An Australian woman was shocked to learn that her TikTok videos have been used by a company to sell anti-bloating pills.
Chelsea Hall (LEAD IMAGE) discovered the company, that she’d never heard of or bought from, was using her videos to promote pills that claim to fix bloating.
Hall had decided to share her personal experience with chronic bloating online, hoping to encourage other women to speak up about the sensitive issue.
Ovira, which sells women’s health product including electronic devices to help period pain, used Hall’s videos in an Instagram advertisement for “Bloat Control” pills.
@chels.hall Thank you sooo much @Daily Mail Australia for helping me bring attention to how @Ovira is such a deceitful & a lie of a company!! 🫶🏽 Still no word from Ovira regarding an apology or ownership, do better!! #ovira #scam #nameandshame #scammersgetcaught #fake #exposed #exposingovira #scammers
Hall said she hadn’t been approached by the company or used the product. She was made aware that her video was being used after a follower in Germany saw the ad.
“She said, ‘I know your story and I’ve had a look and can’t see that you’re affiliated with them’,”Hall said.
“I responded in shock and disbelief that a company could do this.”
The advertisement was accompanied by the words – “how I took my chronically bloated belly from this to this in just under three months”, “this anti-bloating vitamin from the brand Ovira was the one that worked for me” and “if you want ur (sic) dream body head to ovira.com today”.
In real life, the story behind Hall’s bloating and how she got rid of it was actually very different.
The 21-year-old said she had suffered from chronic bloating for more than four years and struggled to get a diagnosis for the condition. She underwent surgery to treat the severe issue before being diagnosed with Retrograde Cricopharyngeal Dysfunction (R-CPD).
The disorder is characterised as “an inability to belch, excessive flatulence, unpleasant gurgling noises, and discomfort in the lower neck, chest, and abdomen”.
She has started to receive treatment which has significantly helped.
Hall contacted Ovira, which has nearly 200K followers, directly but didn’t receive a response.
She decided to take the issue to TikTok. TikTok removed the videos and temporarily banned Hall’s account – before restoring it.
“It was a complete shock that a company that I’ve never had contact with has gone just and done this,” Hall said.
She later thanked The Daily Mail for bringing attention to the issue.
