Report describes a fake GLP-1 market on TikTok aimed at women

Reporting published September 9, 2026, describes an unregulated market for GLP-1 weight-loss products on TikTok that targets women through influencer-style videos, with sales often moved into private messages and WhatsApp. A report from the gender-equality group UltraViolet analyzed more than 200 accounts and said TikTok removed only about 30% of the 202 it flagged ^[1].

The pattern shows up in individual purchases. Victoria Schmidt, who is nearing 50 and lives in Texas, saw a video last July that looked like a testimonial from a busy working mom and promoted patches claiming to contain GLP-1 medication, the drug class sold as Ozempic and Wegovy. She had been trying to lose weight and wanted to try a GLP-1 after a friend praised hers, but she worried about long-term effects on her one functioning kidney ^[1].

Patches marketed for weight loss are not FDA approved and do not contain GLP-1 medications ^[1]. Schmidt did not know that at the time. She searched TikTok for related videos, and accounts pushing products on TikTok Shop appeared quickly. Vendors were promoting a monthly patch subscription for about $40, and Schmidt bought a smaller one-time pack for about $4 to try it first ^[1].

A month later, the package arrived with a different brand than she ordered and ingredients that did not match the product she thought she bought. She decided not to use the patches. “I honestly felt really stupid,” she told The 19th. “I was like, ‘Oh, I just got scammed.’” ^[1]

UltraViolet’s report analyzed accounts in two phases between mid-2025 and early 2026. All of the content was easy to find, including through the platform’s Discover feature and hashtags, the report says ^[1]. UltraViolet reported 202 accounts that it said violated parts of TikTok’s community guidelines, which bar the trade, marketing or promotion of regulated or high-risk goods and services. TikTok later removed about 30% of the flagged accounts, according to the group, which said it cannot be sure why the accounts went dark. The report notes that TikTok rolled back sections of its guidelines in September 2025 that had explicitly prohibited black and gray markets and discouraged redirection to offsite locations and direct messaging ^[1].

TikTok did not respond to a request for comment from The 19th about the findings, and UltraViolet said it sent its findings to TikTok and did not receive a response ^[1].

The promotion was heavily gendered, per the report: 65% of the reported accounts had women in their profile pictures, including some that appeared to be AI-generated. Videos showed women in bikinis or revealing outfits, including in “before and after” photos promoting alleged gray-market GLP-1 use. Some were paired with makeup and “get ready with me” content, and some made claims about fertility and postpartum health ^[1].

Many accounts posed as med spas but were fake, the report says. Consumers who order after connecting by private message or WhatsApp often never receive the drugs, or they receive a fake product instead. Some of the GLP-1s promoted are untested versions sold in powder form that have to be prepared into a dosage, leaving room for error and harm. The report highlights the case of an Australian woman hospitalized this year for acute liver failure after taking an unregulated GLP-1 product she learned about on TikTok and Instagram ^[1].

Cost and coverage help explain the demand. The average monthly list price of a GLP-1 in the United States is between $936 and $1,023, and only some large employer health plans cover the drugs for weight loss ^[1]. During a 2022 shortage, the FDA allowed compounding pharmacies to sell ready-mixed GLP-1 drugs; the federal government later walked that back after shortages ended, reducing access for many people ^[1].

“The pressure that women feel is absolutely real, and that’s part of the reason why GLP-1s are in such high demand,” said Nicole Regalado, UltraViolet’s vice president of campaigns ^[1]. Jenna Sherman, the group’s campaign director, said in a statement: “If you are a woman on TikTok, especially if you’re middle-aged, it’s likely you have seen this kind of content.” ^[1]

Why it matters for patients

The products described here are not the same thing as a prescribed medication. Patches sold as GLP-1s are not FDA approved and do not contain the drug ^[1]. Buying through TikTok videos, direct messages or WhatsApp can mean paying and getting nothing, getting a different product than advertised, or getting an unregulated powder that has to be measured and mixed before use ^[1].

The report says the gray market — approved drugs sold through unauthorized channels — and the black market — illegal sales of unapproved drugs — are indistinguishable in this setting, because at least some of the promoted products are untested versions of the medication ^[1]. Schmidt’s two purchases cost about $4 and about $10, far below the list prices cited in the reporting. She received the wrong product both times; TikTok refunded the first purchase in store credit and did not refund the second, according to her account ^[1].

Access gaps are part of the picture. The reporting ties the market’s reach to insurance barriers and high list prices, and to the end of the compounding allowance that had widened supply ^[1].

What happens next

UltraViolet said it sent its findings to TikTok without a response, and TikTok did not answer The 19th’s questions about the group’s findings ^[1]. TikTok has not said publicly whether it will change how it enforces its rules against these sales, and no new federal action connected to the report has been reported.