Some of you may be fans -- as I am -- of Stephen Colbert's "" segments, in which he critically analyzes medical studies. I'm such a fan, in fact, that I once recommended Colbert -- who is, after all, a doctor, even if it's a Doctor of Fine Arts -- as .
But in a move that would make Colbert proud, a real-life Dr. Colbert has been offering bloggers cash and a free dinner if they write about his website. According to his site, Don Colbert is board-certified in family practice "and practices Anti aging and Integrative medicine" as "Medical Director of the Divine Health Wellness Center in Orlando, Florida." He is also "on the Medical Advisory Board for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes."
I'll let my friend Andrew Holtz, former medical correspondent for CNN, :
"I was forwarded an offer to pay me and send me a gift card for a free dinner if I wrote about DrColbert.com. So that's what I'm doing. I am not recommending his website. I just want to tell you that if you see mentions of this website, it may be because the blogger got paid. Oh, the instructions said I had to include ."
At that link, Colbert sells all sorts of supplements, "Rapid Waist Reduction Drops," and books including "What Would Jesus Eat?"
Holtz continues:
"I do not recommend clicking on the link. Remember, I'm writing this post just so I can send an invoice for the promised payment ... and to warn you again that the contents of too many blogs and websites are untrustworthy."
Holtz sent that invoice, and reports that he has now been paid. (Here at 鶹ý, we will not be submitting any invoices, in case you were wondering.)
Colbert's method was first brought to my attention on the ' (AHCJ) private electronic mailing list (which, in the interests of full disclosure, I will mention that I moderate). , another AHCJ member, forwarded a message she'd received from Colbert's son, Kevin, offering her money if she would mention Colbert's website in a blog post, but said once she raised questions about the offer, Colbert said they didn't know Kevin had made such a deal, and wouldn't be participating in the future. (Gentry gave me permission to report that.)
I'll let Holtz have the last word:
"The practice of paying bloggers to write things means you have to be very careful about trusting anything you read online. Of course, if it's news to you that you have to be skeptical about anything you read online, then you are at grave risk for being fooled or worse."