Netflix’s new series Apple Cider Vinegar tells the shocking story of a woman named Belle Gibson, who pretends to have cancer and then “cures” it with a healthy lifestyle. But it also draws attention to largely unproven methods of cancer treatment, like black salve.

In Apple Cider Vinegar, Milla Blake — a fictional character inspired by real-life “Wellness Warrior” Jess Ainscough — uses black salve on her cancer, only for the corrosive treatment to create open sores on her arms. Oh, and her cancer only gets worse because she’s avoiding actual medical intervention.

A new Netflix series dramatises the real-life story of Belle Gibson, the Australian wellness influencer who built an empire off the back of a non-existent brain tumour. Helen Coffey sorts reality from