Overview
- YouTuber Marvin Wildhage created a fictional condition called "Postvirale nasale Hypersensibilität" and posed as a fake pharma company to offer paid promotions.
- Alina Walbrun accepted the brief, posted about the invented diagnosis as if she knew it from her medical training, and added symptoms not in the briefing.
- Walbrun publicly acknowledged her failure to verify the claim, asked that the €3,800 fee be donated to Doctors Without Borders and said she will match that amount, and she has taken a temporary break from social media.
- LMU Klinikum München formally distanced itself from Walbrun and legal experts warned that misusing medical credibility online can lead to reprimands, fines or even loss of a medical licence, though no formal disciplinary steps have been reported.
- The case highlights growing concerns about verification and ethics among physician influencers and could prompt closer scrutiny by medical chambers, advertisers and platforms of how medical claims are vetted online.