A coalition of more than 30 doctors, scientists, and elected officials have sent a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission, demanding they retract questionable reports published regarding childhood health.
Among those who signed the letter to HHS is Georgia Democratic state Rep. Jasmine Clark, who is also a scientist with a PhD in microbiology from Emory University.
The letter, sent from nonprofit political action committee 314 Action, states that a report released by the White House one month ago called “The MAHA Report” completely misrepresents studies and has been found to cite fake sources.
“The report points to at least seven studies that do not exist and cites invented authors to support conclusions made by the Commission,” the letter reads. “While we appreciate the citations have since been updated, the integrity of the report has been irreversibly compromised.”
The coalition goes on to highlight numerous inaccuracies in the report, casting doubt on its research methods and credibility. They have called on the department — which advocates for “radical transparency” — to disclose the report’s authorship and clarify whether AI contributed to its content.
Despite revisions that were made to address potential AI-generated errors, the coalition argues the report is still seen as a misleading and potentially harmful document, particularly concerning its impact on child health.
Shaughnessy Naughton, president of 314 Action, said in a statement that the coalition wants answers from the MAHA Commission and is further demanding the report’s complete removal from the White House’s official website.
“One month since the MAHA Report was published, a coalition of more than 30 state and local elected officials, doctors and grassroots STEM leaders have joined forces with 314 Action to reject its false claims and demand answers from the MAHA Commission,” Naughton said.
“A report that presents false data as fact to perpetuate myths about childhood disease, anxiety and depression in adolescence, ADHD, and autism undermines confidence in the entire scientific community and puts children at risk. This report should never have been published and cannot be allowed to stand on the White House website — it must be removed immediately,” Naughton added.
First reported by NOTUS — News of the United States — seven of the cited sources in the MAHA report did not appear to exist at all, and an author listed for a study on anxiety among adolescents, Katherine Keyes, told NOTUS she didn’t write the paper cited. Overall, the paper published findings that processed foods and heightened exposure to chemicals such as pesticides and microplastics were causing health issues in children. More controversial though, the report also claimed certain medications, like antidepressents, and vaccines were also culprits in poor childhood health outcomes, claims that are widely refuted in the medical community.
