The ads for an illicit weight-loss drug are all over social media.
“Imagine food finally shutting the hell up in your head. That’s why people are watching reta,” a narrator says in one video ad, referring to the experimental drug retatrutide, as a heavyset woman stares at a plate of food.
“My boyfriend got us reta through what I think is the only site doing prescriptions right now,” a young woman in a sports bra says in another ad.
“Now there’s a site called Direct Reta,” says a man in a gym shooting a video selfie-style. “So if you’re curious to try this incredible weight-loss medication, tap below.”
Retatrutide isn’t approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Selling it commercially is prohibited by federal law.
And yet scores of companies selling this and other unapproved drugs have blown through regulatory safeguards to offer access to customers online — part of a national craze that is changing the way consumers buy drugs.
Many firms promoting unauthorized versions of retatrutide have been aided by a blue-chip credential: a hexagonal shield with a green checkmark indicating they are certified by LegitScript.
That certification is more than just a label — it clears the way for companies to advertise their products on the world’s most widely used social media platforms.
LegitScript, a private, for-profit company, is among the most powerful gatekeepers in selling health services online. Its stamp of approval is one of the only ways to advertise prescription drugs and telehealth care on Facebook, Instagram, Google, YouTube, and LinkedIn. The Portland, Oregon-based firm deploys a range of methods, including an artificial intelligence tool it says was “engineered in partnership with the US Air Force,” as well as a team of human analysts, to make sure companies comply with its standards.