A century after phony flu ads, companies hype dubious Covid-19 cures

With a pandemic raging, a spate of ads promised dubious remedies in the form of lozenges, tonics, unguents, blood-builders and an antiseptic shield to be used while kissing. That was in 1918, during the influenza outbreak that claimed an estimated 50 million. Now, ads promoting unproven miracle cures — including intravenous drips, ozone therapy and immunity-boosting music — have targeted people trying to avoid the coronavirus pandemic.

 

“History is repeating itself,” said Roi Mandel, head of research at website MyHeritage, which recently unearthed and compared pandemic ads. “So many things are exactly the same, even 102 years later, even after science has made such huge progress.”

 

The claims today are an echo from 1918, when an ad for Dr Pierce’s Pleasant Pellets promised that the pills offered protection “against the Spanish Influenza.”

 

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