Wrote: Endrit Berisha
At least two Facebook pages are advertising the product called "Etumax" - as a natural product for sexual stimulation.
After fact-checking conducted by Hibrid.info, it turns out that according to the Food and Drug Administration in the United States of America, this is a product that contains undeclared drug ingredients.
The website "Botanika" wrote in a post on March 30 that "Etumax Royal Honey" is pure honey with royal jelly, bee pollen, and a mixture of rainforest plants. The post states that the product has no side effects.
Link to the post published on Facebook by the "Botanika" page:
The product has been for sale online before. A website called “RonaBio” advertised the product “Etumax” as a natural way to increase libido in December 2022. (see here)
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on April 25, 2022 advised people not to purchase or use this product. (see here)
Part of the FDA announcement, translated into Albanian:
“FDA laboratory tests have confirmed that ‘ETUMAX VIP Royal Honey for Him’ contains sildenafil and tadalafil, the active ingredients in the FDA-approved prescription drugs Viagra and Cialis, used to treat erectile dysfunction. The FDA approval of Viagra and Cialis specifies that they be used only under the supervision of a licensed healthcare professional. These undeclared ingredients can interact with nitrates found in some prescription drugs, such as nitroglycerin, and can lower blood pressure to dangerous levels. People with diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart disease often take nitrates.”
Meanwhile, in another announcement in August 2022, the FDA warned four companies for illegally selling a product that could pose a significant health risk. (here)
Analyze:
Several online Facebook pages with content in Albanian have put up for sale a sexual stimulation product called "Etumax", which they advertise as natural honey.
The content of these posts does not clarify that this product contains the ingredients "sildenafil" and "tadalafil", (used to treat erectile dysfunction).
The US Food and Drug Administration (fda.gov) has explained that these ingredients can interact with nitrates found in some prescription drugs, such as nitroglycerin, which can lower blood pressure to dangerous levels.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info assesses the content of the product offered for sale by several Facebook pages as "Fraud".
Reasoning:
The “Deception” rating is given to informational content that is manipulated in terms of visual (deepfake, cheapfake), audio, or textual content to deceive the audience. This form of deception is usually used to produce false and manipulated content.