A QAnon grifter was selling colloidal silver as a supposed coronavirus treatment and cure

Dustin Nemos image

Update 5/5/20: RedPill Living is now back online under a different e-commerce platform. The store’s references to the coronavirus on its silver pages have been removed.

Dustin Nemos, a conspiracy theorist and grifter who co-wrote a bestselling QAnon book, was cashing in on the coronavirus pandemic by selling colloidal silver as a supposed treatment and cure through a Shopify store, which is no longer online after Media Matters contacted the e-commerce platform for comment. 

Numerous hucksters have attempted to profit from the coronavirus pandemic by selling colloidal silver as a preventative and/or cure for COVID-19. The National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health explains that “colloidal silver consists of tiny silver particles in a liquid that is sometimes promoted on the Internet as a dietary supplement. However, evidence supporting health-related claims is lacking. In fact, colloidal silver can be dangerous to your health.”

Nemos was one of 14 people who co-wrote the book QAnon: An Invitation to The Great Awakening, which became a bestseller on Amazon last year. QAnon is a violence-linked conspiracy theory which essentially claims that President Donald Trump is secretly working behind the scenes to take down the purported “deep state,” a supposed cabal of high-ranking officials who are operating pedophile rings. 

Nemos runs the website Nemos News Network, which unsurprisingly pushes conspiracy theories about the pandemic. His YouTube channel, which currently has over 98,000 subscribers, features numerous conspiracy theory videos regarding QAnon and COVID-19. Last year, he started the supplement site RedPill Living

RedPill Living featured a colloidal silver “super concentrate,” which it sold for $22.95 for 1 fluid ounce or $43.95 for 4 fluid ounces

A product description posted on both sizes stated that “there are several medical and health related uses for silver” and “colloidal silver can be VERY supportive against” various ailments, including the “‘novel’ (allegedly intentional bioweapon!) coronavirus.” 

RedPill Living's claims about its colloidal silver

The commerce site also featured a colloidal silver information page which falsely claimed that it is the “undisputed Cure for MRSA and other deadly super-pathogens.” 

In recent weeks, Nemos has tweeted that colloidal silver works against viruses, including in a reply to the president: 
 

Media Matters contacted Shopify about the site and a spokesperson responded:

Shops listing medical products or making medical claims must be substantiated by our merchants, and failure to do so results in account suspension or termination. False or deceptive promotion of listed products is a violation of Shopify’s Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) and not aligned with our mission to make commerce better for everyone. Our teams continue to actively review COVID-19 related products and businesses, and stores that violate our policies will be immediately taken down. Over the last few weeks we have closed more than 5,000 stores in our COVID-19 related reviews. We are closely following developments related to COVID-19 and the trust of our merchants and their customers remains our top priority.

The RedPill Living store is now no longer active.