Mike, a 48-year-old teacher and disabled veteran from New York, found himself battling COVID-19, his breathing worsening day by day. Fearful of ventilator use at his local Veterans Affairs hospital, and convinced they wouldn’t offer the treatment he sought—ivermectin—he turned to America’s Frontline Doctors (AFLD). He had followed the group on social media, drawn to their promotion of ivermectin, a drug typically used for livestock parasites, as a “safe and effective treatment” for COVID-19. Through the AFLD website, Mike paid $90 for a telemedicine consultation, hoping to secure a prescription for the medication.
However, a week passed with no consultation. His calls and emails to AFLD went unanswered. Frustration mounting, Mike reported the charge as fraudulent to his bank. “Not even an apology,” Mike told TIME, using a pseudonym to protect his job. “This is absolutely nuts. This organization is not helping anyone but their pocketbooks.”
Mike’s experience is not unique. Similar accounts have emerged across anti-vaccine forums and messaging apps, as customers and donors increasingly question America’s Frontline Doctors. While AFLD presents itself as a “non-partisan” association of medical professionals, its origins lie in right-wing politics, and the group has consistently disseminated medical misinformation. Despite the name suggesting physicians at the forefront of the pandemic, the extent to which its members have actually treated COVID-19 patients remains unclear.
Questions surrounding AFLD extend beyond its followers. Details about the group’s staff size, income, and expenditures are murky, partly due to its failure to submit required financial disclosures. After neglecting to file its annual report in Arizona, where it’s registered as the “Free Speech Foundation,” the state downgraded its charitable status to “pending inactive.”
A TIME investigation over three months revealed that hundreds of AFLD clients and donors accuse the organization of promoting ivermectin prescriptions—a treatment medical authorities advise against for COVID-19—and failing to deliver on their promises after payment. Some customers reported charges for consultations that never materialized. Others were directed to online pharmacies quoting exorbitant prices, up to $700, for the inexpensive drug. Within over 3,000 messages reviewed by TIME, numerous individuals recounted worsening COVID-19 symptoms while awaiting a “wonder drug” that never arrived.
A nurse checks on a patient in the ICU Covid-19 ward at NEA Baptist Memorial Hospital in Jonesboro, Ark., on Aug. 4, 2021.
Alt text: Nurse tending to a patient in the COVID-19 ICU ward, highlighting the reality of severe cases amidst discussions of alternative treatments.
“My mom has now been admitted to the hospital with Covid,” one user posted on AFLD’s Telegram channel on August 12. “AFLDS has not returned a call or message to her and they’ve taken over $500 out of her account!”
Founded last year by Dr. Simone Gold, a Los Angeles physician later arrested for her involvement in the January 6th Capitol attack, America’s Frontline Doctors has cultivated medical conspiracy theories prevalent in right-wing circles. Initially a political initiative to bolster the Trump Administration’s push for economic reopening, it quickly shifted from COVID-19 skepticism to a national RV tour denouncing “medical censorship and cancel culture.” AFLD championed hydroxychloroquine as a miracle cure and positioned itself as a provider of legal assistance for those opposing vaccinations, mask mandates, or childhood immunizations.
The group’s prominence has surged alongside employer-mandated COVID-19 measures and the rise of ivermectin as a preferred alternative treatment within the anti-vaccine movement. AFLD’s Telegram channels have experienced rapid growth, exceeding 160,000 users. Website traffic has quadrupled since April, according to SemRush, a web analytics firm, estimating nearly half a million visitors in July. This expanded reach, extending to mainstream platforms like Instagram and TikTok, has established AFLD as a leading source of medical disinformation, eroding public trust and hindering pandemic control efforts, according to experts.
“They’re the 21st century, digital version of snake-oil salesmen,” states Irwin Redlener, a physician directing the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University. “And in the case of ivermectin, it’s extremely dangerous.”
America’s Frontline Doctors declined multiple requests for comments on this story. On their Telegram channels, moderators attributed ivermectin delays to user error and overwhelming demand, promising refunds for undelivered consultations. Attempts to contact Dr. Gold through her lawyer were unsuccessful.
Federal authorities are increasingly targeting coronavirus-related telemedicine schemes. The Federal Trade Commission has issued nearly 400 warning letters to groups and individuals marketing false COVID-19 treatments, including an April missive to a Texas medical practice to “immediately cease” promoting ivermectin or face substantial fines. The federal COVID-19 Consumer Protection Act, enacted this year, prohibits advertising products as COVID-19 preventatives, treatments, or cures “unless you possess competent and reliable scientific evidence substantiating that the claims are true.” No such evidence exists for ivermectin, according to the FDA.
Despite FDA warnings about the dangers of ivermectin misuse for COVID-19, the drug has become highly sought after in anti-vaccine circles. Doctors and pharmacists report a surge in ivermectin prescriptions from telemedicine services and increasing patient demands for it as a vaccine alternative. Many, unable to obtain prescriptions through groups like AFLD or finding it too expensive, have resorted to purchasing livestock ivermectin from feed stores, as revealed in Telegram chats where members share dosage advice. Mississippi health officials reported on August 20th that 70% of recent poison control center calls were related to ingesting livestock ivermectin.
The ivermectin phenomenon reflects concerning aspects of the post-Trump conservative movement: political opportunism, disinformation, social media exploitation, and conspiratorial thinking converging at a critical point in the pandemic. AFLD has capitalized on “the perfect storm of everything that you needed to have a large population of people susceptible to vaccine misinformation,” explains Kolina Koltai, an anti-vaccine movement researcher at the University of Washington. “America’s Frontline Doctors are really good at what they do. This idea of doctors fighting the system is a narrative that is really appealing to a lot of people.”
‘A Coordinated Political Effort’
On July 27, 2020, a small group of individuals identifying themselves as frontline doctors gathered on the Supreme Court steps for a press conference. President Trump was then advocating for states to reopen, and conservative frustration with lockdown measures was growing. These physicians, wearing white lab coats displaying the AFLD logo, echoed White House talking points. They asserted that lockdown’s mental health impact surpassed the virus’s danger, that hydroxychloroquine effectively treated COVID-19, and that masks were unnecessary—all contradicted by U.S. health authorities.
The mainstream medical community largely dismissed the group, pointing out their lack of relevant expertise. No evidence suggested any of these doctors had treated severely ill COVID-19 patients, according to MedPage Today, a peer-reviewed medical news site. None were infectious disease experts or ICU staff during the pandemic. One was known for promoting bizarre religious beliefs, including a tweet claiming America needed “deliverance from demon sperm” due to illnesses caused by sex with demons and witches in dreams. Two of the “frontline doctors” were ophthalmologists, only one still licensed.
AFLD’s emergence was a politically orchestrated effort months in the making, conceived by the Council for National Policy (CNP), a secretive network of conservative activists. A leaked May 11 CNP call revealed members complaining about criticism of Trump’s pandemic response, including his disregard for scientific guidelines. They recognized the need for their own medical professionals to promote their message, countering data showing widespread public wariness about reopening the economy.
“There is a coalition of doctors who are extremely pro-Trump, that have been preparing and coming together for the war ahead in the campaign on health care,” stated Nancy Schulze, a Republican activist. “And these doctors could be activated for this conversation now.”
Eight days later, conservative groups publicized a letter signed by over 500 doctors, labeling lockdowns a “mass casualty event.” The lead signatory was Dr. Simone Gold, a licensed ER physician and Stanford-educated lawyer, then working part-time in a Bakersfield, California hospital. Ten weeks after the letter, Gold stood on the Supreme Court steps as AFLD’s founder, as Rep. Ralph Norman, a South Carolina Republican, thanked the white-coated physicians for “telling us the truth.” The event was hosted and funded by the Tea Party Patriots, a pro-Trump right-wing group.
While the event itself had low attendance, a video of the press conference went viral after being retweeted by Trump, granting some group members an audience with Vice President Mike Pence. Despite social media platforms removing it for misinformation, Gold and others frequented conservative media outlets, from Fox News to Alex Jones and Pat Robertson.
Since then, the group has positioned itself as the leading alternative medical voice for COVID-19 skeptics. Their message has adapted over time. Initially, Gold minimized the virus’s severity. “We’re all acting as though there’s a huge medical crisis,” she said in a May 2020 video, as U.S. COVID-19 deaths surpassed 100,000. “I’m not sure that it’s front-page news.” The real issue, Gold added, was the trampling of “our constitutional rights.”
Soon after, the group alleged a conspiracy to suppress effective pandemic treatments. “If all Americans had access to hydroxychloroquine, the pandemic would essentially end in about 30 days,” claimed Mark McDonald, another AFLD member and child psychiatrist, in a video on Alex Jones’ NewsWars website. The group partnered with a telemedicine site by right-wing conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi to sell prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine, a drug Trump promoted and claimed to take preventatively.
Promoting COVID-19 fictions proved profitable. AFLD created a professional website, its domain purchased by the Tea Party Patriots, and an email list of loyal followers urged to donate. When Gold was arrested for her involvement in the January 6th insurrection, emails to supporters requesting “urgent and generous donations to withstand such aggressive assaults from the ruthless enemies of free speech” raised over $400,000 for her legal defense.
In spring 2021, the group announced a national RV tour, offering VIP “meet-and-greet” tickets with Gold for $1,000. AFLD Telegram channels revealed frequent tour cancellations, leaving supporters who had taken time off work or traveled long distances stranded. “Hundreds of us registered and received no information or cancellation notice,” a disappointed supporter in Cleveland wrote on June 22 when the promised tour failed to appear. AFLD moderators, meanwhile, urged followers that such events could “continue only when everyone donates what they can monthly.”
By this time, the group had shifted focus from hydroxychloroquine and medical choice to anti-vaccine content. AFLD falsely claimed COVID-19 vaccines were “not effective in treating or preventing” the virus and had caused 45,000 U.S. deaths. “This is an experimental biological agent whose harms are well documented,” Gold stated on the group’s website in May. Comparing lockdown measures to 1950s Communist tactics, they urged supporters to demand a “Vaccine Bill of Rights” from lawmakers, versions of which soon appeared in several states, including boilerplate text written by AFLD.
As the Delta variant surged across the U.S. and AFLD forum users reported illnesses among themselves and family, the group heavily promoted ivermectin.
‘I Feel Scammed.’
Ivermectin gained prominence in December 2020 when Dr. Pierre Kory, then a pulmonary care specialist, testified before a Senate panel about the “wonder drug.”
Dr. Pierre Kory testifies during the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing titled Early Outpatient Treatment: An Essential Part of a COVID-19 Solution, Part II, in Dirksen Building on Dec. 8, 2020.
Alt text: Dr. Pierre Kory presenting ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment during a Senate hearing, highlighting the origins of its promotion.
The anti-parasitic drug, commonly used for horses, is approved for specific parasitic worms in humans. It is not an antiviral and lacks evidence of effectiveness against COVID-19, according to the FDA, which warns that overdoses can cause vomiting, allergic reactions, seizures, coma, and death.
Two pharmacists told TIME of their alarm at a recent surge in ivermectin prescriptions from telemedicine doctors. “We’re calling it the second coming of hydroxychloroquine,” said a pharmacist in Maine, noting prescriptions from “quack telehealth prescribers” in multiple states. “It’s wild to me and other pharmacists I’ve talked to how people won’t get a vaccine that is well-tolerated and effective because it’s ‘experimental’ but they’ll take a dose of ivermectin that’s been extrapolated based on weight from equine veterinary guidelines.”
On social media, AFLD is a leading organization directing people to ivermectin as a COVID-19 treatment. Their website prompts those seeking “Covid-19 medicine” to click “Contact a physician” and pay $90 for a consultation. This links to “Speak With An MD,” requiring payment submission and promising a call from a “frontline doctor” within days, prioritizing sick patients. AFLD describes “Speak with an MD” as a “telemedicine service with hundreds of AFLDS-trained physicians.”
However, the actual service is Encore Telemedicine, connecting patients with teledoctors willing to prescribe, according to the web portal and AFLD staff posts. Since 2015, Encore Telemedicine appears to operate from a home near a Georgia golf club, based on its business registration. (Encore’s CEO did not respond to requests for comment.)
Orders through Encore Telemedicine then go to Ravkoo, a digital pharmacy in Auburndale, Florida, whose listed address appears to be a dilapidated building by a strip mall. Ravkoo is meant to mail the medication or call it into a local pharmacy. (Ravkoo’s owner did not respond to requests for comment). Medication costs, added to the consultation fee, range from $70 to $700, according to AFLD customer comments.
America’s Frontline Doctors’ financial gain per referral is unclear. The service is advertised on AFLD’s site for $90, while a direct telemedicine consultation via Speak With An MD costs just $59.99, a $30 difference. AFLD did not comment on any financial benefit from referrals.
AFLD has used this system to sell hydroxychloroquine since at least last fall. However, recent ivermectin demand has overwhelmed the network, frustrating customers.
AFLD’s chaotic Telegram channels are filled with complaints. Some report paying for consultations but receiving no doctor call. Others were prescribed ivermectin but never received it, received incorrect medications, or faced inflated prices. Customers claimed to have paid for non-refundable consultations and drugs, only to have local pharmacies refuse to fill prescriptions because ivermectin is unapproved for COVID-19. All reported unanswered calls and emails to AFLD, Encore Telemedicine, and Ravkoo.
Many users call the arrangement fraudulent. “Still no drugs as prescribed! Have not heard from their pharmacy. Very disappointing,” one user wrote on Telegram on August 1. “They took my money though. Definitely feels like a scam.” Another frustrated customer wrote the same day: “You tell us the vaccine producers are getting rich off us. Seems like you are doing very well yourselves?”
Another user told TIME she paid $90 and received no consultation, but a pharmacy called demanding another $100. “I have not heard a word. I feel scammed,” said Denise, providing only her first name.
Other supporters, promised “AFLDs-trained physicians,” were upset when doctors pushed vaccination during paid consultations. “Not happy at all with that!” wrote a woman whose daughter’s telemedicine doctor recommended vaccination alongside ivermectin. “I felt like I could trust them not to push the vaccine…severely disappointed.”
Dozens of messages reviewed by TIME were from people with sick family members, pleading for AFLD to escalate their cases. Chynthia, who paid “$90 is a lot for us,” wrote of never receiving a callback. “Please help! My husband is sick. And looks like he does have a hard time breathing.”
As confusion grew, some questioned the group’s motives. Vinod, a former monthly AFLD donor, told TIME he had to stop repeated fraudulent charges by contacting his credit card company and requesting a replacement card.
AFLD Telegram moderators acknowledged being overwhelmed by demand, blaming the “CDC for the blockade” of ivermectin, but insisted that once the physician fee is paid, “this is out of AFLDs hands operationally because of HIPPA [sic].”
‘The Anti-Vax Movement as a Whole Is One Big Multi-Level Marketing Scheme.’
Ivermectin’s adoption by the broader anti-vaccine community has amplified AFLD’s reach. On TikTok, numerous accounts, some belonging to teenagers, promote ivermectin as a COVID-19 cure and AFLD as its source. “It’s done wonders for me and it’s kicked Covid’s ass,” said a young user documenting her recovery over six videos, using #novaccine and recommending AFLD ivermectin.
Dr. Siyab Panhwar, a cardiology fellow at the University of Tulane, uses his TikTok account to counter ivermectin misinformation. “The unfortunate reality is that there are some doctors that push this, and it harms the entire community,” Dr. Panhwar says. “[AFLD] say on their website that they will ‘review your history’ but I call B.S. There is no physical examination…How is this medically appropriate or safe? AFLD is dangerous and needs to be stopped.” He emphasizes the financial incentive behind promoting products like ivermectin as a major warning sign. “The anti-vax movement as a whole is one big multi-level marketing scheme.”
Protesters against COVID-19 vaccine and mask mandates demonstrate near the state Capitol in Santa Fe, N.M. on Aug. 20, 2021.
Alt text: Demonstrators protesting against COVID-19 vaccine and mask mandates, illustrating the broader context of resistance to public health measures promoted by groups like AFLD.
None of this is hindering AFLD’s momentum. Amidst escalating disputes over vaccine mandates and school masking policies, AFLD has established “Citizen Corps” chapters in nearly every state, with dedicated Telegram channels and public events, such as a Texas meeting attracting 80 attendees for lectures on vaccine side effects. At their “White Coat Summit” in July, commemorating their first anniversary, they filmed children symbolically burning masks while singing “We Are The World.”
AFLD has gained significant publicity by presenting itself as a legal resource for those defying employer mandates for vaccination, testing, or masking. AFLD has solicited funds for their “legal eagle dream team,” but promised help has reportedly failed to materialize for some donors. “Still waiting to hear back from legal eagle,” wrote Carlos on Telegram on August 14, stating he had submitted multiple forms and emails for legal assistance. “I’m about to get fired and need legal help.”
Several supporters stated they were defying employer vaccine mandates based on AFLD information and advice. “I hope you guys are right,” Jeffery posted on August 20, responding to an AFLD video promising legal challenges to vaccine mandates. “I’m about to lose my career of over 20 years, my pension and my livelihood because I’m not taking the shot.” Others reported employers dismissing vaccine-exemption forms printed from the AFLD website. “I am losing hope,” wrote Cathy on July 6. “I just spoke with a lawyer that said the proof from Frontline Doctors is a conspiracy theory.”
The pleas of customers who trusted the group have become increasingly desperate. “Does anyone know how long it takes to hear back from America’s Frontline Doctors about getting Covid medicine?” asked a pregnant user experiencing chest pain and shortness of breath. “It seems like I’ll never hear back from them in my worst moment of need.”
On August 17, a man posted in the group’s Telegram that after weeks of waiting, AFLD canceled his ivermectin consultation. “Wish they hadn’t because my wife is in the ICU now,” he wrote. “Had I gotten the meds she would have been fine.”
With reporting by Alejandro de la Garza, Simmone Shah and Julia Zorthian
