal consumer protection guidance from the U.S. government’s consumer site frames the phenomenon — advising skepticism when celebrities appear to endorse products online and outlining how to check claims — and is explicitly referenced as a consumer alert about fake endorsements ^[1]. Local investigative reporting in Florida documented consumers losing money to gelatin diet pill pitches and quoted the Better Business Bureau’s Central Florida investigations unit, with the BBB’s Gerry Mendiburt noting an uptick in deepfake celebrity videos used to market supplements ^[2]. These two entities — the FTC’s consumer advice arm and the BBB’s investigative staff quoted in local reporting — are the clearest quasi‑official actors identified in the supplied reporting as examining the gelatin‑trick scam landscape ^{[1] [2]}.

2. What independent debunking and watchdog sites are doing

A range of consumer‑oriented blogs and reviews have published investigative‑style pieces calling the gelatin trick and branded supplements scams, outlining red flags in the sales funnels and cataloguing repeated patterns from prior frauds ^{[3] [4] [5]}. Sites such as MalwareTips and various review blogs describe how affiliate marketers, AI‑generated testimonials, and fake doctor personas fuel these campaigns and place the gelatin offers in a lineage of similar supplement scams ^{[3] [4]}. These outlets are not traditional fact‑checking organizations with certification or a formal verification rubric, but they perform a de facto debunking function by documenting consistent deceptive tactics and reporting consumer complaints ^{[3] [5]}.

3. Claims about specific celebrities and direct denials

At least one publicly referenced physician and celebrity discussed in the broader reporting — Dr. Mark Hyman — is said to have warned that AI images and fabricated quotes are being used without permission and that he has not endorsed gelatin‑based weight‑loss products, as highlighted in an investigative post cited by the ArtemisRecipes piece ^[6]. Local reporting also notes public denials from high‑profile figures like Oprah in relation to similar schemes, as observed by BBB investigators quoted in the WESH story ^[2]. These are examples of individual denials and warnings appearing in the reporting rather than formal fact‑checker verdicts ^{[6] [2]}.

4. What is missing from the supplied record — mainstream fact‑checker verdicts

The assembled sources repeatedly call the gelatin trick advertising a scam and document consumer harm, but none of the supplied items are from recognized, independent fact‑checking organizations (for example Snopes, PolitiFact, AP Fact Check, Reuters Fact Check) issuing a labeled “fact check” on the specific viral ads; that absence is the most important reporting limitation here and means the question cannot be answered with a list of labeled fact‑check articles from those organizations based solely on these sources ^{[6] [3] [2] [1]}. The supplied material instead shows consumer protection guidance, local journalism, and scam‑watch blogs doing much of the debunking work.

5. How to interpret the landscape and why it matters

Taken together, the sources establish a consistent narrative: viral gelatin‑trick ads frequently misuse celebrity images, rely on AI or deepfake techniques, and have produced real consumer losses — and the practical debunking has been carried out by consumer‑protection agencies, local news, and scam‑watch sites rather than a visible set of mainstream fact‑checking reports in the provided collection ^{[3] [2] [1]}. Given that limitation, readers seeking certified fact‑check verdicts should look for labeled fact‑check articles from established organizations or check the FTC and BBB advisories referenced here for authoritative guidance ^{[1] [2]}.