Source? I made it up: RFK Jr.'s MAHA report cites fabricated studies
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s Make America Healthy Again commission released its first report last week, which it called a 'groundbreaking assessment' of the drivers of childhood chronic diseases. Close study of the publication found one little problem in MAHA's analysis, however: several of the studies it cited do not exist.
A report from the political news site NOTUS found that MAHA misrepresented findings of existing reports and outright fabricated several others. NOTUS found multiple instances of named reports that contained links that did not work, were not findable through online searches, and were not published in the issues of the journals listed in the MAHA report. In some cases, the listed authors or the institutions for which they work said that they had never written the cited studies.
Epidemiologist Katherine Keyes was cited by the MAHA Report to back up claims of widespread anxiety and depression among adolescents. When reached by the outlet, she said she'd never authored the study.
'The paper cited is not a real paper that I or my colleagues were involved with,' Keyes shared..
One author named in the report called the commission's conclusions over-generalized and a 'tremendous leap of faith' from his research. Another said that the 'conclusions in the report are not accurate and the journal reference is incorrect.'
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt downplayed the reported inaccuracies on Thursday, attributing them to "formatting issues" and saying that the report would be updated.
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The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
White House asks for steep cuts to HHS budget
The Big Story The White House is seeking $94.7 billion to fund the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in fiscal year 2026, a decrease of more than $31 billion. © AP The proposal released late Friday provides new details that were missing from the administration's initial release about a month ago. The latest proposal reflects HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s focus on chronic disease and desire to reshape the federal health agencies. The White House said the plan 'prioritizes resources to efficiently achieve our goal to Make America Healthy Again (MAHA).' While presidential budget requests aren't signed into law, they can serve as a blueprint for lawmakers as they begin crafting their funding groups and outside experts said the proposal shows a concerted effort to shift funding away from public health priorities and biomedical research. For instance, the plan calls for slashing the budget of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by nearly 40 percent from FY 2025. 'You might as well gift wrap the future and hand it to China,' Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.), the Senate Appropriations Committee's top Democrat, said in a statement. It would consolidate the agency's 27 institutes, leaving just three intact: the National Cancer Institute, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the National Institute of Aging, with significant funding cuts. The others would be consolidated into five new institutes and centers. 'This restructuring will create efficiencies within NIH that will allow the agency to focus on true science, and coordinate research to make the best use of federal funds,' according to the HHS Budget in Brief. But the organizations impacted don't see it that way. 'Returning to funding levels from two decades ago – and three decades ago when accounting for biomedical inflation – will set this nation back dramatically in our ability to reduce death and suffering from a disease that is expected to kill more than 618,000 Americans this year alone,' the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) said in a statement. 'If the proposal is enacted, Americans today and tomorrow will be sicker, poorer, and die younger,' Mary Woolley, CEO of Research!America, a science advocacy nonprofit, said in a statement. Russell Vought, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, said the administration wants a strong NIH and will continue to prioritize cancer research. But in a CNN interview Sunday, Vought said the agency has gotten too big and too political. 'It's more about the NIH, and the NIH has been a bureaucracy that we believe has been weaponized against the American people,' he told CNN. Welcome to The Hill's Health Care newsletter, we're Nathaniel Weixel, Joseph Choi and Alejandra O'Connell-Domenech — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. Essential Reads How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond: Democrats hammer Vought over Medicaid claims: 'Outrageous lies' Democratic lawmakers are admonishing President Trump's budget chief for claiming the GOP's mega-bill will not cause anyone to lose Medicaid benefits, contradicting independent assessments that war billions could lose coverage if it becomes law. 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After a successful pressure campaign … Read more What People Think Opinions related to health submitted to The Hill: You're all caught up. See you tomorrow! Like this newsletter? Take a moment to view our other topical products here 📩 Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Mount Etna eruption, resurgence of a slur, mites come out at night: Catch up on the day's stories
👋 Welcome to 5 Things PM! File this under mite-y creepy: As you fall asleep each night, dozens of eight-legged creatures are crawling out of your pores. You have these nocturnal mites all over your body, but their favorite spot to hang out? Your face. Here's what else you might have missed during your busy day: 1️⃣ Massive eruption: Tourists at Mount Etna were forced to flee after a huge plume of high-temperature gases, ash and rock billowed into the air. About 1.5 million people visit the Italian volcano each year, and the last eruption of this magnitude occurred in 2014. 2️⃣ Manhunt update: A police chief-turned-murderer-and-rapist, a repeat escapee and a double murderer — all three are still nowhere to be found after two high-profile jailbreaks in Arkansas and Louisiana. Here's what we know about the circumstances of each case. 3️⃣ The R-word: A slur used to denigrate people with disabilities is surging in popularity among some influential public figures like Joe Rogan and Elon Musk. Experts say the implications of its resurgence are bigger than just one word. 4️⃣ 'Toxic Nation': A new 'Make America Healthy Again' documentary claims four things are making us sick: ultraprocessed foods, seed oils, herbicides and pesticides, and fluoride. Health specialists break it down and explain what the research says. 5️⃣ Clean streets: Travelers who visit Japan wonder how the country can be so tidy and organized when there doesn't seem to be a way to dispose of garbage in public places. So where are all the trash cans? 🚘 Wild crash: A car ran off the road and through the roof of a veterans hall in Missouri, but police said the driver only suffered minor injuries. This is the second time in three months a vehicle crashed into the same building. • Colorado suspect charged with federal hate crime, had planned antisemitic attack for a year, FBI says• Trump returns to Supreme Court with emergency appeal over mass firings• Second round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks ends swiftly with no major breakthrough 🏡 That's how many prospective buyers are reportedly waiting for home prices and interest rates to drop before jumping into the real estate market. 🤖 Smart art: Victor Wong put his degree in electrical engineering to good use by creating AI Gemini, a robotic arm that produces traditional Chinese landscape paintings. See how it works. 🎧 'We're burnt out': After nearly 16 years and countless hours of conversations, comedian Marc Maron will end his groundbreaking podcast 'WTF' this fall. The host said he and producer Brendan McDonald made the decision together. 🍬 Haribo is recalling some bags of candy in the Netherlands because what was found in them? A. WoodB. CannabisC. MetalD. Fungi⬇️ Scroll down for the answer. 👘 Crafty creations: Kimonos are deeply woven into the fabric of Japan's cultural identity, but not many people wear them anymore. Entrepreneur Shotaro Kawamura is working with craftspeople to upcycle unwanted robes into new products such as sneakers. 👋 We'll see you tomorrow. 🧠 Quiz answer: B. Haribo is recalling bags of fizzy cola bottles after cannabis was found in some of them.📧 Check out all of CNN's newsletters. 5 Things PM is produced by CNN's Chris Good, Meghan Pryce, Kimberly Richardson and Morgan Severson.


Newsweek
7 hours ago
- Newsweek
Health Experts Call Out RFK Jr. Policy Changes: 'New Inconsistency Every Day'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Two health experts have criticized Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with one saying "there's a new inconsistency every day." Newsweek has contacted Kennedy via the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HSS) via email for comment. Why It Matters Critics say Kennedy's agenda undermines the scientific process and risks eroding decades of public trust in vaccines, while others argue that his new approach is what Americans voted for. It comes after Kennedy Jr. announced that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is no longer encouraging COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant women and healthy children, marking a shift in federal public health guidance. Last week, Kennedy's Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission report on the causes of childhood illnesses contained multiple errors and references that were not real that have since been corrected by the White House. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Education Secretary Linda McMahon attend a Make America Healthy Again event in the East Room of the White House on May 22, 2025, in Washington.... Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Education Secretary Linda McMahon attend a Make America Healthy Again event in the East Room of the White House on May 22, 2025, in Washington. More AP What To Know Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota's Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy, said: "There's a new inconsistency every day." "For many of us, what we're concerned about is that this is all merging into one anti-vaccine message, and it also is merging into [the administration thinking]: 'We can do whatever we want from a regulatory oversight standpoint,'" he told Axios. Chris Meekins, a managing director at Raymond James and health official in the first Trump administration, said the false citations in the MAHA reports said Kennedy's agenda is being carried out "in a way that is unserious." "At the end of the day, they're going to do what they believe and what they want to do," Meekins added. "How they go about executing the agenda, I think, is very much in play." Similarly, Georges C. Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, previously said: "This is not an evidence-based report, and for all practical purposes, it should be junked at this point. It cannot be used for any policymaking. It cannot even be used for any serious discussion, because you can't believe what's in it." When asked about the fake citations in a news briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the White House has "complete confidence in Secretary Kennedy and his team at HHS." HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon told Axios that Kennedy's "approach is deliberate—not traditional for Washington but urgently needed for a nation that has lost trust in public health institutions. "By leveraging direct communication tools like social media, Secretary Kennedy is modernizing how HHS engages with the public, reaching Americans where they are, and with the radical transparency they deserve." What People Are Saying White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt: "I understand there were some formatting issues with the MAHA Report that are being addressed, and the report will be updated, but it does not negate the substance of the report, which, as you know, is one of the most transformative health reports that has ever been released by the federal government, and is backed on good science that has never been recognized by the federal government." HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. previously said about the new CDC guidance on COVID vaccines: "I couldn't be more pleased to announce that as of today the COVID vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women has been removed from the CDC recommended immunization schedule." What Happens Next Critics say Kennedy's approach could undermine scientific research, risk public health and sow confusion about vaccine safety. However, supporters argue that Kennedy is bringing needed scrutiny to institutions they see as opaque and too closely tied to pharmaceutical interests. The debate reflects a broader question about how public health policy is shaped, with Kennedy's proposals forcing a national conversation on the balance between scientific consensus, government transparency and individual freedom.