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Facebook scammers want you to think Elon Musk can cure diabetes

Facebook ads depicting deepfakes of Elon Musk and Fox News personalities claiming that the Tesla CEO has discovered the cure for diabetes have been circulating on the platform for weeks.

Elon Musk discovered a simple 30-second “fridge trick” that can reverse diabetes, but the discovery has spooked pharmaceutical companies so much they put a $78 million bounty on his head, forcing the Tesla CEO to flee the country. The vast majority feature Elon Musk and Fox News hosts, but there are also versions with other notable figures, including Oprah Winfrey, former Utah Senator Mitt Romney and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. In one version, Musk says all you need is a “common fruit.” In another, Kennedy says it requires a “frozen lemon.” Another suggests that all you need is “a lemon and a pair of socks.” The ads urge viewers to visit a linked website to find a guide “before it’s wiped from the internet.” Bizarrely, the videos end with several minutes of silence that show a still image of a random object like a clock, calculator or blood pressure cuff.

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