TikTok GLP-1 gray market is growing, UltraViolet report alleges

A TikTok GLP-1 gray market is spreading across the platform, according to a new analysis from gender justice nonprofit UltraViolet, which says hundreds of accounts promoted unregulated weight-loss drugs and steered users toward outside messaging apps to buy them.

The group said it found accounts pushing GLP-1 products and alternatives, including items described as “research-grade.” Many accounts directed viewers away from TikTok to WhatsApp, Discord and Telegram, according to UltraViolet.

UltraViolet said content involving the drugs was easy to reach for people with TikTok accounts and for those browsing without one. The group said that access remained before and after TikTok’s ownership transition in early 2026.

The report also said TikTok’s Discover page generated related searches that suggested buying and selling GLP-1s. UltraViolet argued that the platform’s own recommendation and curation tools helped keep the material visible.

What did UltraViolet find on TikTok?

UltraViolet said it identified hundreds of TikTok accounts tied to off-market GLP-1 promotion, including content about retatrutide, which the group described as not approved by the FDA. A gray market generally refers to unofficial channels for goods that are regulated, restricted or otherwise outside standard sales systems.

The nonprofit said many posts appeared to target women or used images of real women and AI-generated women on profiles. Researchers also said a large share of the content used harmful messages about body size and appearance, included sexual imagery or made false claims about women’s health.

UltraViolet reported 202 accounts to TikTok for alleged Community Guidelines violations. On average, the group said, about one-third of those accounts were removed.

In the report, UltraViolet wrote that the amount of content, its visibility and the way TikTok surfaced it suggested a broad and ongoing moderation problem.

What are TikTok’s rules on GLP-1 content?

TikTok’s Community Guidelines do not ban users from mentioning or discussing GLP-1 products. The company also allows pharmaceutical advertising when it complies with local laws, according to its policies.

Those rules still place limits around weight-loss promotion. TikTok prohibits content that shows or promotes disordered eating or dangerous weight-loss behaviors. Its ad rules also bar ads and sponsored posts marketed for weight loss, weight gain, fat reduction, detox, appetite suppression or unsafe mental health behaviors.

Those advertising restrictions include products using terms such as “Glucagon-like peptide,” “GLP” or “GLP-1” in a product name or branding, according to TikTok’s advertising guidelines cited by UltraViolet. The policy does not apply to products marketed as support for people who are taking GLP-1 drugs.

TikTok also bars trading, marketing or giving access to regulated, prohibited or high-risk goods and services, as well as sending users to outside platforms to get those goods. UltraViolet noted that TikTok previously named black and gray markets as banned unofficial markets.

UltraViolet said it studied the platform in two rounds: one before TikTok’s ownership transition in late 2025 and another shortly after control moved to an American board of investors in early 2026. The group said TikTok updated its Community Guidelines before the first phase and changed its Terms of Service in January.

UltraViolet campaign director Jenna Sherman said tech leaders now control large parts of the internet while algorithms, weight-loss drugs and online weight-loss fixation are colliding. She described the combination as a risk to user safety and the public good.

TikTok declined to give Mashable an official response to UltraViolet’s report, according to Mashable.

The report lands during a wider boom in GLP-1 drug marketing. Novo Nordisk, maker of Wegovy and Ozempic, filed a lawsuit last week against Eli Lilly, maker of Zepbound and Mounjaro, accusing its rival of deceptive drug marketing. In the first half of 2025, the two companies spent a combined $700 million marketing their drugs, according to the report.

Social media users have also reported being swamped by GLP-1 ads, including people in eating disorder recovery and people who have tried to block weight-management and GLP-1 posts from their feeds, according to Mashable.

This story draws on original reporting from Mashable.