BBCA BBC investigation has found that CEO Stephen Bartlett's Diaries amplifies harmful health misinformation on his top-ranking podcast.
Recent claims from guests – including that cancer can be treated with a keto diet, rather than proven treatments – were allowed by the Dragons' Den star with little or no challenge. Experts have told us that failing to question these unproven claims is dangerous because it creates distrust in conventional medicine.
In an analysis of 15 health-related podcast episodes, the BBC World Service found that each contained on average 14 harmful health claims that contradicted extensive scientific evidence.
Flight Studio – the podcast production company owned by Mr Bartlett – said guests were given “freedom of expression” and were “thoroughly researched”.
The podcast was launched in 2017 with a focus on entrepreneurship and business. Its popularity has soared as figures like influencer Molly-Mae and Airbnb founder Brian Chesky share their tips for success.
But in the past 18 months, Bartlett has focused more on health, presenting guests as leading experts in their fields. Their views receive little challenge.
The interviews are also posted on Mr Bartlett's YouTube channel, which has seven million subscribers. Since the transformation last year, its monthly views have increased from nine million to 15 million.
Bartlett told The Times in April that he expected his podcast to generate £20m this year, mostly from advertising.
YouTubeWe looked at 23 health-related episodes released between April and November this year, and fact-checked – with four medical experts – 15 episodes that contained potentially harmful claims.
The experts we spoke to are Cancer Research Professor David Grimes, Public Health Trust Professor Heidi Larsson, NHS Diabetes Consultant Dr Partha Carr, and Surgeon Dr Liz O'Riordan.
We have registered harmful claims as advice that, if followed, could lead to negative health outcomes.
During this eight-month period, some guests described as health experts shared accurate information, but most were spreading misleading claims. These included:
- Anti-vaccine conspiracies, that Covid was a designed weapon
- Polycystic ovary syndrome, autism, and other disorders can be “reversed” with diet
- Evidence-based medications are “toxic” to patients, reducing the success of proven treatments
Podcasters may claim to be sharing information, but they are actually sharing harmful misinformation, says Professor David Grimes of Trinity College Dublin.
“This is something completely different and it doesn't empower us. It actually puts our health at risk,” he says.
Podcasts are not regulated in the UK by media regulator Ofcom – which sets rules on accuracy and impartiality. So Mr. Bartlett is not breaking any broadcasting rules.
In the July episode, Bartlett spoke to Aseem Malhotra, a doctor who became famous during the pandemic for spreading misinformation about Covid vaccines.
Dr. Malhotra says in the episode, “The Covid vaccine has been completely negative for society.” Analysis by the World Health Organization shows that it has saved many lives during the pandemic.
At the end of the episode, Bartlett, who does not have a health background, justified airing these discredited views, saying that he aimed to “present some other side” but that “the truth is usually somewhere in the middle.”
He added that: “The ideas of the suffragists, Gandhi and Martin Luther King, were also received with equal horror… So we have to be humble that an idea that may be important may excite us, but it cannot be censored.”
In response to our investigation, Dr Malhotra told the BBC that he “fully accepts that there are still some people who disagree with (his views)” and said that “doesn't mean they have been debunked”.
In several podcast episodes, guests have claimed to know a simple solution to health issues that they believe mainstream institutions are hiding from the public. They also often advertise their products on podcasts.
Cancer researcher Dr. Thomas Seefried appeared on the podcast in October. He is a proponent of using the ketogenic diet, a low-carb, high-fat diet, to treat cancer.
But Professor Grimes told us that doctors have warned patients not to restrict their diet while undergoing cancer treatment.
“It is realistically possible that you will develop very severe disease and have much worse health outcomes than if you followed the recommended advice from oncologists,” he said.
In the podcast, Dr. Seyfried also suggested that radiotherapy and chemotherapy only improve patients' lives by one to two months, comparing modern cancer treatments to “medieval treatments.”
Mr Bartlett did not respond to this allegation.
Cancer Research UK statistics show that the cancer survival rate in the UK has doubled over the past 50 years. In the United States, the death rate from cancer has decreased by 33% since 1990, thanks to modern treatments.
Dr. Thomas Seefried told us he “stands by the statements he made in the interview.”
Professor Heidi Larson, an expert on public trust in healthcare, says the solutions presented by these guests are attractive to listeners because they feel tangible and come without the side effects of pharmaceutical drugs.
“But they (guests) are doing the best they can. This turns people away from evidence-based medicine. They stop doing things that may have some side effects, even though they may save their lives.”
Cécile Simons, of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a think tank specializing in disinformation research, believes this type of content can help grow audiences.
“Health-related clickbait content with scary headlines performs well online with the algorithm amplifying that,” she said.
Mr Bartlett has been involved in questionable health claims before.
In January, on BBC Two's Dragons' Den – in which aspiring entrepreneurs pitch business ideas to five millionaire investors, including Mr Bartlett – he invested in “Ear Seeds”, acupuncture beads placed in the ear that… It falsely claims to treat chronic fatigue and myalgic encephalomyelitis (muscle pain). I).
Following complaints, the BBC has since added a disclaimer in the episode and on iPlayer, stating that 'Ear Seeds' is not intended to be a treatment and must follow medical guidelines for me.
He is also an investor in Huel, a meal replacement company – and Zoe, which sells a personalized nutrition program that includes the use of blood sugar monitors.
“He has financial interests in health and wellness companies. Once you have financial interests, you have an additional interest in focusing on health and nutrition,” Ms. Simons says.
Two Facebook ads feature Mr. Bartlett Recently banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) For promoting two products, Huel and Zoe, without disclosing that he was an investor.
The founders of both companies were previously invited guests on The Diary of a CEO podcast.
A spokesman for Flight Studio, Mr. Bartlett’s production company, said: “Diary of a CEO (DOAC) is a long-term, open-ended conversation…with individuals known for their distinguished and notable careers and/or significant life experiences.”
They said they heard a range of voices, “not just those that Stephen and the DOAC team necessarily agreed with.”
They added that the BBC's investigation reviewed a “limited proportion of guests” out of nearly 400 programs broadcast so far.
A BBC spokesman declined to comment.
