Description
Snake Oil Nation is an investigative journalism project uncovering the booming pseudoscientific health economy in Poland. It exposes how private clinics, influencers, and brands sell unproven “wellness” treatments – such as vitamin drips, ozone therapy, and “quantum” patches – under the guise of science. Combining investigative reporting with computational sociology, the project will map the spread of pseudoscientific claims across social media, identify key actors and business models, and reveal how regulatory gaps enable the exploitation of public trust. Through collaboration between journalists and scientists, Snake Oil Nation aims to bridge the gap between public health and accountability, turning data-driven investigation into real-world awareness and action.
“Snake oil has simply moved online. What used to be sold from the back of a wagon is now marketed through influencers and algorithms. Our goal is to expose how pseudoscience is monetised and to give people the tools to recognise manipulation disguised as medicine.”
Journalistic outputs
| Plasma water is supposed to “cure” autism. False hope costs over 50 PLN per liter In Pravda | 23/01/2026 |
| Are vaccinated children more likely to suffer from chronic illnesses? Questionable study, unsubstantiated conclusions. In Pravda | 27/01/2026 |
| Doctors who don’t exist: A network of fake “experts” selling supplements worldwide In Pravda | 10/02/2026 |
| Can you beat the urge to smoke with ultrasound? Not yet. In Pravda | 25/02/2026 |
| The “plasma water” seller accuses us of manipulation. Here’s why he’s wrong. In Pravda | 26/02/2026 |
| Lugol’s Iodine and false promises: How a self-proclaimed expert gained 70,000 “patients” In Pravda | 28/02/2026 |
Project Team
Media outlet
Pravda Association
Warsaw, Poland
https://pravda.org.pl/
Jakub Śliż
President of Pravda Association
Poland
Research organisation
SmartNet Research & Solutions (Sotrender)
Warsaw, Poland
https://www.sotrender.com/
University of Warsaw
Warsaw, Poland
https://en.uw.edu.pl/
Dominik Batorski
PhD
Poland
