An Auckland ophthalmologist said a deepfake advertisement, using her likeness to promote a bogus eye product, is a public safety risk.
According to a report in New Zealand’s online news outlet, National Business Review (NBR), the video advertisement purportedly shows Dr Divya Perumal and NBR reporter Mike McRoberts in a fake news-style endorsement running on Facebook.1
“To my disbelief, there was an avatar,” Dr Perumal told NBR. “There was a clone, a video of my voice… with a personality who looked and sounded like us but was reading out a script which we hadn’t written.”
The advertisement falsely presented Dr Perumal as the creator of a treatment that could restore eyesight and also attacked ophthalmologists for not using the cure.
Dr Perumal told NBR that she did not invent the product, had never prescribed it, and had no connection to the advertisement.
She said initial feelings of disbelief gave way to frustration, fear and a concern for public safety.
“I’m very proud to say… I’m a New Zealand-trained specialist in the areas of glaucoma and cataracts… So, seeing patients who could potentially be harmed in this manner, using my face … [and] professional reputation, is unacceptable,” she told NBR.
Dr Perumal said when she notified the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO) she was told it appeared to be the first time such a deepfake case had happened to an ophthalmologist in Australasia.
Reference
- McRoberts M. Deepface eye scam a ‘public safety risk’, 8 May 2026, available at: nbr.co.nz/business/deepfake-eye-scam-a-public-safety-risk [accessed May 2026].
