Seawater Consumption as “Miracle Cure” on Spanish Telegram
Seawater consumption has been promoted as a panacea on Spanish-speaking Telegram, posing specific threats to Spanish speakers.
TLDR
Open Measures found that seawater consumption was promoted as a medical treatment in Spanish-language Telegram groups. These groups claimed that seawater could cure ailments such as asthma and cancer.
These groups often cite doctors (real or fabricated), likely as a strategy to add credibility to their claims.
The information shared in these channels (such as quantities of seawater to consume and how to do so) amounts to hazardous instructions that could lead to negative health outcomes.
Research shows that Spanish-speaking populations are particularly vulnerable to medical disinformation shared on social media and messaging platforms.
Background
Healthcare-related conspiracy theories are hardly new, but social media has changed how they are spread and consumed. Specifically, the use of direct messaging platforms to spread news has made content moderation significantly more challenging. It has also made it more difficult to establish the provenance of information.1 2 Researchers have found that medical misinformation—often related to vaccines and alternative medical treatments—is widespread and influential in Spanish-language online spaces.3
This phenomenon is likely the result of a few different factors. Firstly, content moderation at social media giants appears to be primarily focused on English-language misinformation. According to an investigation into Covid-19 misinformation by the firm Avaaz, only 29% of English-language posts containing Covid misinformation lacked warning labels on Facebook, compared to 70% of Spanish-language posts containing misinformation.4 Secondly, many Spanish speakers get a majority of their information from peer-to-peer messaging platforms such as WhatsApp and Telegram, which are trickier to moderate. As a result of these factors, Spanish-speaking populations may be particularly vulnerable to healthcare-related conspiracy theories compared to their English-speaking peers.
Within the dataset of platforms monitored by Open Measures, Spanish-language discussions of medical misinformation appeared most prevalent on Telegram, a messaging app that allows both peer-to-peer and group messaging. To assess these trends, Open Measures researchers focused on narratives about seawater consumption in Spanish-speaking Telegram groups.
Methodology & Analysis
The intention of this report is to provide general insights into the spread of online medical misinformation narratives and the patterns of activity behind them. Narrowing the scope to provide more specific insights on Spanish-language medical misinformation presented unique research challenges.
Though our dataset contains accounts and posts discussing a range of alternative treatments, many of these:
Mention multiple theories at once (i.e., are not focused on any one narrative)
Are written in languages other than Spanish (i.e., are not specifically directed at our audience of interest)
Contain key terms in English despite addressing non-English audiences (i.e., do not have exclusive enough terms to reliably target only Spanish activity while filtering out non-Spanish activity)
It should be noted that Open Measures researchers are not in a position to independently verify health claims or official medical opinions. In the interest of reporting as accurately as possible, however, our researchers aimed to find one narrative aimed only at a Spanish audience.
Our researchers focused on seawater consumption narratives as a focused example of broader trends; because the Spanish term for “seawater” (agua de mar) is unique to the language, this focus provided a reliable way to screen out irrelevant and confounding information. Our researchers further focused their search by analyzing only the most extreme, exaggerated, and false claims they found (e.g., that seawater consumption can cure HIV or cancer).
Seawater Cures on Spanish-Speaking Telegram Channels
While the promotion and discussion of seawater consumption to cure illnesses is prevalent across Spanish-language alternative medicine channels on Telegram, Open Measures researchers identified a few groups dedicated solely to discussion on the topic (though there are likely additional groups beyond those mentioned below).
These groups frequently promote seawater consumption as a panacea, alongside claims that the practice can cure illnesses such as cancer, HIV, diabetes, and more. These channels also share video testimonials of individuals claiming that seawater healed their ailments such as cataracts and carpal tunnel.
Open Measures researchers noted that these groups encouraged seawater consumption in large quantities, though the specifics varied. In the Telegram group “💕Agua de Mar💕💕,” a guide titled “SEAWATER, THE CORRECT WAY TO DRINK IT AND WHERE TO FIND INFORMATION ON THE TOPIC OF SEAWATER” recommended the following (translated from Spanish):
Seawater for therapeutic purposes should be consumed gradually, starting with two doses per day of 100 milliliters of isotonic seawater (¼ seawater with ¾ pure water) and progressively increasing the dosage as long as there are no symptoms such as bloating, headaches, or diarrhea. If these detoxification symptoms appear, one should maintain or reduce the dosage to allow the body to adjust, after which one can continue to progressively increase [the dosage] again.
We want to reach a dose of 5 glasses of seawater per day, each 100 milliliters, taken on an empty stomach, in other words 500 milliliters per day of isotonic seawater or 750 milliliters for a larger person.
The same Telegram group also listed topical, oral, nasal, aural, vaginal, and rectal methods of administering seawater (by applying seawater to skin, gargling mouthwash, using a nebulizer, applying eardrops, or performing vaginal or rectal irrigation, respectively). Researchers also found multiple references to injecting seawater.
Seawater Doctors
The Telegram groups Open Measures researched often referenced specific doctors, including “Doctora Lobo”, “Doctor Angel Garcia”, and “Doctora Mayela Alpízar.” These names appeared as voiceover credits, or were appended to messages related to seawater cures.
Open Measures has not independently verified the existence nor qualifications of these individuals. As such, it is unclear whether all these doctors are real or fabricated. However, these groups are likely including their names as an attempt to add social proof and credibility to shared information. This strategy makes it more difficult for researchers and Telegram users to disprove certain claims. Researchers also did not investigate whether perhaps comments from these doctors were at times being taken out of context; this is particularly tricky on the topic of seawater consumption, since seawater can be beneficial in small doses.
Additional research could provide more clarity.
Seawater Companies and Influencers
Griselda Donatucci
Another advocate of seawater as a cure is Griselda Donatucci, a prominent promoter of seawater with a large online presence. Donatucci’s Instagram bio includes a phone number with an Argentinian country code. In one episode of her podcast, Donatucci interviews Josep Pàmies, a prominent advocate for unfounded health treatments in Spain.
Translated from Spanish, Donatucci’s Instagram bio reads [sic]:
Holistic therapy, communicator. Seawater, Healthy life, Longevity.
Many of Donatucci’s YouTube videos and podcast episodes have been shared in alternative medicine Telegram groups dedicated to seawater cures.
Esencia Marina
Through their investigation, Open Measures researchers found clues that this trend is not localized to one country. Instead, seawater consumption is being promoted as a cure-all throughout the Spanish-speaking world. In at least one channel, researchers identified an Ecuadorian company, Esencia Marina, specializing in the sale of bottled seawater.
Other Alternative Treatments
The Telegram groups monitored also discussed and referenced other alternative treatments. These included treatments involving Chlorine Dioxide Solution (CDS), Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS), Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO), and Orbitally Rearranged Monoatomic Elements (ORMUS). Researchers also found troubling mentions of administering these alternative medical treatments to pets, most commonly CDS and seawater.
Conclusion
Medical misinformation is prevalent across social media and messaging platforms and includes all manner of unfounded theories. Further, researchers have found that Spanish-speakers are more likely to be exposed to it and as a result are at risk.5
On Spanish-speaking Telegram, there is a dedicated trend of discussing seawater consumption as a cure for serious illnesses. Here, it appears that a kernel of truth—that seawater has limited health benefits—has expanded into an alleged panacea.
This phenomenon of exaggeration can have serious consequences in many different aspects of medicine. Concerning cancer, for example, a study found that those opting for alternative cancer treatments over conventional ones carry higher mortality risk.6 The rise of seawater treatments has undoubtedly led to dangerous outcomes as well, as evidenced by the Mexican government’s recent announcement to residents not to inject it.7
The Chilean government has reported that women and indigenous populations in Chile may be particularly at risk of exposure to disinformation.8 This suggests that the consequences of medical misinformation could disproportionately impact vulnerable populations. To prevent harm, this phenomenon merits further research.
Identify disinformation and extremism with the Open Measures platform.
Organizations use Open Measures’ tooling every day to track trends related to networks of influence, coordinated harassment campaigns, and state-backed info ops.
Caro, I., & Jiles, S. (2022, March 4). Presentación. Si Somos Americanos. https://scielo.conicyt.cl/scielo.php?pid=S0719-09482014000100001&script=sci_arttext
Anguita, P., Bachmann, I., Brossi, L., Elórtegui, C., Escobar, M. J., Ibarra, P., Lara, J. C., Padilla, F., & Peña, P. (2023, August 28). El Fenómeno de La Desinformación. MinCiencia. https://minciencia.gob.cl/uploads/filer_public/26/cb/26cb92cb-5614-4e7c-a46e-f001a2b838b1/informe_i_-_el_fenomeno_de_la_desinformacion_global_y_en_chile_1.pdf
Skafle, I., Nordahl-Hansen, A., Quintana, D. S., Wynn, R., & Gabarron, E. (2022, August 4). Misinformation about covid-19 vaccines on social media: Rapid review. Journal of medical Internet research. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9359307/
Avaaz. (2020, April 15). How facebook can flatten the curve of the coronavirus Infodemic. Avaaz. https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/facebook_coronavirus_misinformation/
Ibid.
Ben-Ari, E. (2021, September 9). Addressing the Challenges of Cancer Misinformation on Social Media. National Cancer Institute. https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/cancer-currents-blog/2021/cancer-misinformation-social-media
Valverde, J. (2023a, December 12). Inyecciones de Agua de mar pueden provocar afectaciones graves, Según Infectólogo. Teletica. https://www.teletica.com/nacional/inyecciones-de-agua-de-mar-pueden-provocar-afectaciones-graves-segun-infectologo_348935
Anguita, P., Bachmann, I., Brossi, L., Elórtegui, C., Escobar, M. J., Ibarra, P., Lara, J. C., Padilla, F., & Peña, P. (2023, August 28). El Fenómeno de La Desinformación. MinCiencia. https://minciencia.gob.cl/uploads/filer_public/26/cb/26cb92cb-5614-4e7c-a46e-f001a2b838b1/informe_i_-_el_fenomeno_de_la_desinformacion_global_y_en_chile_1.pdf