Diary of a CEO host Steven Bartlett is spreading harmful health misinformation on his number one ranked podcast, a BBC investigation has found.

The guests’ recent claims – including that cancer can be treated by following a keto diet rather than proven treatments – were allowed with little or no challenge by the Dragons’ Den star. Experts tell us that questioning these unproven claims is dangerous because it creates distrust in traditional medicine.

In an analysis of 15 health-related podcast episodes, the BBC World Service found that each contained an average of 14 harmful health claims that went against extensive scientific evidence.

Flight Studios – the podcast production company owned by Mr Bartlett – said guests were offered “freedom of expression” and were “thoroughly researched”.

The podcast was launched in 2017 focusing on entrepreneurship and business. Celebrities like influencer Molly Mae and Airbnb founder Brian Chesky shared their tips for success, increasing its popularity.

But over the past 18 months, Mr. Bartlett has focused more on health, presenting guests as leading experts in their fields. His ideas face little challenge.

The interviews are also posted on Mr Bartlett’s YouTube channel, which has seven million subscribers. Since this content change last year, its monthly views have increased from nine million to 15 million.

Mr Bartlett told The Times in April that he expected his podcast to make £20 million this year, mainly from advertising.

We looked at 23 health-related episodes released between April and November this year, checking the facts with four medical experts – 15 included potentially harmful claims.

The experts we spoke to included Cancer Research Professor David Grimes, Public Trust in the Health Service Professor Heidi Larson, NHS diabetes consultant Dr Partha Carr and surgeon Dr Liz O’Riordan.

We have recorded harmful claims as advice which, if followed, may have negative health consequences.

Over that eight-month period, some guests billed as health experts shared accurate information, but most were spreading misleading claims. These include:

• Anti-vaccine conspiracies that Covid was an engineered weapon

• Poly-cystic ovarian syndrome, autism and other disorders can be “reversed” with diet

• Evidence-based medicines are “toxic” for patients, reducing the success of proven treatments.

Podcasters may claim they are sharing information, but they are really sharing harmful misinformation, says Professor David Grimes of Trinity College Dublin.

“It’s not a very different and empowering thing to do. It actually puts our entire health at risk,” he says.

Podcasts in the UK are not regulated by the media regulator Ofcom – which sets rules on accuracy and impartiality. So Mr Bartlett is not breaking any broadcasting rules.

In a July episode, Mr Bartlett spoke to Aseem Malhotra, a doctor who became known for spreading misinformation about Covid vaccines during the pandemic.

In the episode, Dr. Malhotra says, “The COVID vaccine was a complete negative for society.” Analysis by the World Health Organization shows that it saved many lives during the pandemic.

At the end of the episode, Mr Bartlett, who has no health background, justified the broadcast of the discredited views and said his aim was to “present some other side” because “the truth is usually somewhere in the middle”.

He went on to say that: “The ideas of the suffragists, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King were equally appallingly received… So we have to be humbled that an idea that important can inspire us, But it can’t be censored.”

In response to our inquiry, Dr Malhotra told the BBC that he “fully accepts that there are still some people who disagree (with his views)” and that “that does not mean that they Has been rejected”.

In several podcast episodes, guests claimed to know a simple solution to health problems that they believed mainstream institutions were hiding from the public. They also frequently advertised their products on podcasts.

Cancer researcher Dr. Thomas Seyfried appeared on the podcast in October. He is a proponent of using the ketogenic diet, a diet low in carbohydrates and high in fat, to treat cancer.

But Professor Grimes told us that doctors warned patients against restricting their diet during cancer treatment.

“If you follow your oncologist’s recommended advice you could potentially and very realistically become much sicker and have much worse consequences for your health,” he said.

In the podcast, Dr. Seyfried compared modern cancer treatments to “medieval cures,” and also suggested that radiotherapy and chemotherapy improve patients’ lifespan by only one to two months.

Mr Bartlett did not respond to this claim.

Figures from Cancer Research UK show that cancer survival rates in the UK have doubled over the past 50 years. Thanks to modern treatments, cancer death rates in the US have declined by 33% since 1990.

Dr. Thomas Seyfried told us that he “stands by his statements made in the interview.”

The solutions these guests are presenting are attractive to listeners because they seem tangible and come without the side effects of pharmaceutical drugs, says Professor Heidi Larsen, an expert on public trust in healthcare.

“But they (Guests) are doing too much. It turns people away from evidence-based medicine. They stop doing things that may have some side effects, even though it may save their life. “

Cecil Simons of the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a think tank specializing in disinformation research, believes this type of content can help grow audiences.

“Health-related clickbait content with scary headlines works really well online with the algorithm,” he said.

Mr Bartlett has been caught up in questionable health claims before.

In January, on BBC Two’s Dragons’ Den – where aspiring entrepreneurs pitch business ideas to five multi-millionaire investors, including Mr Bartlett – he invested in “ear seeds”, acupuncture beads placed in the ear that treat the chronic fatigue condition myalgic. Falsely claims to cure encephalomyelitis (Me).

Following complaints, the BBC has added a disclaimer to the episode and on the iPlayer, stating that “ear seeds” are not intended as a cure, and that medical guidance should be followed.

A BBC spokesman declined to comment.

He is also an investor in Huel, a meal replacement company – and Zoe, which sells a personalized nutrition program consisting of the use of a blood sugar monitor.

“They have a financial stake in health and wellness companies. And once you have a financial interest, your interest in focusing on health and nutrition increases,” says Ms. Simmons.

Two Facebook ads featuring Mr. Bartlett Recently banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) To promote two products of Huel and Zoe without disclosing that he is an investor.

The founders of both companies have previously been invited as guests on The Diary of a CEO podcast.

A spokesperson for Mr Bartlett’s production company Flight Studios said: “Diary of the CEO (DOAC) is an open-minded, long-form conversation… highlighting individuals who have distinguished themselves through their distinguished and distinguished careers and/or “Recognized for resulting life experiences.”

He heard a variety of voices, he said, “not just those that Steven and the DOAC team necessarily agree with”.

He said the BBC’s investigation had reviewed “a limited proportion of the guests” out of the approximately 400 broadcasts so far.