If you have an email address, I would guess that you have received something like this dozens of times. There seems to be no shortage of doctors who have discovered a secret that they feel compelled to share with everyone on their massive email list. And if you’re dumb enough to click on the link and watch the video (guilty as charged) you will waste at least an hour of your time, and possibly a chunk of money. Let me spare you that experience by breaking down these solicitations so that you don’t have to.
The initial promise is that with a few seconds a day, you can lose weight/cure your ED/diabetes/depression. They’re banking (literally) on the fact that people want to believe that a few seconds of effort a day can change your life. There’s nothing to indicate that they are selling anything. They’re simply counting on the fact that people persistently want to believe things that are too good to be true. And they all seem to follow the same playbook.
• They want you to watch an hour-long video, but they give you no way to pause it or fast forward, so you’re captive until you decide to give up on the thing.
• They tell you how they want to do something to make a difference in the world/help humanity/fight against “Big Medicine.
