Who Is EMF Academy’s Christian Thomas? Fake Personas Are Used To Cat-fish Money And Create Brands To Lure Views.
Seven Ways To Avoid Being A Victim Of Online Lies
Helping you and your family stay safe and thrive in our digital world is our mission at Tech Wellness — and it’s a BIG mission.
There’s so much to consider — especially if you have kids. That’s why you’ll find articles and videos about how technology and the way we use our screens can effect your health your safety, your privacy and your mental wellness.
There are also some emotionally toxic — and professionally toxic situations online that we need to be aware of and know how to steer clear of them.
These handsome faces have been used by EMF Academy and a fraud named “Donald” Both of these men, Coen Van Brokhoven and Raho Bornhorst are actually Life Coaches from Europe. They are not EMF Experts or Australian single men looking for lovers with money…
On line Photos of These Men Were Stolen And Used Without Their Permission
EMFAcademy.com burst on to the trending EMF scene with plenty of articles that contained information that had been previously published by established and respected EMF Experts-
But- for some reason, the owner said he was someone he wasn’t and used a picture, pretending to look like someone else too. The Question is WHY?
Scroll Down and See What Coen Told Me About EMF Academy and his photo.
Catfishers: are Fake online personas and easily published untruths that have sprung up because, well, the internet makes it easy to say you’re someone you’re not and for the most part, there’s nothing out there stopping it.
I published this a while ago and I’ve heard from so many people who tell me that they’re amazed they didn’t catch the fact the Christian was a fake from the get go.
You’ve probably heard of Catfishing.
It may have happened to you — someone pretends to be someone else in order to get you to pay attention to something you might not.
A Catfisher, like EMF Academy’s “Christian Thomas,” will use a made-up name, a made-up life, along with a made up or “stock” photo to convince others that they are someone they’re not.
Their goal is to get something — and it could be cash or your trust, your heart or any number of other things, that will benefit the Catfisher and hurt you.
We typically think about Catfishing as it applies to the online dating world because of that series called Catfished where various victims and Catfishers would be discovered and confronted. But you can get “Catfished” by an online business or by a author of published book or by a website.
The Washington Post did this story a few years ago,
“How an industry of ‘Amazon entrepreneurs’ pulled off the Internet’s craftiest catfishing scheme”
This article was about how book authors would make up fake names, fake degrees and career paths in order to sell books with catchy topics and titles online. They tell a story of just one of many authors with fake names — one of which wrote a pretty unimpressive language book called Learn Spanish in 7 Days that sold well because she called herself an Polygot and Professional Language teacher.
The rough part of being a Catfish victim is you don’t get what you wanted or paid for. You can get bad or misleading information from a business or you might get something that just isn’t close to 100% real.
You’ may be motivated to buy, thinking the seller is something that it turns out that they’re not.
What I Found Out About The “Person” EMF Academy Pretended To Be
Here’s my personal experience with a Catfisher of sorts, the Fake Persona of EMF Academy
It’s the story of a Fake Identity and a Fake Name and a Fake photo that heads what this Fake Person(Christian Thomas) refers to as The Number One EMF website. What???
I know exactly what this feels like because back in 2018 when I introduced Tech Wellness, there was another new site, hosted and written by someone I had never heard of, Christian Thomas, and the site was called EMF Academy. It rolled out with a couple of the same articles I had already written and had been working on for a over a year — so it got my attention.
You see, in 2007 I began writing informative articles and creating videos for my site EMFReview.com and then writing about all things tech on Safertech.com. Those of you who know my story, know that I was on a decades-long quest to find out why I had EMF sensitivity and along the way, was able to see and gain understanding about the mental, emotional and safety issues that were popping up as phones popped into our hands. I decided to bring everything together on techwellness.com in early 2018.
Tech Wellness is the trusted resource for women, moms and families who want to live in safety and balance with technology without giving up the ease and joy it can bring.
I watched as more articles, with more information were coming from “EMF Academy”, sometimes as many as two or three a week. I didn’t always agree with the information, but some of it seemed to mirror what I was saying on my pages. That wasn’t shocking because there were a couple of other sites that had been sharing the message of EMF in particular like Jeromy Johnson’s EMFAnalysis and Lloyd Burrell’s Electricsense — so the information was out there.
But this “Christian” was promoting things like plants and pendants to block EMFs. Solutions that are not only unproven, but have been debunked by science over and over again.
Sadly, unsuspecting people who are searching for truth and accuracy might be misled by what was supposedly written by “Christian Thomas” and buy into the misinformation. They might buy plants or necklaces or even shields that thinking they’re mitigating EMF because they were published on EMFacademy.com and end up with a false sense of security-thinking they are protected from EMF when they’re not.
To me, this was clearly misleading and potentially dangerous and I wanted to let “Christian” know.
Oddly, not a single person in the EMF space knew “Christian” including Jeromy, Dr. George Carlo and the Building Biologists I worked with had ever met him or spoken to him.
The About Section of EMF Academy had only one photo. The address wasn’t complete. Finally, I reached out to ask about why “Christian” was promoting a solution that didn’t work, I didn’t get a reply.
I googled Christian Thomas, EMF and there was nothing. I even tried Christian and Becca. Not one listing of information.
So, being an investigative journalist by training, I did a Google Image search to see if I could learn more about him and that’s when I found this:
Was “Christian Thomas” really Robert Archer? What?!
I turned out that lots and lots of other search results with the same photo of “Christian” came up. But this time the man in all the searches wasn’t called Christian, but Elliot or Robert or John B or some other name. And these men that looked exactly like Christian Thomas of EMF Academy said they were a realtor, a Sports fan or simply a “single” looking for a date.
The “Christian Thomas” on EMF Academy was a stock photo, not a picture of the man or woman behind EMF Academy.
And then I started wondering, what else might be an EMFacademy.com deception? The name “Christian Thomas”, his story and his wife and kids?
Bark, the makers of an online tracking app for kids says this about catfishing:
“Thanks to smartphones, it’s incredibly easy to pretend to be somebody else online. All it takes is a couple of photos, a different user name, and voila — you’re in business. But to be a successful catfish, it takes extraordinary amounts of planning and manipulation. Finding photos for both profile and feed images, creating new email addresses for fake Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat accounts — the lengths people will go to in order to keep up the charade are mind-boggling. They also have to stay “in character” when they’re messaging so they don’t slip up.”
But hold on- Later on EMFAcademy.com, Christian - changes his identity again!
But listen to this: this time the identity Christian uses is NOT a stock photo. He assumes the identity of a very real(very handsome) person and THAT Person tells me that “Christian Thomas” posted WITHOUT his permission.
As “Christian’s” look is updated, he becomes an all new “Christian”.
He loses the blazer and becomes a handsome, rugged man with a trustworthy look. But guess what, this so called “Christian” is really and truly named Coen van Broekhoven
And he says he wasn’t okay being the face of EMF Academy.
Coen, who runs an Outdoor Life Coaching program in the Netherlands told me, “I did not give permissions(for use) and also no permissions for any stock photos.”
Stealing an Identity Because You Don’t Want To Share Your Own
Think about the lengths that the creators of EMF Academy or “Christian” went to to get this picture and put it on EMFacademy.com. It’s not a stock photo so where did EMF Academy get it? Did they go to this man’s Facebook site and “scrape” it? Did they copy it from a website?
What happened here, along with using a fake name and photo- leads one to even more trust and credibility questions.
This is really important because this particular site and others appear to be taking advantage of peoples general lack or understanding about Electromagnetic Fields(EMF) Many of them are spewing fear and untruths while promoting unproven products.
So we end up with misinformation and people start questioning the credibility of the whole EMF category. Many even mock the idea that there are serious and proven negative health effects from exposure to wireless radio frequency radiation.
Many people have reached out to me based on this article about how to spot a “FAKE” Site. Apparently these type of what are called “Click-Bait” sites are springing up in many health-related topics. I have a check list to follow below but the one thing a sham or pseudo site seems to always have are links to products.
That’s why these fake sites exist- they monetize information taken from other sources and package it under the guise of being an “expert” or someone who cares in order “help” by getting commission from the products sold through their sites.
I’m definitely not saying that any site that links to products or sells products isn’t real or shouldn’t be trusted.
I’m saying that the reason to create a hub of information without disclosing your background, your resume and your true identity is to make money without the risk of suffering any of the consequences your recommendations might have. Take this recent article published on EMF Academy for example, it shows how to make Shungite water. This is bad idea on so many levels as you’ll see from the research and one that has nothing to do with EMF by the way. Notice how EMF Academy then recommends Shungite stones to buy Amazon-perpetuating the myth that carrying a stone or wearing a pendant will protect from EMF while giving people a false sense of security and wasting their money. It’s Sad.
New research was published that backs earlier research showing that although many Shungite sites tout the stones ability to remove heavy metals from water, the Commercial Shungite can actually leach heavy metals like nickel, lead, arsenic, cadmium and copper into the water it’s “purifying.”
Even after washing the stones with a 10 to 1 water/stone ratio and changing it everyday for 5 days, the study found high levels of nickel continued to come off the stones into the water.
Pretty scary stuff.
Meanwhile EMF Academy no longer uses Coen’s identity.
Christian has now changed his photographic identity by utilizing NEW STOCK PHOTO. This one has a man, a woman(representing Becca perhaps?) and a little girl.
You might be wondering why EMF Academy decided to now create a “family” for the so called “Christian Thomas”
A Book Site used the same photo for a article about “Being An Amazing Parent,” so that should tell you something.
Consider This: A man who “cares so much about his family” that he “spent 6 years researching EMF” is so much more trustworthy then perhaps a college dropout living in his moms basement scraping the internet for content, or perhaps it’s a business capitalizing on a trending topic or maybe even an older guy who after who after listening affiliate marketing podcasts and decides to roll out several click-bait sites one on EMF, one on Healing Crystals, one on Supplements . . .
“Christian” says EMF Academy is “now one of the largest and most trusted sources to learn about EMF radiation.” (!??) Wow — that’s quite a bold claim for a person or is it a corporation that has gone to such lengths to hide its identity.
But Who Is Christian?
We don’t know. There’s no information anywhere about him or the site. The only address is a “virtual mailbox” in Seattle — that can be managed from anywhere in the world. Usually you think of “trustworthy” as someone you can trust. But how can you trust someone when they won’t tell you who they really are?
Who would you trust ? Creating a sympathetic persona could make people much more likely to believe the information on the site, perhaps buy from it and click on the the plethora of ads that cover every single page.
We see people who are acting in advertising thousands of times a day. But they aren’t pretending to be a person they aren’t.
IMPORTANT: It’s not illegal for EMF Academy to use a fake name, a fake story or a fake picture to represent himself or his business online.
But is it the right thing to do?
Is it okay that the EMF site that bills itself as one of the “top EMF sites in the world” is founded and run by someone who uses a fake persona? Should they tell you who they really are ?
You deserve facts, proven products and the truth about EMF, instead of ridiculous statements like this one that I just saw in the post from EMF Academy:
We all deserve to get credible information from a credible source when we need it. Especially when it comes to our well-being.
This is me, August Brice- in my laundry room showing you how to find hidden sources of EMF Radiation in Smart Appliances. You can find me on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and LinkedIn, Twitter — just in case you’re trying to verify I’m the real deal :)
Finally even if pretending you’re someone other than who you really are for a “good” reason, when people who believe you are real and trustworthy, find out you’re not, they call themselves ‘victims.”
So, Let’s Not Be Victims: Here Are The Seven Things You Can Do To Help Keep Catfishers and Fake Personas Out Of Your Life.
1.Confirm that a business is a business- like EMF Academy and the person in charge, like a Christian Thomas are real- by looking for them on business social media platforms Professionals will provide their college and career backgrounds. Also look for articles written about the business or about the “expert” in charge of the business. It’s good to check all social channels as well for more information and back up on the person or business credibility.
2. When you meet someone new online, notice how many different photos they have. The more the better. The photos should reflect different situations and life periods and be candid, with others sometimes and it would be helpful if they “matched” their “story” meaning their town, their job, their family.
3. Google Image or Reverse Image Search them. Just like I did with EMF Academy’s Christian Thomas, what an image reveals can be very informative and help you decide if you want to continue contacting or following them
4. Google them. The older they are the more likely you are to find out about them. Even if it’s just from Facebook and other social accounts, if they’ve been out there a while you can start to see if the words, pictures and stories match.
5. Look for video content. Non business new friends should be able to video chat or call you at the least. A meet up with other is always a good idea. Businesses run by real people should have some video out there somewhere and if they are an authority in their space, their should be a podcast, a speaking event or book written by them.
6.Listen to them. Do their stories add up? If it’s an online business read what they’re saying and compare it to actual experts. People who have credibility in the field will not be solo and will have a robust LinkedIn following and will be or associate with scientists, researchers, engineers, doctors and other professionals in that field.
6. Be really mindful if they are asking for something from you. Are they asking you for money? Are they sending you to Amazon or to a product they are recommending to get a commission on everything you buy? Check the link url- for an identifier. As an example, EMF Academy’s recommendations go to urls with efma or the words emfacademy in them. And if its a someone representing a business, look at what they’re selling, search that item and make sure you there is a reasonable return period.
7. Finally, when it comes to getting good information from what you’re hoping is in expert: Check the content. If a”medical” expert is recommending a supplement for some specific health issue, visit several expert sources to confirm that the supplement is for safe and appropriate for you.
Finally, this
A Special Note to You- Who Do WE Look Up To And Trust?
Sometimes it’s hard to know what to believe online. To be your trusted resource we consult with some of the world’s foremost experts on tech toxins like EMF. Our understanding of man made electromagnetic radio waves continues to evolve. I encourage you to rely on websites and resources that are informed by trusted scientists and doctors. Dr. George Carlo who led the seminal research study for the wireless industry(his book is featured in our store) and President of the Board of Directors of the International Association of Building Biologists, Larry Gust are the two foremost experts I look to.
I also recommend the work of Joel Moskowitz and his site: SafeEMR. There’s the often quoted Bioinitiative Report and now Physicians for Safe Technology, Dr. Olle Johansson is aligned and the amazing Devra Davis and the entire team at The Environmental Health Trust have been at the forefront of EMF education and truth. Americans For Responsible Technology is a good resource for tools to help battle you contact the people in your state and city’s that make the laws allowing for more and more wireless antenna’s and yes, 5g and Ellie Marks and The California Brain Tumor Association whose mission is to safeguard public health These people are real- they are highly regarded experts when it comes to the science of Electromagnetic Radiation. Looking for Certified EMF Education? If you’re serious, enroll in the Building Biology Institute
Prepare to spend 400 plus hours learning about all manner of environmental toxins and an additional 120 hours to reach the gold standard of EMRS
Check the background of the people involved in creating the information you’re using to make decisions regarding EMF and your health and make sure they’re the real deal. There are some great authentic and accurate EMF sites, like emfanalysis. It’s run by Jeromy Johnson and we have similar backgrounds. Jeromy recently told me that there are now dozens of Fake EMF Websites- fake meaning sites that simply re-publish information(some actual science, some misleading or dangerous myths)that someone has already published with links to affiliate products that supposedly remedy the problem.
There seems to be a lot of interest lately in the topic I’ve been concerned about for 25 years and though I’m very happy and relieved that so many are now taking this topic seriously — and I’m happy some EMF resources embed Safertech and Tech Wellness videos in their sites- I’m concerned that you, (if you’re concerned about wireless radiation and your health) steer clear of “experts” who may be trying to promote items that really don’t do what they claim or entice you to visit their sites so they can sell ads based on high traffic or affiliate with unproven “emf protection”.
It is a confusing and sometimes scary topic — I keep my earlier videos from 2007 on this site so you can see that my understanding has grown deeply. Please know that I take great pride in not creating fear or misunderstanding in this space and it’s my deep desire for you to be healthy and well and live life in balance and safety with technology
Thanks for taking the time to read this lengthy story. I hope it’s served to help you have more clarity on the topic of EMF and digital wellness. Please let me know.
Stay safe out there and Be Well!
