Citations without science: Donald Trump's kids' health report built on fiction
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US President Donald Trump administration's report on children's health, touted as a 'clear, evidence-based foundation' for policy action, is under scrutiny after it was found to contain multiple fabricated citations.
The controversial report, issued last week by the presidential Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission, referenced studies that do not exist and misattributed authorship to real researchers.
The report, which was meant to guide federal action on children's health concerns such as mental illness, asthma medication, and the impact of drug advertising, has now drawn widespread criticism from experts for lacking academic rigour.
Fake citations and AI concerns
Among the false references was a study supposedly authored by Columbia University epidemiologist Katherine Keyes. The paper, which the report cited on adolescent mental health and substance use, does not exist, and Keyes herself denied ever having written it.
"It makes me concerned about the rigour of the report, if these really basic citation practices aren't being followed," Keyes told reporters.
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The discrepancies were first exposed by the news outlet NOTUS and further investigated by The New York Times, which uncovered additional faulty references. In response, the White House uploaded a revised version of the report with corrected citations by Thursday afternoon.
Medical journalism expert Dr Ivan Oransky, co-founder of the watchdog site Retraction Watch, said the nature of the errors suggested the use of generative artificial intelligence.
White House sidesteps AI questions
At a Thursday press briefing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt deflected questions about the report's preparation, referring inquiries to the department of health and human services (HHS).
Emily Hilliard, a spokesperson for HHS, did not confirm whether AI had been used but dismissed the citation issues as 'minor citation and formatting errors.'
'The substance of the MAHA report remains the same — a historic and transformative assessment by the federal government to understand the chronic disease epidemic afflicting our nation's children,' Hilliard said.
Mixed reception from medical community
While some health researchers support the report's critiques of synthetic chemicals and ultraprocessed foods in the American diet, others are deeply concerned about its claims. Notably, the report suggests that routine childhood vaccines could be harmful, a claim widely disputed by scientists and public health officials who argue it reflects a flawed understanding of immunology.
The revelation of fake citations has only deepened scepticism. 'It undermines confidence in the report's findings,' said Keyes.
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