The White House on Thursday said it will fix errors in its “Make America Healthy Again,” or MAHA, report after a news outlet’s investigation found that it cited sources that don’t exist.
The report, released last week to much fanfare by the administration, cited hundreds of studies to purportedly find the root causes of chronic diseases. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. called the report a “milestone”
But an examination by the news organization NOTUS found that some of those studies did not actually exist.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt downplayed the issues of nonexistent sources and said the administration has “complete confidence” in Kennedy, who spearheaded the report.
“I understand there were some formatting issues with the MAHA report that are being addressed, and the report will be updated,” Leavitt said during the daily press briefing. “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.”
The report blamed environmental toxins, the food supply, prescription drugs and more for causing an epidemic of chronic illness in the country.
It specifically raised doubts about the childhood vaccine schedule, suggesting that there could be a link between “vaccine injury” and chronic disease.
NOTUS, citing the papers’ purported authors, reported on Thursday morning that seven of the more than 500 studies cited in the report did not appear to have ever been published. The nonexistent studies were on topics such as children’s screen time, medication use and anxiety.
The findings of dozens of other studies were exaggerated, misleading or misinterpreted.
The report had no listed authors. When asked about its preparation, and whether artificial intelligence was part of the process, Leavitt said, “I can’t speak to that.”
