Robert F Kennedy Jr’s flagship health commission report, titled “Make America Healthy Again: Gold Standard,” has come under fire for containing citations to studies that do not exist. Our detailed report includes more than 500 citations to studies documenting the impact of these policies. It cites seven studies that appear to be entirely made up. This unforeseen turn of events calls into serious question the accuracy, confidence and credibility of the report and its major finding.
In fact, the report was initially commissioned at the behest of the Trump administration to explore potential causes of chronic disease. Yet it has more recently been rightly criticized for mischaracterizing the studies that have already existed. Perhaps most alarmingly, Mariana G Figueiro, a researcher whose work was cited in the report, said that her study had been misrepresented. The report went on to mistakenly state that her research studied children when it actually studied college students. To add insult to injury, it misquoted the journal that published her research, further invalidating the claim.
Kennedy has been public with his denunciations for the state of medical publishing. His claims that the big-name journals are “corrupt” and in the pockets of pharmaceutical companies. His claims have introduced a new level of drama and dispute to the already highly charged report. One of the most incendiary claims in the report is its statement that talking therapy is no less effective than psychiatric medication. Statistician Joanne McKenzie has pronounced that it would be impossible to prove such a claim based on the data currently available.
The report also purposely distorts the conclusions of other research. It further references Harold J Farber, who says he never wrote a paper that they cite under his name and that he never worked with the other authors listed. This discrepancy, which should be a clear red flag about the credibility of the report’s citations, should come as no surprise.
Only two studies have ever attempted to analyze ADHD medication ads. They are not available in the journals they are claimed to have been published in. These errors have raised serious questions about the credibility of the information underlying some or all of this key flawed data divulged in Kennedy’s report.
As scrutiny continues, attention is turning to a follow-up report titled “Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy,” which is expected to be released in August. The new report will provide a unique perspective on Kennedy’s radical approach to public health. Beyond that, it will help folks to understand what techniques he’s using through his evaluations.