Fact Check

Tiger Woods CBD Gummies Website Scam and Fake Reviews Flood Google

We took notice when a handful of "reviews" for a product named Tiger Woods CBD Gummies invaded Google News search results.

Published April 26, 2022

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 10: Tiger Woods waves to the crowd on the 18th green after finishing his round during the final round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2022 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Image Via Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Claim:
Tiger Woods endorsed his own line of CBD gummies.
Context

The truth was that scammers were using Woods' image and likeness without his authorization to push CBD gummies products.

Beginning in April 2022, several social media accounts and fake "reviews" were created to push a website for a purported product named Tiger Woods CBD Gummies. The sales pitches on these pages led to Smilz CBD Gummies and Eagle Hemp CBD Gummies, for example. Some of these products have been associated with several other scams that featured unauthorized and fake CBD endorsements from former talk show host Dr. Mehmet Oz, the cast of "Shark Tank," actor Keanu Reeves, and "Jeopardy" host Mayim Bialik, to name a few.

Regarding Woods, the truth was that the PGA golfer never endorsed any CBD gummies products on any websites. It was all a scam.

We documented our findings in what appeared to be less than a week since the scam began running with Woods' name.

Tiger Woods CBD Gummies on Social Media

Social media accounts were created to promote the scam across several platforms.

On Facebook, we found at least 31 pages that were named Tiger Woods CBD Gummies. All of them were either brand new or just had their page names changed in the month of April. The fact that there were already this many Facebook pages pushing the scam in the first week it was going on showed the scale of the operation:

Tiger Woods CBD Gummies reviews littered Google search results even though the pro golfer never endorsed or authorized the products.

 

Some of the Facebook pages used a picture of Woods, meaning that his image and likeness were both being used to sell Smilz CBD Gummies, Eagle Hemp CBD Gummies, and other similarly named products, even though there's no record of him ever authorizing the endorsement.

On Twitter, the following accounts were all created at around the same time: @Tiger_Woods_CBD, @tiger_cbd, @tigerwoodscbd, @TigerGummies, @TigerWoodsPrice, and @Tigerwoods_cbd_. All six of these accounts had the display name, "Tiger Woods CBD Gummies." They also said they were based in the "united states," which was typed in lowercase letters. Based on other scams we've reported on in the past, we believe that it's likely that this one was at least partially managed from outside of the U.S.

Tiger Woods CBD Gummies reviews littered Google search results even though the pro golfer never endorsed or authorized the products.

 

This tweet showed Woods' name with a link for Smilz CBD Gummies.

Other than Facebook and Twitter, a fake "review" for Tiger Woods CBD Gummies was published on LinkedIn. We even found a YouTube video that promoted a fake "review" for the product. It was uploaded on April 26:

Fake 'Reviews' for Tiger Woods CBD Gummies

On top of the social media channels, fake "reviews" littered the search results in both Google and Google News. We found content promoting the scam for Tiger Woods CBD Gummies and Smilz CBD Gummies on Crunchbase.com, DeviantArt, TechPlanet, Times of CBD, sites.google.com, Google Groups, Patch.com, Top 10 CBD Oil Store, and Scoop.it.

Mentions of Tiger Woods CBD Gummies even invaded job listings for emergency personnel, perhaps because the websites would provide good placement in Google search results. For example, we found job listings that were posted and then removed from EMS1.com, Police1.com, and Corrections1.com.

One listing created by a community member on Patch.com said that a Tiger Woods CBD Gummies event would soon be held at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. However, this was not true. It was likely created with a randomly chosen location to accomplish the same goal as the job listings: to try to get the scam's name to land high up in Google search results.

Tiger Woods CBD Gummies reviews littered Google search results even though the pro golfer never endorsed or authorized the products.

 

This event listing was added on Patch.com. It's likely that a moderator will remove it.

What to Expect in the Future

The people who manage these kinds of CBD gummies scams often create misleading ads to push the products. In other words, paid advertising may be created in the future that tries to push death hoaxes or mention "allegations" against Woods to entice users to click, just as we saw with other similar fake CBD endorsement scams.

For example, we previously reported on one such ad that made it look like actor Whoopi Goldberg had died. In reality, she was alive. Upon clicking the ad, the resulting page displayed a scam that falsely claimed Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey were selling CBD gummies.

In sum, no, Woods did not endorse a product named Tiger Woods CBD Gummies. It was all a scam that used his image and likeness without his authorization to sell other products with names like Smilz CBD Gummies, Eagle Hemp CBD Gummies, and others.

Jordan Liles is a Senior Reporter who has been with Snopes since 2016.