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Prescriptions for ivermectin soar after Mel Gibson claims it cured friends of cancer

The Conversation · · 599 words · By Ahmed Elbediwy; Nadine Wehida

The article discusses the surge in prescriptions and interest in antiparasitic drugs ivermectin and fenbendazole as potential cancer treatments following a podcast appearance by Mel Gibson. It explains the difference between laboratory findings and clinical evidence, noting that while some in-vitro results are promising, human trials are still in early stages and evidence remains insufficient.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://theconversation.com/prescriptions-for-ivermectin-soar-after-mel-gibson-c…

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10%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 95%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

16 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

check_circle Corroborated 6
schedule Pending 6
help Insufficient Evidence 2
verified Verified 1
info Single Source 1
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“Prescriptions for two antiparasitic drugs, ivermectin and fenbendazole, have recently surged in the US, according to a new study.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (Daily Mail, AJMC, and another web result) report a study showing a surge in prescriptions for ivermectin and fenbendazole in the US.
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web search NEUTRAL — The study found prescriptions for ivermectin doubled in 2025 compared to the year before, which researchers believe may be due to Gibson's endorsement of the drug for cancer.
https://www.dailymail.com/health/article-15811949/surge-canc…
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web search NEUTRAL — A new study finds prescriptions for ivermectin and benzimidazoleThe antiparasitic drugs, which are prescribed to treat worm infections in humans, have no proven cancer benefit in people, and fenbendaz…
https://www.newser.com/story/389052/mel-gibson-plugged-iverm…
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web search NEUTRAL — New research shows that celebrity endorsements can have a major impact on prescription patterns in the US.Pradhan R. US Cancer Institute studying ivermectin’s ‘ability to kill cancer cells.’ KFF Healt…
https://www.ajmc.com/view/prescriptions-of-ivermectin-for-ca…
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“In January 2025, Mel Gibson appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast claiming that ivermectin and fenbendazole can treat cancer.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (Fox News, and two other web results) confirm that Mel Gibson appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience in January 2025 and claimed these drugs can treat cancer.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Joe Rogan Experience is a podcast hosted by American comedian, presenter, and UFC color commentator Joe Rogan. It was initiated on December 24, 2009, on YouTube by Rogan and comedian Brian Redban,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Joe_Rogan_Experience
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Passion of the Christ is an American multi-language film series consisting of epic biblical drama movies, based on the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John as explained in The Holy Bible. The f…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Passion_of_the_Christ_(fil…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One is an upcoming American epic biblical drama film directed by Mel Gibson from a script he co-wrote with Randall Wallace, and based on the story he wrote with hi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Resurrection_of_the_Christ…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“He said the drugs cured three friends of stage 4 cancer.”
CORROBORATED
Three independent sources, including a YouTube clip of the appearance and news reports, confirm Gibson claimed three friends were cured of stage 4 cancer.
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web search NEUTRAL — Mel Gibson: "I had 3 Friends cure their Stage 4 Cancer with Fenbendazole and Ivermectin..."Can y'all imagine what's gonna happen if this turns out to be true...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlW1tnHnOS8
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web search NEUTRAL — Actor Mel Gibson told podcaster Joe Rogan that three of his friends were cured of their stage four cancers after taking the drugs ivermectin and fenbendazole.
https://www.newsweek.com/mel-gibson-joe-rogan-ivermectin-fen…
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web search NEUTRAL — Mel Gibson and Joe Rogan Might Be Why. Prescriptions for antiparasitic drugs spiked after the actor claimed it cured his friends of cancer, a new study finds.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/well/ivermectin-cancer-me…
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“Prescriptions for ivermectin more than doubled among cancer patients after the podcast appearance.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources (EurekAlert!, and other web results) specifically state that ivermectin prescriptions among cancer patients more than doubled following the podcast appearance.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Joe Rogan Experience is a podcast hosted by American comedian, presenter, and UFC color commentator Joe Rogan. It was initiated on December 24, 2009, on YouTube by Rogan and comedian Brian Redban,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Joe_Rogan_Experience
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web search NEUTRAL — Prescriptions for the anti-parasite medication ivermectin doubled in the months following an endorsement by a celebrity during a high-profile podcast as an off-label cancer treatment.
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1127592
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web search NEUTRAL — Mel Gibson and Joe Rogan Might Be Why.The increase was especially pronounced among cancer patients: The rate of prescriptions from January through July 2025 more than doubled compared with the same wi…
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/well/ivermectin-cancer-me…
+ 1 more evidence source
verified
“ivermectin, a widely prescribed antiparasitic drug, used in both humans and animals.”
VERIFIED
Authoritative medical and regulatory information from Drugs.com and other web sources confirm ivermectin is an antiparasitic used in both humans and animals.
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web search NEUTRAL — Ivermectin is an antiparasitic drug used in both human and veterinary medicine, and regulatory agencies distinguish the two product classes: ivermectin tablets and topical formulations are approved by…
https://factually.co/fact-checks/health/difference-ivermecti…
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web search NEUTRAL — In dogs and cats, ivermectin is used to prevent heartworm. Veterinary ivermectin comes in different formats, including a paste, pour-on liquid, injectable, and chewable. It’s dangerous for humans to t…
https://www.webmd.com/drugs/what-is-ivermectin
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web search NEUTRAL — Ivermectin is an anti-parasite medication used to treat parasitic diseases, including parasitic worms, hookworm, whipworm, and external parasites. Ivermectin tablets (Stromectol) are FDA-approved to t…
https://www.drugs.com/ivermectin.html
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“Laboratory studies have found that it [ivermectin] can affect several biological processes linked to cancer growth.”
CORROBORATED
Scientific literature (Frontiers and other research results) indicates that ivermectin affects biological processes like apoptosis and metastasis linked to cancer growth in laboratory settings.
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web search NEUTRAL — Like this, ivermectin increased the proportion of apoptosis SW480 cells from 4.65% in the control cells to 8.51, 12.27, and 12.66% in 5, 10, and 20 μM, respectively. The results indicated that ivermec…
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/1…
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web search NEUTRAL — Thus, the majority of ivermectin studies that relate to cancer involve ivermectin being used to actually inhibit metastasis, including melanoma metastasis, rather than promoting it.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10841629/
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web search NEUTRAL — Ivermectin cream (Soolantra) is FDA-approved to treat rosacea, and ivermectin lotion (Sklice) is a treatment for head lice. Ivermectin tablets have also been used off-label for scabies and other paras…
https://www.drugs.com/ivermectin.html
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“One study found that it [ivermectin] may interfere with a pathway that helps cancer cells survive.”
CORROBORATED
Preclinical data and research results explicitly mention ivermectin's potential to block pathways that support cancer cell survival.
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web search NEUTRAL — Preclinical data suggest that ivermectin may interfere with tumor growth by blocking pathways that support cancer cell survival and immune evasion. Combining ivermectin with PD-1 antibodies could pote…
https://oncodaily.com/oncolibrary/ivermectin-and-immunothera…
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web search NEUTRAL — Ivermectin, as an old anti-parasite drug, can suppress almost completely the growth of various human cancers, including ovarian cancer (OC).Cell culture and ivermectin treatment. OC cell lines (TOV-21…
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7272521/
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web search NEUTRAL — Emerging studies indicate that Ivermectin may exhibit properties that can sensitize cancer cells to conventional therapies such as chemotherapy and radiation.
https://ivermectin.blog/how-to-get-ivermectin-for-cancer-acc…
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“Other research has explored whether ivermectin can make tumours easier for the immune system to detect and destroy.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of general definitions of 'research' from Wikipedia and ResearchGate, rather than specific studies on ivermectin and the immune system's detection of tumors.
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web search NEUTRAL — Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. [1] It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, cha…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research
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web search NEUTRAL — Access 160+ million publication pages and connect with 25+ million researchers. Join for free and gain visibility by uploading your research.
https://www.researchgate.net/
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web search NEUTRAL — 2 days ago · The Open Access journal Research, published in association with CAST, publishes innovative, wide-ranging research in life sciences, physical sciences, engineering and applied science.
https://spj.science.org/journal/research
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“no studies have looked at the effectiveness of ivermectin and fenbendazole in cancer patients, but some early-stage trials are now underway.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided in the search results to confirm or deny the current status of clinical trials in humans for this specific combination.
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“Fenbendazole belongs to a group of antiparasitic drugs called benzimidazoles.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided in the search results to confirm the chemical classification of fenbendazole.
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“Unlike ivermectin, it [fenbendazole] is only used in animals and is not approved for human use.”
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“In laboratory studies, fenbendazole has been shown to interfere with cancer in several ways, including disrupting cancer cells’ uptake of glucose... impairing how they manage chemical stress, and damaging their structure”
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“Public interest in fenbendazole increased in 2019 after a US businessman claimed it helped him recover from lung cancer.”
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“the patient was also receiving experimental cancer treatment and several other drugs at the same time.”
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“One paper reporting major improvements in three cancer patients taking fenbendazole was later retracted because of concerns about the reliability of the data.”
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“combination therapy of the two antiparasitic drugs taken together have not been conducted.”
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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.