The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)'s reality show entrepreneurial TV project "Dragons' Den" has been broadcast since 2005 and is now in its 21st season. In a recently aired episode, a contestant claimed that acupuncture and auricular acupoint therapy can help with the recovery of chronic fatigue syndrome. As a result, the program team received complaints from relevant groups and had to temporarily remove the program from the shelves. After adding After disclaimer, it was re-released on the online on-demand platform.

British reality show entrepreneurial TV project "Dragon's Den" has been broadcast for 21 seasons

It is reported that this program called "Dragon's Den" - which can also be translated as "Dragon Pool" - originated from the 2001 Japanese TV reality show "Money Tiger" (マネーの虎), which focuses on the participants. Sell your entrepreneurial project to several senior entrepreneurial mentors. After copyright sales, similar programs have already taken root in dozens of countries and regions around the world, spawning the American version of "Shark Tank" and many other similar programs. The British version of "Dragon's Den" has always been very popular with local audiences since it was broadcast in 2005. The current five entrepreneurial mentors include 31-year-old British millionaire Steven Bartlett and others .

However, in the latest episode of the show that aired recently, a female contestant named Giselle Boxer mentioned that she had started from the age of 26 when promoting her auricular acupoint treatment products to her instructor. Qibian suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome, and it was "diet and auricular therapy" that helped her recover from the disease and prompted her to turn this personal experience into a small and micro business of auricular therapy products. In the end, Giselle's entrepreneurial project was unanimously approved by the five mentors and received an investment of 50,000 pounds.

Unexpectedly, after the program was aired, it was quickly criticized by a public welfare organization called Action for ME. They directly wrote to the relevant British culture, media and health departments, claiming that The contestant's statement was extremely misleading, and the BBC should have ensured in advance that the broadcast content was accurate and not misleading or potentially dangerous. "Given the prime-time broadcast of this program on BBC One, we are concerned that a large number of viewers will be exposed to false claims that these alternative treatments can cure chronic fatigue syndrome without foundation."

According to the official website of the British National Health Service, chronic fatigue syndrome is a long-term condition with a wide range of symptoms, including extreme fatigue, sleep problems and difficulty concentrating. Potential treatments listed on the site include cognitive behavioral therapy, energy management and medications to control pain and address symptoms such as insomnia, but do not include auricular acupuncture.

Later, the Times also published an open letter signed by a number of academics. They used the controversy caused by this latest episode as an example to criticize the "Dragon" program that has been broadcast for nearly two decades. "Acupoint" program has long been full of false promotions and gimmick products. For example, another entrepreneur who appeared on the same episode as Giselle Bosse also claimed that the cocoa drink he produced had "healing effects" and helped him I overcame a long period of "suicidal depression." Additionally, in another episode aired earlier, a contestant claimed that their crystal products had a "blood-purifying" effect.

Soon, the BBC removed this program from its on-demand streaming platform. They stated externally that they would review this program for the time being. Two days later, after adding clarifying text to the episode, the BBC has relisted it and it is now available to watch on its streaming platform.