In December 2021, “The View” co-presenter Whoopi Goldberg was subjected to a combination of a death scam and an unauthorized CBD endorsement. To be clear, despite the claims, the film actress is not dead and did not own a CBD product line, nor did Oprah Winfrey endorse any such article.
Goldberg’s death deception
The deception of death about Goldberg appeared in Facebook ads paid for by the owner of The Failures page.
It’s unclear how much money was spent on ads.
“Today is a tragic end for our Whoopi Goldberg, and the public is saddened by today’s news,” the publication said. It also bore the headline: “The tragic end of our beloved Whoopi Goldberg, says goodbye to America.”
Unauthorized CBD approvals
Clicking on Facebook ads for the deception of death led to pages on bisniswalet.com or rihohire.work that did not speak of a “tragic end” for Goldberg. Instead, the pages claimed that “it was headline after revealing its new CBD line on live television last week.” They were also designed to mimic the NBC News website, and may seem authentic to some readers. The title of the page said “MSNBC” in a browser tab, though NBC News had nothing to do with it.
This page was designed by scammers to look like an NBC News article. However, NBC News had nothing to do with it.
One section even falsely claimed that Winfrey endorsed Goldberg’s alleged CBD product line, saying, “Whoopi Goldberg’s advances in the CBD industry are remarkable.”
Whoopi Goldberg’s latest business venture is straining with CTV and Bell Media sponsors: she’s shooting live again!
(NBC) – In a shocking individual interview, the most popular US news presenter reveals how “I wouldn’t be here without CBD”.
By Nigel Chiwaya | NBC Hello
(NBC) – The beloved American actor and comedian Whoopi Goldberg hit the headlines after revealing his new CBD line on Live TV last week. Pharmaceutical companies were outraged that they will file a lawsuit against Whoopi Goldberg and TV for violating their contract and lowering their prices. She replied:
“When I started all this in 2018, it was really just a part-time passion project and a way for me to get back into it. Having given so much, I thought there was no better time to put the Botanical Farms CBD jelly beans are available to everyone as it can help thousands of people live a painless life and a much happier life. “
His product, Botanical Farms CBD Gummies, has been flying off the shelves in minutes and Whoopi Goldberg says his number one struggle as CEO is being able to keep up with demand. Their CBD wellness line is 90% cheaper and five times more effective than those offered by Pfizer and other “Big Pharma” companies.
Bayer and Pfizer were furious after seeing a massive drop in sales, calling for Whoopi Goldberg to be charged, saying, “We’re glad Ms Whoopi Goldberg found something to replace the recipes, but her announcement was a direct breach. CTV should fire her immediately and apologize formally. “
Whoopi Goldberg appeared on Live TV the next day, not to apologize, but to offer viewers free samples.
⁇
Oprah Winfrey: “The progress that Whoopi Goldberg has made in the CBD industry is remarkable. I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t had a chance to try it for myself. After using Botanical Farms CBD Gummies for two weeks , I already felt like a new self, with almost no symptoms of pain.
Again, none of this was true. The pages also mentioned testimonials about Goldberg’s alleged CBD product line from celebrities other than Winfrey, all of which were fake. They presented invented quotes from Stephen Colbert, Craig Ferguson and Jay Leno.
Covering their tracks
These unauthorized CBD approval pages were created specifically to hide their content if users attempted to update or visit them later.
Our attempts to refresh the pages showed that all mentions of Goldberg, Winfrey, and CBD were gone. This content was replaced by an “exemption from liability for weight loss” or an “agreement to the terms of service”. It seemed like everything was designed to hide the scam from journalists and investigators.
However, we saved screenshots and a PDF file showing the actual content of the pages.
Who is behind this?
The Facebook page The Failures, which announced the deception of Goldberg’s death that caused the unauthorized and false endorsement of CBD, was linked to a YouTube channel of the same name bearing the username @HallMallProduction.
On the YouTube channel, he listed Pakistan as his alleged home country and mentioned usmanpagla@gmail.com and hallmallproduction@gmail.com as associated email addresses.
The last time the Facebook page or YouTube channel posted new, public content was in March 2020.
Clint Eastwood’s $ 6.1 million lawsuit
In the past, the same CBD product scheme has used the image and likeness of other celebrities as if they endorsed CBD products. Some of these names include Drew Carey, Tom Hanks, Randy Jackson, Halle Berry, Alex Trebek, and Tom Selleck.
These fake approvals also included the same concealment technique that made CBD content seem to disappear if users updated or tried to visit the pages later.
Clint Eastwood prosecuted scammers who used his image and likeness in a similar CBD scam. (Photo by Michael Kovac / Getty Images for AFI)
This type of scam even sparked a lawsuit from Clint Eastwood himself. On October 3, 2021, The New York Times reported that the legendary actor and director won a $ 6.1 million lawsuit after a Lithuanian company “was accused of using the image and likeness of Mr. New York Times. Eastwood to make it look like it’s endorsing its products. ” ”
In short, Goldberg was not dead and did not own a CBD product line. And Winfrey, Colbert, Ferguson, and Leno did not approve of any such article. It seemed like it was just the latest foreign management scheme to earn dollars from affiliate referral commissions on CBD products.
We contacted Goldberg and Winfrey spokespersons and will update this story if we receive responses.
Sources:
Bahr, Sarah. “Clint Eastwood wins $ 6.1 million CBD lawsuit.” The New York Times, October 3, 2021. NYTimes.com, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/03/movies/clint-eastwood-wins-cbd-lawsuit.html.
“Did Alex Trebek run a CBD oil business?” Snopes.com, November 20, 2020. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/cbd-oil-alex-trebek/.
“Is Tom Selleck a CBD oil spokesman?” Snopes.com, March 2, 2021. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/tom-selleck-cbd/.
