Overview

• Netflix’s limited series ‘Apple Cider Vinegar’ is based on the true story of Belle Gibson, an Australian wellness influencer who fabricated a cancer diagnosis to build her brand.
• Gibson falsely claimed she cured terminal brain cancer through diet and wellness, creating a popular app and cookbook before her lies were exposed in 2015.
• The series also features a fictional character, Milla Blake, inspired by real-life wellness influencers like Jessica Ainscough, who pursued alternative cancer treatments.
• Gibson’s deception highlights the dangers of unverified health claims in the $6 trillion global wellness industry, which often capitalizes on distrust of conventional medicine.
• The show, created by Samantha Strauss and based on the book ‘The Woman Who Fooled the World,’ critiques the role of social media in amplifying health misinformation.