Original article (in Slovenian) was published on 27/03/2023
After receiving questions from Razkrinkavanje.si, the Health Ministry informed the Health Inspectorate about abuse of identity of Health Minister Danijel Besic Loredan.
The website Tranepinunke.tk published an alleged interview with “young Slovenian scientist Bojan Furlan”, which was supposedly broadcast by POP TV. Furlan was said to have received a European Prize for Innovation in Science for his discovery of a method of preserving vision. They did not specify what kind of method this was.
He was reported to have developed O Caps capsules that help “restore vision at any age”. Using TinEye’s reverse image search, the photo allegedly depicting Furlan was traced back to one of the stock photo platforms.
In February, O Caps were placed on a Slovenian Public Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices list of products presented as medicines but not registered as medicines. The Agency says that the products on the list are “typical online scams” and advises against the purchase thereof.
On 26 August last year, the Medical Chamber drew attention to an ad in which O Caps capsules were sold by “a young doctor, Kristijan Jernej”. It warned that the alleged doctor does not exist in Slovenia.
In a notice issued by the Chamber, eye specialist Barbara Cvenkel warned that “all the claims are false and mislead people to extract financial gain. Above all, they are dangerous, as patients may give up on treatment or visit the eye doctor too late, which can cause irreversible harm.”
POP TV production house Pro Plus was not aware of the interview supposedly conducted by a POP TV journalist: “This constitutes a theft of our image and the name of our journalist, which is a criminal offence.” They said that “this type of abuse has happened before and the digital world will facilitate more and more of it”.
The ad also contains an alleged interview with Health Minister Danijel Besic Loredan, who is presented as a coordinator of Furlan’s “O Caps project”. In the alleged interview, Besic Loredan supposedly repeatedly confirms the effectiveness of the product.
The Health Ministry explained that this constituted an abuse of the minister’s name, which would be reported to the Health Inspectorate. According to them, the ad is a form of identity fraud “because it misleads the public with an untested medicine which can be extremely hazardous to health”.
The ad is fake.