The potential 2016 GOP presidential candidate, Dr. Ben Carson, is officially getting some heat from the media. If the plagiarism issue with his book wasn’t enough for the retired neurosurgeon, now his affiliation with dietary-supplement manufacturer Mannatech (producer of “glyconutrients”) is putting his credibility in question.
“This was a particularly egregious case of false advertising,” said Christine Mann, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of State Health Services. “It’s rare for us to see a dietary-supplement manufacturer claim a particular product cures cancer, autism, or any number of retractable or incurable diseases. We do see all kinds of claims being made in the supplement industry, but in many cases we find manufacturers do not know the rules and will work with us to make sure they get into compliance with the applicable laws.”
Yes that’s right. The company claimed that the supplement could cure cancer and autism, among other things.
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Mannatech was sued by the Texas State Attorney General in 2007, which led to a settlement – the company paid $4 million restitution to its customers and the CEO had to pay $1 million penalty for false claims.
As the National Review Online article points out, Carson spoke at a number of conferences (for which he was paid an estimated $40,000 a pop) and appeared in testimonials between 2004 and 2013. He also starred in a 2014 PBS special, sponsored by “a group of Mannatech independent distributors,” in which he promoted glyconutrients.
Mannatech claims that Carson is not a spokesperson or endorser for the company, but he does appear on the company’s website homepage.
Carson’s spokesman denied that he was compensated by Mannatech and said that the appearances at the conferences were booked through the Washington Speakers Bureau. He also said that Mannatech is the one being unethical in the situation by using Carson as a face for the company.
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“Sometimes you get involved with people who have not the best of intentions,” he says. “You learn from it and move on. It’s a business. They’re using him to publicize their website, to monetize it, get people to believe that this is endorsed by Dr. Carson. The facts don’t match the reality of what they’re promoting to their audience. These things have their own biology and a way of solving themselves. It’s not our job to go out and say that ‘Mannatech is a bad company, Mannatech exploited Dr. Carson.’ What we have to do is a better job in vetting these companies that approach. We get this all the time.”
Maybe that’s true, but when we have a possible presidential candidate who essentially represents the medical community, affiliations like this don’t exactly look good and aren’t easy to brush off.
Here’s the video featuring Carson from March 2014.