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X suspends 'TheLiverDoc' Abby Philips account after Himalaya's defamation plea
Bengaluru court orders social media company to suspend the account of Dr Cyriac Abby Philips, who claims to debunk pseudoscience through his social media posts.
A Bengaluru court on Thursday passed an ex-parte injunction order to social media company X (formerly Twitter) to suspend the account of a doctor known for busting pseudoscience through his regular posts. The Bengaluru Civil Court passed the order in a suit filed by Himalaya Wellness Corporation, which alleged that Dr Cyriac Abby Philips, a hepatologist who goes by the name of The Liver Doc on X, made defamatory allegations against the company, according to Live Law.
Dr Philips's social media account on X has been withheld after the case was filed by Himalaya Wellness Corporation, which describes itself as a herbal health and personal care company based in Bengaluru. According to a report by Live Law, the company contended that the hepatologist has been posting derogatory statements against its products which resulted in substantial business losses.
The doctor's withheld social media account on X says, “@theliverdr has been withheld in globally in response to a legal demand.”
Who is Dr Cyriac Abby Philips?
Philips hails from Kerala and is known for his social media posts and YouTube videos that claim to debunk pseudoscience and reject the prevalent notions about home remedies. For quite some time now, the hepatologist has been claiming to bust myths around alternative medicines and therapies like Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy. At a time when the government pushing for alternative medicines with a separate Ayush ministry in place, Philips argues these medicines and therapies lack scientific basis and can cause harm to patients.
Take this example. Earlier this year, Philips raised concern over the amount of alcohol used in some homoeopathic medicines and alleged that Homeopathy is “just rival business against the real alcohol lobby.” He flagged that Sativol, a homoeopathic medicine frequently prescribed for treating fatigue, has a standard alcohol concentration of 40%, the same amount that a branded whiskey contains.
According to The Print, Philips's crusade against alternative medicines began in 2017 when he encountered patients suffering from liver failure due to the use of Ayurveda pills. Using his Twitter platform, he relentlessly exposes unproven claims, critiques misleading advertisements, and questions the efficacy of Ayurveda and Homeopathy.
The doctor was even threatened with defamation by the Ayush ministry over his remarks on giloy (Tinospora cordifolia), a herb used extensively in Ayurveda, during an interview with a Malayalam YouTube channel. He was served a notice from the Kerala State Medical Council for Indian Systems of Medicine in February 2022 and cleared of all charges in October.
