TikTokers are spreading North Korean propaganda to sell supplements

+ Caroline Calloway might die in a hurricane, TikTok moral panic, Spirit Halloween is pivoting to Christmas, and more

Oct 09, 2024

TikTokers are spreading North Korean propaganda to sell supplements

In late September, a woman under the handle "Mothers in Healing," posted a TikTok slideshow featuring a smiling photo of herself with her husband and baby. "During a trip to North Korea I was imprisoned while pregnant," the caption read. "But, because of the North Korean standard of living, we decided not to return to the U.S.."

The next few slides detailed the benefits of living in the authoritarian state: the government-sponsored three bedroom apartment in Pyongyang, the delicious food, and the free healthcare and childcare.

The final slide featured a close up of a bottle of liposomal Nicotinamide Riboside (NAD+), produced by a company called Reus Research. The slide claimed that North Korea uses this special supplement to support maternal health, and linked out to a TikTok Shop page where it could be purchased.

Videos pushing North Korean propaganda to sell NAD+ supplements have spread throughout TikTok in recent weeks. Mothers in Healing is just one of a slew of pages that have uploaded dozens of videos claiming the many benefits of living in North Korea before hard-selling Reus Research's NAD+ supplements. The pages argue that dominant narratives about North Korea are wrong, that the U.S. government is brainwashing its citizens, and that North Korea is actually an amazing place to live.

It's unclear who is behind these pages, but digital marketers said that the videos are likely engagement bait, where users create outlandish or obscure videos in order to to generate views, which inevitably leads to sales of the products they're promoting in TikTok Shop.

All of the pages posting the North Korean propaganda feature AI-generated avatars and images and link to the NAD+ supplements in TikTok Shop. According to Reus Research's profile on TikTok Shop, the company has sold over 110,400 units of its NAD+ supplements through the app for between $39.99 and $89.99. The company did not respond to a request for comment.

"People are just doing whatever they can to stop the scroll, and in this case, it's making the most ridiculous video and story that they can to get people to stop and watch and buy [the supplements]," said Greg Baroth, a digital marketing consultant in Los Angeles.

At least one account was previously posting similar content about people moving to Norway and Japan and discovering the "anti aging" supplements there, before pivoting to North Korea, which seems to play better with the algorithm.

"What started as a simple trip to North Korea unexpectedly changed the entire meaning of my life," another user promoting the supplements posted. "By learning about their culture and seeing how they REALLY live, I realized that the THOUGHT of returning to the U.S. no longer appealed to me."

Martyn Williams, a researcher focused on North Korea at the Stimson Center, a Washington D.C. think tank, explained on X that in addition to the stories being implausible, North Korea does not simply allow foreigners to permanently relocate to the country. Williams also noted that at least one image being touted as North Korea featured a Seoul police car.

TikTok users in the comments and elsewhere seemed confused by the videos. "Thought i was getting north korea propaganda videos on my fyp on tik tok and its actually a carefully crafted array of photos to advertise supplements," one user posted.

The North Korean-themed accounts were shut down after 404 Media raised the phenomenon to the company. However, there are still dozens of Reus Research-branded TikTok accounts using bizarre AI-generated slideshows to sell NAD+ supplements. These slideshows also tell inflammatory stories to push the products.

In one video titled "exposing the elites," an account posting under the Reus Research brand claims "the illuminati is trying to hide these supplements."

Another TikTok video featuring AI generated art claims the supplements are recommended by a 115-year-old woman. Another profile featuring a woman going by the name "Taylor" and posting under the handle @.reusresearch, claiming to represent Reus Research, professes that she was expelled from Harvard Medical School for sharing information about NAD+ supplements.

Yet another claims that 135 grandparents died at a nursing home in one day because they didn't take the NAD+ supplements.

Alex Taub, a digital marketer and angel investor in AI startups, said that it might not even be humans making the content. "It could just be that someone entered a prompt to generate the craziest thing that they think will perform well," he said. "I've promoted my AI like, hey, can you figure out how to make money and just do it. The AI will figure out what performs well."

Because it's so easy to generate inflammatory content at scale and because AI-generated content can be used to garner attention on products, these types of absurd money-making schemes are only going to become more pervasive. Hundreds of videos on YouTube and Instagram offer tutorials and courses on how to create this type of content.

"At the end of the day this type of stuff is going to become more and more prevalent because it's so easy to set up," Taub said. "AI can do the whole thing."

Caroline Calloway says she's 'going to die' in hurricane Milton

Influencer Caroline Calloway, who lives in Sarasota, FL, directly in the path of Hurricane Milton, is refusing to evacuate her third floor apartment. “I can't drive, first of all. Second of all, the airport is close. Third of all, the last time I evacuated for a hurricane, I went to my mom's house in Northport for Hurricane Ian,” she said on Instagram.

The experience left her traumatized, she said, because her mother’s whole street ended up flooding leaving them without power or running water. “I don't want to evacuate to my mom's house because the last time I did that, it was the worst time ever!” she said. So, she’s planning to ride out the storm in her apartment with her cat and a “bathtub full of backup water.”

Naturally, Caroline is already using the impending danger to promote her book.

“I’m not evacuating for the hurricane. I live in Sarasota, on the beach, in evacuation zone A,” she tweeted on Tuesday. “For more great advice, buy my second book! It’s called Elizabeth Wurtzel and Caroline Calloway’s Guide to Life. It’s about to come out if I survive! It’s an advice book ;-) Cute!!!!! <3”

As with everything Caroline does, it’s unclear how much of this is performance art and how much she’s risking her own life. I texted her this morning to see if she’s holding up alright. I will report back with any updates! And if you happen to still be in an evacuation zone, please for god’s sake GET OUT.

(Update: Caroline isn’t ground level, she’s third floor, which is still WAY too low to be safe! Caroline, please get out!)

A blogging icon’s blogaversary

Software developer Dave Winer, who pioneered the development of blogs, RSS, and podcasting, celebrated the 30th anniversary of his blog, Scripting News, this week. Dave has always been a big inspiration and I loved what he wrote:

“Blogging started out as a programming adventure and eventually became a form of literature… We need to keep using the tech. Blogging is kind of lost, and I would like to see that change. Every time you post something you're proud of on a social media site, how about taking a moment and posting it to your blog too. And while there, if appropriate, link to something from some part of your post, even though the social media sites don't support linking, the web is still there and it still does.”

Social media is not causing the youth mental health crisis

The myth that social media is causing the mental health crisis among young people simply will not die. I went on the BBC last night to dispel some of this moral panic in relation to the latest absurd state lawsuits against TikTok, and I highly recommend watching the first part of my YouTube series about the history of moral panics around kids and social media.

danah boyd is a top researcher who’s been studying kids’ social media use and the mental health effects for literal decades. She wrote an entire book on the topic and was a founding board member for Crisis Text Line. She just published an excellent piece digging into this hysteria around kids and tech. I thought these lines were especially notable:

One thing that intrigues me, is that many of those who propagate hate are especially interested in blocking children from technology for fear that allowing their children to be exposed to difference might make them more tolerant. (No, gender is not contagious, but developing a recognition that gender is socially and politically constructed — and fighting for a more just world — sure is.) There’s a long history of religious communities trying to isolate youth from kids of other faiths to maintain control.
There’s no doubt that media — including social media — exposes children to a much broader and more diverse world. Anyone who sees themselves as empowering their children to create a more just and equitable world should want to conscientiously help their children see and understand the complexity of the world we live in.

Garbage Day, the award-winning internet culture newsletter written by Ryan Broderick, is throwing a big event for the election this month. It's called “America, The Final Season," and it's live at the Bell House in Brooklyn on October 23rd. Memes! Music! Laughs! Niche internet references! Trauma bonding over the last 10 years of American politics! It's got everything. There's also going to be a bunch of special guests and some very fun surprises.

You can get you tickets here!

On my radar

MrBeast can’t shake his controversies — and it’s costing him his fans.
Spirit Halloween is pivoting to Christmas, opening up 10 Spirit Christmas stores across the northeast.
Kick Streamer Jack Doherty live streamed himself crashing his $200,000 McLaren on the highway.
People on TikTok are recreating Dua Lipa’s viral Coke + pickle juice drink recipe and it’s apparently tasty?
I feel like there’s some crazy drama going down at WordPress right now.
Snoop Dogg, Martha Stewart, and Bic are somehow all involved in this weird iPhone case that holds a lighter.
Adults on TikTok follow pop culture and entertainment accounts much more than news and politics, according to this Pew study.
I loved exploring Tumblr’s annual State of Community report.
Can’t Get Much Higher published a great deep dive on the “Lostwave” movement, an internet subculture consisting of people desperately trying to find the origins of songs without attribution.
How Gen Z is your streaming? Spotify’s Gen Z Trend Report is out with the answer.